Coach Chesswick
Hi Roberto!
Great job maintaining a high win-rate against strong opposition. Below is feedback distilled from your last dozen rapid games.
Your Key Strengths
- Creative attacking play. The 38-move win over Artur Farias Lopes featured a model rook-lift (Rh3–g3–g1) and the instructive queen sacrifice sequence 33.Qh5 a5 34.R1g2… 38.Qxh7# – a nice illustration of coordination. ()
- Flexible opening choices. You handle Réti/English systems with both colors, often steering play into structures you understand well (double-fianchetto, Neo-Grünfeld, Queen’s Indian).
- Tactical alertness in complex positions. Games vs
domenico-84andsujeetksinha1show you pouncing on loose back-rank or uncoordinated pieces. - Good fighting spirit. Several wins came from worse or equal middlegames where you outplayed opponents in complications or time pressure.
Recurring Problems
- Early pawn grabbing with Black. Losses vs
gsapkarmkandpunter99share the motif …Qxb2/Qxb3 followed by tactical punishment. Ask “What is my opponent’s next move?” before taking side-pawns. - Handling of central tension. In the Modern Defense loss, White’s e5 Nd6 Nd4 break exploited your passive …d6–c6 setup. Review structures where …e5 or …c5 is required sooner.
- Time management in won positions. Two defeats came by flagging from +2 or better (Catalan vs
ialonsoal, marathon French endgame). Allocate time to convert, not only to build the advantage.
Opening Priorities
- Modern / Pirc set-ups (Black). Study model plans after 5.Bc4/5.Bb3. Aim for …d5 or …e5 breaks and beware of ♘c4/♘b5 jumps. Annotate 10-15 reference games.
- Anti-London & Anti-Jobava systems. Replace quick …b5 with solid schemes (…cxd4 …♘c6 …d6) so that the queen is not lured to b6.
- Endgames from the French Advance (both colours). Your longest games arise here; a sharper endgame blueprint will save both time and energy.
Targeted Training Plan
| Focus | Method | Weekly Dose |
|---|---|---|
| Convert winning positions | Play out +3 engine positions vs 2600 bot on 10 min + 5 | 5 games |
| Central pawn breaks | Solve 20 thematic puzzles (…d5/…e5 strikes) & annotate 3 GM games | 2 hrs |
| Modern Defense repertoire | Build a mini file with your move order notes | 1 hr prep + 5 blitz tests |
Numbers at a Glance
Peak rapid rating: 2453 (2024-06-17)
Best hours to play:
Win-rate trend:
Next Steps
- Review each loss for one critical moment and add it to a personal “Never Again” file.
- During games, do a two-move blunder check before pawn grabs on the flank.
- Practice spotting zwischenzug opportunities – many of your tactical wins use them; turning this into a habit will also help on defense.
Keep up the creative play, Roberto. With a bit more discipline in the early middlegame and clock, 2500 rapid is within reach!