Anaiy Somalwar NM

Hi Anaiy!

You’ve been playing a lot of sharp, high-paced games recently and your creativity is evident. Below is a coach’s snapshot of your current form, drawn from the latest batch of games.

Your Core Strengths

• Active opening play – when you get the first move you’re comfortable in both 1.d4 and 1.e4 structures, usually grabbing the initiative early.
• Tactical alertness – the recent win with 28.Bxf7⁺ shows how quickly you spot tactical shots, even with little time on the clock.
• Practical time handling – many of your victories come from putting the opponent under clock pressure while keeping enough reserve to finish the game yourself.
• Resourceful defence – in worse positions you often create counter-threats (…Qd2+, …Rc8, etc.) so the opponent has to earn the win.

Key Improvement Areas

1. Black repertoire vs. London-type systems
   In four of the recent losses you answered 3.Bf4 with …d5-e6-Bd6-c5-Nc6.
   • The early …Bd6xc5 often hands White the bishop pair and a safe king.
   • White’s typical plan (Qh3, g4-g5, h4-h5) exploited your dark-square weaknesses.
   ➜ Suggestion: Test a more solid setup (…c5, Qb6 or the immediate …Bf5). Build a mini-repertoire file and blitz through it on Lichess/Chessable for two weeks.
2. Converting technical endgames
   A few wins were on time where the position was still tricky. Conversely, you defended a lost K vs. B+N ending until mate.
   ➜ Work through Bishop & Knight mate and Rook vs. Minor piece drills. Aim for 50 flawless reps each on Chess.com’s drills module.
3. Maintaining king safety in closed centres
   In the 26-move resignation (…Qa5 → …Qa7 → …Qb8) your queen travelled while your king stayed in the firing line of Qh3.
   ➜ Add a “prophylaxis” checkpoint to your move-selection routine: ask “What’s my opponent’s next threat?” before every move. This catches quiet dangers like zwischenzug moves.
4. Time-scramble precision
   When the increment is 2 seconds you sometimes premove tactical sequences that aren’t forced (see 32…Be2? in a loss).
   ➜ Bullet drill: set a 10-minute timer and play “only increment games” with 2 + 2, focusing on never premoving unless the move is 100 % forced.

Opening & Middlegame Snapshot

Here’s the critical turning point from your latest win. Replay it once, then cover the board and explain why 28.Bxf7⁺ works – you’ll memorise the pattern far better than by passive review:

Progress Tracker

Your peak blitz rating so far: 2417 (2024-03-17). Keep an eye on the following charts to spot form swings:

Weekly Training Plan (2 hrs total)

Final Thought

Your attacking instincts are excellent; pairing them with a tighter defensive shell will push you well beyond your current 2417 (2024-03-17). Keep the board lively, trust your calculation, and give your king just a little more love.

Good luck and enjoy the grind!