Quick summary — Anthony F Ker
Nice run of rapid wins — your opening choices and attacking instincts are clearly paying off. Your repertoire (Closed Sicilian / Pterodactyl / Scotch and several 100%+ lines) is producing practical, winning positions. Below are focused observations and a short plan you can follow to keep improving.
What you do well
- Reliable opening repertoire — you get comfortable middlegames out of the Closed Sicilian and related lines. Keep using the systems that score for you (Closed Sicilian).
- Sharp tactical awareness in the middlegame — you convert tactical chances quickly (see the short tactical win where you picked up material and forced resignation; review the variation from the Center Game for a model conversion).
- Good attacking sequencing — you often open lines on the kingside and then coordinate heavy pieces (queens/rooks) to decisive effect.
- Strong practical results — consistent wins across many openings show your practical play and repertoire familiarity are strengths.
Key areas to improve
- Time management — in several games your clock got low. You still win, but avoid recurring time trouble: practice keeping 30–60 seconds on the clock in critical middlegames so you don’t blunder under pressure.
- Middlegame planning / prophylaxis — you win tactically, but sometimes opponent counterplay appears (advanced pawns, piece activity). Before launching an attack, check for opponent counterthreats and escape squares for their king.
- Convert small advantages in quiet endgames — your results are excellent, but sometimes winning chances are left on the board in long endgames. A structured endgame checklist will help (piece activity > pawn moves, look for opposition/critical squares).
- Move-order and simplification judgement — you occasionally trade into positions where opponent gets counterplay (or where your attacking momentum stalls). Be selective about simplifying when you have the initiative.
Concrete 4-week practice plan
- Daily tactics (15–20 minutes): focus on pins, forks, skewers, sacrifices that open king-files. Make two puzzle sessions per day with increasing difficulty.
- Two annotated games per week (30–60 min each): pick a recent win and a close win/loss. Annotate candidate moves — then compare to an engine and write down one recurring mistake you see.
- Time-control training: play 5+3 rapid sessions focusing on keeping at least 45 seconds at move 20. If you’re flagging, add 10 games of 10+0 to practice faster calculation without increment.
- Endgame fundamentals (twice a week, 20–30 min): rook endgames and king+pawn basics — learn Lucena/Breton/Lop chess checklists to convert advantages reliably.
Practical tips for your next games
- Before committing to a pawn storm (g4/g5 in your Closed Sicilian play), ask: “Does my king have escape squares? Can the opponent open lines against my king?”
- When you trade into an endgame, pause one extra move to evaluate activity of rooks and passed pawns — activity often outweighs material.
- If you have the initiative, prefer to keep queens on the board when they help hunting the enemy king — only exchange if it clearly improves your conversion chances.
- Use one short recurring pre-move routine during time trouble: take a deep breath, flag your top 3 candidate moves, and play the safest reasonable one — reduces mouse slip / panic errors.
Example positions from your recent games
Short tactical finish — model conversion from a Center Game quick win (13 moves). Open the sequence below to step through the motif where you win material with a queen grab and simplify to a winning end.
Viewer:
Typical mating finish — a game where you created a kingside net and delivered mate quickly (example). Study the coordination between queen and rook to finish.
Viewer:
Next steps — short checklist before your next session
- Warm up with 10 tactical puzzles (focus motif: forks/pins).
- Play two 10+0 or three 5+3 rapid games concentrating on not letting the clock drop below 30s at move 20.
- Review one won and one lost game from that session — write two takeaways each.
- Keep using your high-success openings; add 2 new anti-lines to your repertoire to handle sideline surprises.
References & quick links
Openings to keep practicing: Closed Sicilian, Center Game, and your Pterodactyl/Scotch lines — these are strong for you according to your openings performance.
Want a deeper review of any single game? Paste the full PGN and I’ll give a focused move-by-move critique and a 6-move improvement plan for that game.