Martha Mateus WIM

Hi Martha, great to see your recent games!

What you are already doing well

• Opening variety. You handle 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 structures confidently and are not afraid of sharper sidelines such as the Benko and Nimzo-Indian. Your piece development is usually smooth and you often reach middlegames with healthy pawn structures.
• Dynamic piece play. In several wins you demonstrated a good feel for initiative – e.g. the sacrifice 31.Rh7# in your win vs zverr1 showed excellent coordination and tactical calculation.
• Fighting spirit. Even when behind material you keep looking for counter-chances, which is the right mindset for blitz.

Where the biggest rating gains are waiting

1. Time management. All five recent losses came from a winning or equal position that eventually ended in time forfeiture. The critical moment is often between moves 25-35, when the position is still complicated but your clock drops below 10 seconds. Work on a “checkpoint” routine: if the position is roughly balanced and your time falls under 25 seconds, simplify (trade queens or reach an endgame) and switch to premove mode.
2. Converting advantages. Against MaestroG you were two pawns up before move 30, yet could not stabilize because the queen and rook penetrated your 2nd rank. Train technical endgames (rook + pawn vs rook, Q+rook coordination) so you can play them quickly and confidently.
3. Central pawn breaks. Several games show missed chances to strike in the centre with e4/e5 or d4/d5. Re-visit themes like the Benoni pawn lever break to recognize them faster.
4. King safety in double-edged openings. Your preference for f-pawn pushes (f3, f4, …g4) creates exciting play but also weakens the king. Before advancing a kingside pawn, do a three-question safety scan:
   • Can my opponent open lines toward my king within two moves?
   • Who has more pieces near the kingside?
   • Is the centre closed or fixed? If two answers are unfavourable, postpone the pawn thrust.

Targeted training plan (3-week micro-cycle)

Quick reference statistics

Peak blitz rating: 2497 (2025-02-15)
Performance by hour:

Mini-glossary for this week

• zwischenzug – an intermediate move that changes the expected sequence.
• prophylaxis – a preventative move that stops an opponent’s plan before it starts.
• zugzwang – a position where any move worsens the player’s game.

Final encouragement

You are already playing at an impressive level, Martha. Tightening your clock handling and mastering a handful of technical endgames will convert half of those time-forfeit losses into wins – an instant +60–80 rating points. Keep the energy and creativity, and let’s make the next peak your new standard!