Angelika Valkova

Angelika “AngelikaCan” Valkova – Personal Training Feedback

Quick Snapshot

• Current peak blitz rating: 2374 (2021-04-28).
• Activity patterns:
   
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What You Already Do Well

1. Dynamic Pawn Play. Your recent win vs elpistolero51 shows excellent use of g-pawn pushes and rook lifts to pry open the king (g4–g5, Rh3, Rc7+).
   
   
2. Tactical Awareness. You rarely miss double-attacks and forks under 3-minute time pressure.
3. Opening Variety. From Slav Exchange with White to Vienna and Two-Knights with Black, you are willing to step outside theory and reach playable middlegames quickly.

Growth Areas

1. Endgame Conversion. Three of your last five losses happened after move 35 with material still level or better for you (e.g. loss vs artemsmp).
   
   • Work on technical endings: rook & pawn vs rook, converting extra passed pawns, and basic king activity principles.
2. Time Management. When you drop below 15 seconds your accuracy plummets by ~25 %. You often spend half your clock in the opening (average 70 s by move 10). » Adopt a 15 / 15 / 15 rule: 15 % of your time for opening, 15 % for conversion, keep 15 % as a safety buffer.
3. Prophylaxis & Retreat Squares. Several defeats feature pieces over-extended with no retreat (e.g. Benko game vs Yana137 where 22.g4? 25…h6! locked your own pawns). » Before every pawn push ask: “What squares will my piece need two moves later?”
4. Black Repertoire vs 1.e4. In the loss vs Artemsmp your Ruy-Lopez setup (…a6, …dxc6, …Rd8) left you passive. Consider adding a more dynamic choice such as the Marshall Attack or the Open Spanish.

Targeted Training Plan (4-Week Cycle)

Next Steps

• Upload three recent self-annotated games to our shared workspace each Friday.
• During coaching call we will deep-dive into exchange sacrifices & defensive resources — critical for your aggressive style.
• Keep a journal of why you made each pawn push; we will look for recurring patterns.

Stay ambitious, keep the board on fire, but remember: a quiet zugzwang can be as beautiful as a queen sacrifice!

Coach