Alex Golding IM

Quick summary

Nice string of results in your recent blitz batch — you converted two wins (one finished by a mating finish, one on time) against strong opponents and suffered a technical loss where a final knight tactic decided the game. Strengths: active rooks, practical tactical vision and finishing ability. Main areas to clean up: time management in low-increment blitz, handling knight tactics in complicated positions, and a predictable rough spot vs the Sicilian Defense in your opening mix.

What you did well

• Rook activity and coordination — in the win vs Timour Koliada you created decisive back-rank pressure and finished with a clean mating pattern (Rf1). Keep exploiting open files and seventh-rank ideas.
• Practical decision-making — converting on the clock (win on time) shows you maintain pressure and keep the opponent under constant threat. That’s a valuable blitz skill.
• Opener strengths you can lean on — your historical data shows particularly strong results with systems like the Dőry Defense and Poisoned-Pawn London. Use those as go-to weapons when you want safe scoring chances.

Key weaknesses to target

• Time management: many critical moves were played with under 10–20 seconds remaining. In 3|0 blitz you’re often forced into suboptimal choices when the clock runs low — reduce those by automating common patterns and simplifying decisions earlier.
• Knight tactics and forks: the loss vs Ryan Young ended after a decisive knight tactic (Ne3+/fork-style ideas). In positions with knights near your king / major pieces, be extra careful about forks and jumping squares.
• Handling simplifications: when ahead you sometimes allow counterplay (unnecessary piece trades or pawn breaks that change the nature of the position). Practice converting small advantages in rook-and-pawn endgames and simplified material imbalances.
• Specific opening leak: your Openings Performance shows the generic Sicilian Defense area under 41% win rate. Either tune your anti-Sicilian choices or deepen a specific line so you avoid comfortable counterplay for your opponents.

Concrete drills and weekly plan

• Daily (15–25 min): tactics set focused on knight forks, skewers and back-rank motifs. Aim for 50 targeted puzzles per session for 3–4 days, then rotate.
• 3× per week (20–30 min): endgame practice — rook endgames and basic pawn endgames. Work through converting a rook + pawn vs rook, and defend Lucena / Philidor basics so you stop giving away wins in simplifications.
• 2× per week: opening tune-up (30–45 min). Pick one weak line (e.g., your Sicilian branches) and prepare 6 practical responses plus 10 typical middlegame plans. Use your successful lines (Dőry, Poisoned-Pawn London) as anchors for confidence.
• Play plan: one session of 10 blitz games (3|0) where you force yourself to keep 15–20s on the clock until move 15 (pause and think faster in the opening). Optionally try 3|2 for 10 games to reduce flag-risk while training the same ideas.

Game highlights & review

Open the winning example vs Timour Koliada below to replay the flow: active rook play, a clean back-rank finish and a decisive tactical sequence that ended the game.

Use this replay to pause at moments where you had the initiative and ask: "Is my opponent forced to react? Can I restrict counterplay?"

• Replay (interactive):

Short tactical checklist to use during games

• Before each move (especially when low on time): scan for checks, captures, threats (3 quick questions).
• If your opponent has a proximate knight near your king or major pieces, ask: “Are there forks on e4, d4, c4, f4, g4?”
• When up material: simplify to a won endgame only after checking pass-pawn race and rook activity (avoid traded rooks if your opponent gets active rook play).
• On the clock: aim to have 20+ seconds at move 15 in 3|0 games by using pre-learned opening moves and one-minute plans for common pawn structures.

Next 30-day goals (practical)

• + Improve strength-adjusted win rate by focusing on 2 tactical motifs (forks & back-rank) — 10 minutes/day.
• + Run through 12 rook-endgame positions and save typical winning plans to memory.
• + Fix one opening leak (pick one Sicilian line or switch to an alternative) and prepare 8 model games.
• + Play 50 rated blitz games under the “15s remaining at move 15” constraint to force better clock habits.

Small tweaks that give big gains

• Use a 3|2 training block once per week — the extra increment stabilizes your decision-making and reduces flag losses.
• Keep a short “blitz checklist” as a sticky note at your screen: opening plan → king safety → candidate moves → tactical scan → clock check.
• After each loss, make one short note: the one recurring reason you lost (e.g., “fell to knight fork”, “flagged”, “allowed rook infiltration”). Fix that one item next week.

If you want, next steps I can do for you

• Annotate your loss vs Ryan Young and show exactly where the knight tactic becomes dangerous.
• Build a 6-line mini-repertoire for your most-played color in blitz (3 lines you know well + 3 that tackle your worst opponents/openings).
• Create a 4-week training calendar with daily tasks and checkpoints tailored to your schedule.

Tell me which of the three you'd like and I’ll prepare it — or paste another game you want drilled down move-by-move.