Coach Chesswick
Quick summary
Robert (Alomaterapia) — good blitz session overall. You won several sharp tactical games and converted a complex attack to a tidy finish, but a couple of losses show recurring practical weaknesses: endgame technique and occasional time-management / simplification mistakes. Your opening choices (Petrov, French Advance, Urusov, Alapin) continue to score well — keep using them as a base.
Highlights — what you did well
- Strong opening results in Petrov's Defense and French Defense: Advance Variation — you get playable middlegames with active piece play and clear plans.
- Good tactical finishing in blitz: games ended by forcing sequences and clean mating nets (example: final tactic in your win vs Adam Gibała).
- Willingness to simplify into favourable material/endgame imbalances (you traded into winning rook + pawn positions and pushed passed pawns confidently).
- High overall conversion and a positive adjusted win rate (~51.4%) — you get value from your openings and practical play.
Key recurring issues to fix
- Endgame technique under blitz pressure — the loss vs misutodn ended in a pawn/king ending where returning the king to activity earlier and stopping the enemy king's advance would have improved chances. Drill basic king-and-pawn and rook endgames (see drills below).
- Time management / decision-making in critical moments. Several games show you dropping below a minute on the clock while pieces are still on the board. That increases blunders and missed wins; prioritize where to spend extra seconds.
- Handling minor-piece exchanges: sometimes you accept simplifying trades that leave you with passive pawns or a worse king position. Before simplifying, check the resulting pawn structure and active squares for the pieces remaining.
- Specific opening weak spots: your Slav and Italian mini-sample show below-50% performance — either tighten your theory there or steer games toward your stronger lines (Petrov / French / Alapin).
Concrete examples from recent games
- Win vs Adam Gibała — you executed coordinated rook and queen pressure and finished with a decisive rook capture (Rxc6#). Good pattern: activate heavy pieces on open files, then convert with a tactical blow. (Replay key moments below.)
- Loss vs Lương Vũ Nguyễn — the game reached a pawn endgame where your king stopped short of central squares and the opponent's king marched to c3. In blitz, step back and ask: "Is my king active enough to stop passed pawns?"
- Loss vs iliachess2007 — sharp tactical sequence early; avoid dropping material near the edge of safety (watch for tactics around trapped queens/king walks after opening imbalances).
Replay the win vs PolishForce3000 (key final moves shown here):
Targeted training plan (next 4 weeks)
- Endgame blocks (3 × 25-minute sessions per week): king-and-pawn endings, key rook endgames, and opposition technique. Drill: 10 basic K+P vs K positions, 10 Lucena/Rook vs pawn setups each session.
- Tactics & patterns (daily 10–20 minutes): focus on mating nets, back-rank, skewers and deflection. In blitz these motifs win or lose games quickly.
- Practical blitz habits (2 sessions/week): play 15–20 5|0 or 3|0 games but apply a strict clock rule — reserve 12–15 seconds extra on moves that change pawn structure or trade queens.
- Opening maintenance (weekly): keep the lines you score with (Petrov, French Advance, Alapin). For weaker lines (Slav, Italian) either cut the line short early or prepare one concrete sideline that avoids the opponent’s main ideas.
Concrete, quick improvements to apply in your next session
- Three-question checklist before each move in time trouble: 1) Is my king safe? 2) Is any piece hanging? 3) Which captures change the pawn structure? If unsure, spend the extra 5–10s here.
- When ahead in material, simplify if the resulting endgame is one you’ve drilled — otherwise avoid simplification that hands opponent counterplay.
- On the clock: use increments (if any) to win one more key tempo after trades. If no increment, pick one "critical moment" per game to spend more time (e.g., when pawn structure changes or queens come off).
- Post-game: after each loss, immediately write down the decisive mistake in one sentence (e.g., “I let the opponent's king invade the queenside pawn run”). That simple habit accelerates learning.
Opening & study recommendations
- Keep and deepen what works: continue building your Petrov's Defense and French Defense: Advance Variation repertoires — they produce comfortable middlegames for you.
- For the Slav / Italian lines (lower win rates), either prepare one safe sideline to avoid early complications or steer the game into structures you like (e.g., exchange into same-side pawn structures).
- Study 10–15 model games in each strong opening so you recognize typical piece placements and pawn breaks quickly — that saves time in blitz.
Short-term goals (next month)
- Raise your practical conversion: +50% success on converting a one-pawn or one-piece advantage in training games (track via practice sessions).
- Reduce time scrambles: keep fewer than two games per session with under 20s remaining when more than 6 pieces are still on the board.
- Play 3 longer games (15+10 rapid) to practice technique you can reuse in blitz endgames.
Final note
You have strong openings and a good tactical nose — use those strengths to win the middlegame and then convert reliably by practicing targeted endgames and tightening your blitz clock habits. If you want, I can create a 4-week training schedule tailored to your weekly availability and pick specific endgame positions and tactics problems to work on.