Andrey Drygalov GM

Overall Performance and Rating Progress

Andrey, over the past several months, your strength adjusted win rate stands around 50.2%, which is solid in competitive blitz play. Your recent rating changes show a positive upward trajectory over 1 to 3 months with a +46 to +49 increase, reflecting effective improvement and good results recently.

However, over the past 6 months, there is a negative rating trend of -51 points and a downward slope, indicating some inconsistency or setbacks during that period. It's encouraging to see that the shorter-term trends are positive, suggesting your recent training and play are moving in the right direction.

Strengths from Recent Games

• You demonstrate strong opening preparation and understanding, as evidenced by confident choices in openings such as the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack and Trompowsky Attack.
• Your tactical vision and calculation in complex middlegame positions are clear, allowing you to capitalize on opponents' inaccuracies swiftly, particularly in active positions.
• You show good endgame technique, especially converting small advantages and winning critical pawn endgames under time pressure.
• Positive rating trends over 1 and 3 months indicate growing consistency and better game management recently.

Areas to Focus On for Improvement

• Opening Consistency: While your openings are varied and aggressive, sometimes early inaccuracies have led to difficult positions. Focusing on solidifying key opening lines and familiarizing yourself with typical plans can raise your confidence and reduce early mistakes.
• Time Management: Some games ended due to clock pressure or slips in complex positions. Prioritize effective time distribution during blitz games, ensuring critical decisions have adequate thought and avoiding unnecessary time scrambles.
• Midgame Strategy: Improving positional understanding, especially in closed or maneuvering situations, will help maintain advantage and avoid losing the initiative.
• Defending Tough Positions: Increasing your resilience when under pressure by exploring defensive techniques and fortress concepts could reduce losses in seemingly difficult spots.

Suggested Next Steps

• Analyze your losses in detail, especially the endgame positions where victories slipped away, to identify missed defensive resources and improve technique.
• Work on a focused opening repertoire that suits your style, emphasizing typical pawn structures and key tactics within those systems.
• Practice blitz games with a clock, aiming to maintain steady time consumption across phases, perhaps using training tools to simulate time pressure scenarios.
• Study classic games involving your preferred openings and endgames to deepen strategic knowledge and tactical alertness.
• Consider training with a coach or using chess engines to review critical moments and explore alternative plans.

Resources and Further Analysis

Review your recent games on Chess.com with a focus on these example games:

• Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack Classical Variation win
• Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange loss with a close endgame
• London System game — tips for strategic improvement

Continuing to analyze these and other games with an engine will help reinforce your improvements and highlight new areas to work on.