Alexnotjapan

Hi Alexnotjapan!

I’ve reviewed your most recent games to spot patterns in your play. You have real attacking flair, but a few recurring habits are holding back the next jump in rating. Below you’ll find concrete advice, practice tasks, and some quick wins you can implement right away.

What you’re already doing well

• Tactical vision. Your wins often feature mating nets and piece sacrifices (e.g. 18.Qg6+ in the KielbasaSwojsa game). When the opponent’s king is exposed you rarely miss the knock-out.
• Playing for initiative. You willingly give material for time and activity—a great quality once it’s paired with tighter defence.
• Confidence with open centres. Games stemming from 1.e4 e5 tend to suit you; you handle wide-open lines comfortably.

Key areas to focus on next

1. Opening balance & variety
   You open every White game with the Center Game:
   
   
   Against stronger defence your early queen sortie often results in lost tempi and an unsafe king (see byxxzers game).
   • Keep the Center Game as a surprise weapon, but add a second main line such as the Italian (3.Bc4) or Scotch.
   • If you insist on the Center Game, consider 4.Nf3 instead of Qa4 to delay the queen adventure.
2. Development & king safety
   In several losses you delayed castling until move 15-20 (e.g. vs MrC_86). Promise yourself:
   • “Castle by move 8 as White, move 10 as Black.”
   • Follow an opening checklist: minor pieces out, king to safety, rooks connected, then pawn storms.
3. Blunder check routine
   Whole pieces dropped to simple forks or skewers (10…Qxb2 in the same loss). Adopt a 10-second scan before every move: “What can my opponent capture? What is hanging?” Daily puzzle work—especially on forks and pins—will hard-wire this habit.
4. Endgame fundamentals
   You reached a rook endgame vs MrC_86 but drifted into a resignable position. Spend a week on:
   • King-and-pawn basics.
   • “Lucena” and “Philidor” rook-and-pawn set-ups.
   Good endgame confidence lets you simplify when you’re ahead instead of searching for flashy wins.
5. Time management
   Even in 15 | 10 your early moves average <10 s. Use the increment: slow down at the first critical moment (usually around move 7-10) and again when queens are traded.

Practice plan for the week

• Play five rapid games following the “castle by move 8/10” rule and review each one.
• Solve 30 tactical puzzles themed on forks and discovered attacks.
• Annotate the first 12 moves of this fragment, writing what you would change next time:
  

Next milestone

Your rapid peak is within touching distance — 863 (2024-12-29). Clean up the early game and you’ll surpass it quickly.

Progress trackers

Keep an eye on these to measure improvement:

Maintain that fighting spirit, Alex, and good luck on the board!

— Coach