Coach Chesswick
Quick summary
Gehua — you show strong attacking instincts and an excellent opening record in some systems, but recent rapid games expose recurring issues in the late middlegame and endgame (passed pawns, queen activity and occasional tactical oversights). Below I list what you’re doing well, the patterns causing losses, and a compact training plan you can start now.
What you do well (strengths)
- Active piece play and counterplay — you create threats and use rooks/queens effectively to invade the enemy position (see the successful conversion vs antonmiglo in the Caro‑Kann line).
- Opening preparation — your results show very high win rates with several openings (for example Amazon Attack and Sicilian Defense). You win cleanly from the opening more often than most players at your level.
- Tactical vision in sharp positions — you convert passed pawns and coordinate pieces to force resignations rather than relying only on long technical wins.
Recurring problems to fix
- Late middlegame / endgame defense: you sometimes allow opponent passed pawns (especially on the a‑file) or fail to stop pawn rollouts after exchanges. This was decisive in a recent loss where the advancing a‑pawn became fatal.
- Tactical oversights when simplifying: after trades you occasionally miss a follow‑up tactic by your opponent (forks, queen checks and skewers). Double‑check king safety when simplifying.
- Exchange decisions: sometimes you trade into endgames where the opponent’s pawn structure (or a far advanced passer) becomes stronger — be stricter about when to exchange rooks/queens if it hands them a clear pawn passer.
- Practical conversion: you create good threats but occasionally don’t choose the most precise finishing sequence (small inaccuracies allow opponents to survive longer or counterattack).
Concrete, immediate drills (next 2 weeks)
- Tactics: 20–30 minutes daily focused on forks, skewers, discovered checks and mating patterns. Make a note of the motifs you miss most and repeat them.
- Endgames: two 30‑minute sessions a week on basic rook endings and king+pawn vs king (stop the a‑ or passed pawn; practice cutting off the king and the Lucena/Rozanova ideas).
- Game review habit: after each rapid game, spend 10–15 minutes doing a quick post‑mortem. Find the one turning move (blunder/inaccuracy) and ask: “Could I have forced simplification, kept a piece on an active square, or blocked a passer?”
- Play one 15|+10 game every other day and force yourself to spend at least 2 minutes on critical moves — practice converting without rushing.
One-page checklist to use in-game
- Before any queen/rook trade: evaluate opponent passed pawns and pawn structure — will the trade help or hurt your defensive task?
- Before each move ask: does this increase my king safety or create a new passer for my opponent?
- After a tactical sequence: count attackers and defenders on the critical square(s). If numbers don’t match, re‑calculate one extra move deeper.
- If the position becomes messy and you have less time: simplify only if the resulting endgame is clearly better or drawn for you.
Targeted opening notes
- Keep playing the systems where your WinRate is high — you’re doing well with Amazon Attack and Sicilian Defense. Use those to steer the game into familiar pawn structures.
- For Caro-Kann Defense lines (you converted a passed pawn vs antonmiglo): review the common pawn breaks and standard square control to avoid positions where your opponent gets a fast central passer.
- Prepare 2–3 concrete plans for the most frequent reply your opponents play against your favored setups so you don’t spend too much time in the opening and can reach favorable middlegames comfortably.
Tactical/Strategic themes to practice
- Blocking and blockading passed pawns (rook/knight blockades).
- Counterplay vs outside passers — create counterpassers or active piece play rather than passive defense.
- Rook versus rook endgames — study simple examples where one pawn decides the outcome and learn Lucena and Philidor defense ideas.
Short study plan (4 weeks)
- Weeks 1–2: daily tactics + two 30‑minute endgame lessons. Review 10 recent losses and annotate the single recurring theme.
- Weeks 3–4: longer practice games (15|10), focus on converting advantages; run two post‑game analyses per week with engine only after your own thoughts.
- Reassess: pick one opening line to deepen and one endgame to master each month.
Example critical finish (recent win)
Here is the finishing sequence from your Caro‑Kann win where you advanced a passed pawn and forced decisive infiltration. Study how the pawn advance created tactical motifs and how your pieces coordinated to finish the game.
[[Pgn|29...e3|30.Nf3|30...e2|31.Ne1|31...Ng4|32.Rf3|32...Re7|33.g3|33...b5|34.Rf5|34...Kc7|35.Rxh5|35...Rf7|36.Kg2|36...Ne3+|37.Kh3|37...Rf1|orientation|black|fen|8/p1k3p1/2p5/1p5R/1P1P3P/2P1n1PK/P3p3/4Nr2|autoplay|false]Final quick tips
- When you create a passer, assign one piece to shepherd it — don’t let it become your opponent’s target.
- Use a five‑question blunder check on every move when your clock is below 2 minutes (checks, captures, hanging pieces, discovered attacks, back‑rank threats).
- Keep the momentum: your rating trend shows strong long‑term growth. Fixing these recurring endgame/tactical leaks will push your rapid win rate back up quickly.
If you’d like, I can (1) run a short annotated review of any one of these recent games, or (2) build a 2‑week tactic + endgame training schedule you can follow daily. Which would you prefer?