Aniceto Sarmiento

Overview of your blitz progress

You’ve shown a broad and aggressive playing style in blitz with a strong willingness to seize initiative. The data indicates you’ve faced some tough swings in short timeframes, with recent periods showing a drop in rating. This can be common in blitz as pressure mounts and opponents push sharper lines. The goal now is to tighten decision-making under time and convert more of your dynamic positions into clean wins.

What you’re doing well

• Active piece activity and willingness to complicate positions when you have the initiative.
• Good use of tactical ideas in middlegames to create practical chances for an underdog or equal position.
• Ability to maintain energy and keep fighting in longer blitz sessions, which helps in learning from mistakes rather than resigning early.
• Solid opening choices to reach balanced middlegames in several common lines, giving you chances to outplay opponents in the right moments.

Key areas to improve in blitz

• Time management and clock discipline: Guard against spending excessive time on complex lines in the opening and middlegame. Use fixed time milestones to ensure you have a plan for the endgame.
• Blunder avoidance and verification: In fast games, a single tactical misstep can swing the result. Build a quick “checklist” before critical captures (threats, recaptures, safety of the king, and back-rank vulnerabilities).
• Consistent endgames: Blitz often ends in simplified positions. Practice common endgame patterns (king activity, opposite-colored bishops, rook endings) to convert advantages more reliably.
• Opening consolidation: Focus on 2–3 openings you know well, so you reach comfortable middlegames more often and reduce risky, unsound lines.

Opening plan for blitz

Based on your openings performance, you do well with solid, practical lines that lead to balanced middlegames (examples include certain lines in the Scotch Game and Petrov’s Defense). Consider adopting a compact 2–3 opening repertoire you can play confidently in most blitz games, with clear plan ideas for each. Prioritize lines that give you comfortable middlegames, good piece activity, and clear defensive structure.

Two-week practice plan

• Day 1–2: Tactics focus (15–20 minutes) to sharpen pattern recognition for blitz decisions.
• Day 3–4: Opening deep-dive on 2 favorite lines; build a simple move-order guide and key middlegame ideas.
• Day 5–6: 3 one-hour blitz sessions with post-game review; identify 2 recurring mistakes and implement fixes.
• Day 7: Rest or light review; run a quick endgame drill (king and pawn endings, rook endings).
• Repeat with a new pair of lines in week 2, reinforcing the same decision-making process.

Practical in-game reminders

• Always check the safety of your king after each exchange; if you’re unsure, step back two moves and verify the threats.
• When you feel a position is unclear, switch to a simple plan (active piece play, central control, or a straightforward pawn push) rather than chasing a complicated tactical sequence.
• Before critical moments, commit to a quick plan for the next 3–4 moves and stick to it unless you see a forcing transformation.
• After each game, review at least the top 3 most consequential mistakes and note a concrete fix for the next session.

Opening recommendations (quick start)

To strengthen consistency, practice these two tweaks: - Scotch Game as White: use the solid, straightforward development paths to reach comfortable middlegames more often. - Petrov’s Defense as Black: reinforces solid structure and reduces early tactical risk, helping you avoid sharp traps in blitz.

Want a tailored follow-up?

If you’d like, I can generate a focused plan using a specific set of recent games to annotate critical moments and propose concrete, move-by-move improvements. You can share or request a tailored PGN review. aniceto%20sarmiento