Amelia Hernandez WFM

Hi Amelia!

Great job keeping your Rapid rating close to 2000 (2281 (2023-08-01)). Your recent games show steady progress, a healthy fighting spirit, and an interesting opening repertoire built around the London System and the Sicilian.

What you are already doing well

• Early initiative: You frequently gain time with forcing moves such as 8.Qxd8+ in your latest win (
  
  ).
• Rook activity: In multiple victories you doubled rooks on the 7th rank or along open files (e.g. 15.Rd5! and 16.Rhd1). That awareness is a big mid-game asset.
• Calculating tactics: You spot ideas like 10.Nb5! and 11.Nd6+ or 17.Nxe7+ followed by 20…Bd4+ as Black. Your tactical eye converts advantages convincingly when the clock allows.

Main growth areas

• Clock management: Four of your last seven losses were on time, often from winning or equal positions (vs. bata_bg, templar knight, etc.). Getting into critical positions with < 10 seconds left forces blunders or flagging.
• End-game technique: When games simplify (e.g. the rook endgame against professorkemper on 03 Jun) your conversion speed drops. Spending opening minutes more efficiently will leave precious time for technical endings.
• Pawn-break timing: Losses in the London often come after over-extending with g- and h-pawns (15.g4?! vs. theblindman1980). Choosing the right moment for an attack vs. improving pieces first will cut down on counter-play.

Practice plan for the next month

1. Clock discipline drill: Play 10 games of 3 + 2 focusing on staying above 60 % of your time by move 20. If you drop below, force yourself to make the next move instantly to rebuild the buffer.
2. Rook-and-pawn endings: Solve 5 end-game studies per day from a database or app. Pay special attention to active rook versus passive rook and the “cut-off king” principle.
3. Structured London repertoire: Add the classical 7.Nbd2 and 8.c3 setups to handle …c5 and …Nh5 ideas more safely. Review two GM model games each week.
4. Quiet move spotting: During tactics sessions set a 30-second “think before move” rule once per puzzle to train yourself to look for non-forcing resources, e.g., improvement moves, zugzwang (zugzwang).

When to study vs. play

Right now you are competitive in practical games, but a 70 % play / 30 % study split will help patch the end-game and time-trouble leaks. Build a mini-routine:

• Warm-up: 2 tactical puzzles (5 min).
• 1 rapid game (15 min + 10 s) applying the time-use targets.
• Immediate review with engine and coach notes (10 min).
• Every second day swap the game for 30 min end-game study.

Your performance snapshots

Use the charts below once a week to ensure you are moving in the right direction.

Final encouragement

You already beat strong 1900+ players on both sides of the board. By tightening your time usage and polishing technical endings you are poised to break 2100 soon. Keep the fighting spirit—and remember, technique + time converts advantages into points!