Aman Hambleton GM

Hi Aman!

Great work lately—your play still carries that trademark creativity and fighting spirit. After going through your most-recent batch of blitz games I’ve singled out a few themes that can help convert more of those winning positions and trim the occasional slip-ups.

What’s working well

• Structured London set-ups – With White you’re scoring heavily in the Bf4 lines. Your piece placement is crisp and you’re consistently seizing central breaks (…e5 / dxc5 ideas) at exactly the right moment.
  Keep: the rapid development plan Qb3, Rb1 vs …Qb6 is forcing opponents into unfamiliar territory early.
• Conversion technique – In the win vs Arthur Guo you steered a pawn-up rook endgame flawlessly, never giving counter-play.
• Resilience in inferior positions – Several wins started a pawn down yet you kept pieces active and posed practical problems until the tide turned.

Key areas to target next

1. Time management
   • Four of the six losses were on the clock while still roughly equal or even better. Consider adding micro-pauses after move 15 to build a time reserve.
   • Drill 3-minute “defensive puzzles” to sharpen rapid blunder-checking under 10-second increments.
2. Owens/Scandinavian flexibility
   • In the 1…b6 games, the early …Bb4 ideas allowed White to gain tempi with c3 & d4–d5 (see loss to Arthur Guo). Have a second move-order ready: 1…b6 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 Nf6 4.e3 c5 delaying …Bb4 until the knight hits c6.
   • In the Scandinavian, the line 3…Qe5⁺ is tricky but if White plays accurately you end up slightly passive. Test the classical 3…Qa5 or even the modern …Qd6 to keep the queen safer.
3. Handling passed pawns in time scrambles
   • Two defeats arose after missing “runaway” pawns (a6–a7 & h-pawns). Between moves 25-35 make a conscious sweep: “Any pawn I cannot stop in two moves?” • Practical tip: when both sides queen, immediate perpetual-check setups often exist; rehearse typical patterns.

Quick tactical snapshot

Review this moment (diagram right before 22.Rxd7!!) from your loss to Papa12341234—a great example of how fast the position can collapse if the queen is side-lined.

Even in your pet defenses, keep an eye on loose back-rank pieces before launching flank play.

Suggested training block (2 weeks)

• Daily 15-minute sprint on Only-Moves puzzles to ingrain forcing lines.
• Play 10 practice games with 1…b6 but restrict yourself from playing …Bb4 before move 6. Note resulting middlegames.
• Endgame ladder: rook + passer vs rook (tablebase drill, 20 positions/night).

Progress tracker

Keep an eye on your own data—they rarely lie!

Peak blitz so far: 2941 (2022-12-21) —let’s aim to add 20 points by next month.

Final thought

Your attacking instincts are GM-level; pairing them with iron-clad time management and one or two safer black options will nudge that conversion rate up noticeably. Looking forward to the next batch of highlight reels!

–Coach