Felix Hindermann FM

Hi Felix, here’s a report on your recent games

What’s going well

• Tactical alertness. Your most-recent win (Alapin Sicilian) ended with the neat sequence 19.Rxd5 exd5 20.Nf5 … 21.Qxg7#. Spotting that …Qxg7 is impossible because the f5-knight guards g7 shows good calculation.
• Dynamic pawn levers on the flank. The h-pawn “hook” (h4–h5) features in four of your last six victories and frequently rips open kingside files for your bishops and rooks.
• Opening range. You handle both 1.e4 and 1.d4, reply to 1.e4 with French/…b6 systems, and as Black meet 1.d4 with Dutch ideas and early …Bb4 English-Defence setups. This makes you hard to prepare for.
• Peak strength. Congratulations on reaching 2670 (2023-05-28) recently!

Recurring issues

• Time management. Three of your last five losses were on time in equal or even better positions. Blitz feels fast, but try glancing at the clock every 2–3 moves. A simple mental cue—“move, clock, opponent, board”—can help.
• Drift in simplified endings. In the Torre Attack loss you reached a pleasant position (♖c1 + pressure vs. c-pawn) yet drifted after 25…f5–f4. Converting small advantages is mainly about king activity and avoid-the-weak-square principles—worth a study session.
• Over-committed pawn pushes. The Dutch game vs. ThedoubleH showed …f5/f4/f5 again, but the dark-square weaknesses on e5 & g5 became fatal. Review the concept of color_complex; sometimes restraining the f-pawn keeps your structure healthier.
• Neglecting counterplay against passed pawns. In the English-Defense loss you allowed b6–b5–b4–b5! to roll down the board. When your opponent gets a b- or h-file runner, immediately decide: blockade, create a passed pawn elsewhere, or liquidate.

Action plan for the next two weeks

1. Clock discipline drill. Play five 3|2 games where you force yourself to have ≥60 % of the starting time after move 15. Track progress in
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2. Conversion practice. Load five winning but technical positions into an engine and play them out vs. the computer at depth-limited settings. Focus on king centralisation and pawn majority marches.
3. “Healthy Dutch” playlist. Revisit classic games by Short & Malaniuk to see restrained …f5 structures—notice how they prepare …e5 first.
4. Endgame book. Spend 15 min/day with Chapter 2 of Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual (on rook endings with a passed h-pawn) and test yourself with at least three studies.
5. Sparring partner outreach. Challenge Alex King for a thematic rematch from move 20 of your last game; play it twice (once each side) and compare notes.

Quick reference of key ideas to review

• Weak color complexes color_complex
• Intermediate moves Zwischenzug
• Minor-piece endgames with outside passers

Keep track of progress

Good luck, Felix—keep the tactics sharp, manage the clock, and those 2300+ blitz points will turn into 2400 before long!