Andrey Ivanov CM

Hi Andrey!

Congrats on reaching 2498 (2025-06-10) and on an impressive string of wins in the latest Titled Tuesday. I have reviewed your most recent games (both wins and losses) and compiled targeted advice that should help you convert even more of those promising positions into points.

1. Time-management first

Three of the last four losses (e.g. vs Vasiliy Lyakh) came from the clock rather than the board. In blitz you don’t have to find the best move every turn—just a good one quickly:

• Adopt a “safety-move” routine: if your clock dips below 20 s, make a solid move (king safety, central pawn, or simple recapture) in under two seconds to harvest the increment.
• Play short bullet sessions once or twice a week to train mouse speed and premove discipline.
• During analysis, take note of moves that cost you >15 s and ask, “Was that really critical?” ‑-Often it wasn’t.

2. Tactical alertness

The defeat against Andres Ferriz Barrios swung on the passer …d2! followed by a zwischenzug check. Regular mixed-theme puzzles (+ Puzzle Rush score 35) will sharpen your radar for:

• Passed-pawn pushes combined with queen checks
• Loose back-rank squares (…Qe5+ in the same game)
• Exchange sacs on g3/g6 that appear in your Sicilian/Slav structures

3. King safety & pawn structure

Early flank pawn storms (…g5/h5 in the QGD vs Robin_cool or 19…h5 vs Bryantman2014) left holes you couldn’t patch later. Before advancing wing pawns ask:

“Does this fix my worst piece or create new targets?”

If it’s the latter—hold the pawn and improve piece coordination first.

4. Opening refinement

• With White: Your 1.Nf3/2.d4 repertoire is solid; add one surprise weapon (Jobava London or Catalan) so opponents can’t prepare the same Slav set-ups every round.
• Against 1.e4: In the Canal attack (B52) consider an early …e6 and …Nge7 to break with …d5 sooner, removing the only static weakness (d6).
• Against the English: The …b6 set-up yields passive queenside positions. Test the symmetrical 1…c5 or even 1…e5 lines—both score well in blitz.

5. Endgame polish

The marathon loss to Bryantman2014 showed hesitation in rook endings. Revisit the “big four” positions (Lucena, Philidor, front-vs-side pawn, Q vs R). If you can play them in <20 s you will save half a point every event.

6. Keep doing this!

• Excellent piece activity—as in the win vs Chessdreamer2020 where doubling on the c-file strangled White.
• Fearless willingness to sacrifice material for initiative—a valuable skill in blitz; just balance it with the structural cautions above.

Progress tracker

Use these built-in charts to spot patterns in your form:

Mini-lesson: passed-pawn tactics

Critical fragment from the Pachonpower game—note how a single pawn sprint decides the day:

Key take-away: block passed pawns from the front; side attacks rarely arrive in time.

Next steps (30-day plan)

1. Solve 25 tactical puzzles daily.
2. Play two 15 | 10 games each week and self-annotate within ten minutes of finishing.
3. Weekend: study one classical game in your opening repertoire and write three improvement notes.

Follow this routine and your blitz rating should comfortably climb above your current peak. Good luck, and see you at the board!