Hi Arian! 👋
Great work on your recent games—five wins out of the last six and a new personal best of 2792 (2024-02-23) are clear signs that the hard work is paying off.
At a glance
- When you win most often:
- Your luckiest weekdays:
What is working well
- Opening familiarity. Your trademark Nimzowitsch-Larsen (1.b3) consistently yields positions you understand better than your opponents—see the swift win against gmfrankenstein-dracula.
- Sharp tactical eye. The 23.Bc4! shot in the same game and the mating sequence versus pianopro32 show strong calculation under time pressure.
- Composure in low time. Finishing several games with <10 seconds demonstrates good clock handling for 3-minute blitz.
Recurring issues to fix
- Flank pawn pushes before the king is safe.
Against Amir Bagheri the advance 16.g4/17.h4 invited …e5–e4 and central counterplay while your king was still in the line of fire.
Prescription: Castle first, connect the rooks, then decide whether the kingside pawn storm is really necessary. - King’s Indian piece coordination.
Losses to Jan Seidl and dobbytheelfhouse featured pieces stepping on each other (…Nc5, …Bf5, …Rc8 without …b5).
Prescription: Drill standard KID manoeuvres: …Na6-c5, …a5-a4, …Bb7, and timely …c6/…b5 strikes. - Final blunder check in tactical positions.
In the defeat by lilillliliillilililillill both sides missed forced mates within two moves.
Prescription: Before releasing the mouse, spend 3-5 seconds on a “CCT scan” (Checks–Captures–Threats) for both players.
Diagnostic exercise
Study the moment that turned the game vs Amir Bagheri—can you find an improvement for White on move 18?
Opening menu for the next month
| Colour | Keep | Add (for flexibility) |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1.b3 repertoire | 1.c4 English to reach similar structures without committing the bishop too early |
| Black vs 1.e4 | (your current choice) | Caro-Kann—solid and instructive endgames |
| Black vs 1.d4 | King’s Indian | Slav or QGD as a quieter alternative when tactical energy is low |
One-week training plan (≈3 hours)
- 30 min: High-rated puzzles (>2400) emphasising forcing sequences.
- 45 min: Engine-assisted review of the three most recent losses; write one-sentence causes for each critical error.
- 45 min: Play mini-matches (5 + 0) starting from the diagnostic diagram—alternate colours.
- 1 hour: Watch two model King’s Indian games (Kasparov–Topalov 1999, Jones–Naiditsch 2014) focusing on queenside counterplay patterns.
Final thoughts
Your foundation is strong; ironing out these three recurrent issues will push you past the 2700-blitz mark soon. Stay disciplined with the blunder check, broaden the repertoire a little, and keep enjoying the game. Good luck in the next session!