Coach Chesswick
Hi alkaline1 – personalised coaching report
Current peak: 2237 (2016-12-02)
What you already do well
- Dynamic piece play. Your French-Advance win shows confident space grabbing and activity on both wings.
- Tactical alertness. Miniatures such as the 21.Qxb7# game prove you spot concrete shots when the opportunity arises.
- Comfort in unbalanced positions. You willingly enter Closed-Sicilian pawn storms and sharp Grunfeld structures as Black.
Typical trouble spots
- Premature flank pawn pushes. …h5/…b5 before completing development created holes in several losses (see latest defeat below). Consider waiting until pieces are coordinated or the centre is closed.
- King safety & Prophylaxis. Keeping your king in the centre until move 32 in the most recent loss allowed recurring Bg5/Bf6 ideas. Build the habit of asking “what is my opponent’s next threat?” before every move.
- Converting advantages. Good positions drift when you choose flashy continuations instead of simple trades and centralisation. Study examples of “technique”—Capablanca end-games are gold.
- Time management. Four of the listed losses ended on the clock. Aim to have at least 70 % of your initial time left by move 15; set quick “sense-check” pauses at moves 10, 20 and 30.
Opening map & suggestions
- White: 1.e4 → French Advance, Grand Prix, vs Nimzowitsch Defence.
- Black: 1.e4 → Closed Sicilian with …g6; 1.d4 → Grunfeld/KID hybrids.
Add one solid alternative in each colour to broaden your strategic palette:
• As Black vs 1.e4 try a Classical Sicilian or even the reliable Carlsbad-like setups.
• Versus 1.d4 experiment with the Slav Defense to practise pure queen-side play.
Theme to drill this week
Knights on the 6th rank (Nb5/Nd6). Many of your games feature forks on c7/c2 or jumps to d6/f6. Create a puzzle set of 50 positions with this motif and solve daily.
Annotated snapshots
Latest win
Latest loss
Performance patterns
Action plan
- 20 tactical puzzles/day, emphasising intermediate moves & deflections.
- Play at least one 15 | 10 game per session; self-analyse 10 minutes before consulting an engine.
- Keep a “critical moments” notebook: positions where you moved fast and later found a stronger continuation.
Stay disciplined with your clock, reinforce your king’s shelter before attacking, and you’ll break through to the next rating bracket soon. Happy calculating!