AtrophiedCrazyhouse NM

Hi AtrophiedCrazyhouse!

You have an exciting, tactical style that often puts practical pressure on your opponents – and your peak rating of 2589 (2018-05-11) shows it pays off! Below is a balanced review based on your latest games.

What you’re doing well

• Creativity in the opening. The early h-pawn thrusts (1.h4 / …h5) frequently drag opponents out of theory and into unfamiliar territory.
• Tactical awareness. Your win vs Vadim_Yumakhuzhin ended with a picturesque mate:
  
  .
• Fighting spirit. Even when the position is objectively messy you keep generating threats, which converts into many time-forfeiture wins.

Opportunities for improvement

• Time management. Four of the last five losses were on the clock. Try building an opening “speed-shelf” (predefined moves you can blitz out safely) and use the saved seconds for critical middlegame moments.
• King safety after flank pawn pushes. Games vs Nguoihatrong and T0B3RMOR3Y show that the weakened squares g6/g7 (or g3/g2) become entry points once queens appear. Consider delaying …h5 / h4 until after basic development or having a concrete follow-up.
• Endgame technique. In the rdclayton loss you reached a drawable rook-and-pawn ending but let it slip under time pressure. Sharpen your “technical autopilot” with a daily dose of rook-endgame drills.
• Central control. Several early …b5/b4 or …Rh5 ideas left the d- and e-files to White. A simple …d5 or …e6 first would keep the centre solid while you prepare the flank play.

Quick game-by-game notes

• vs Nguoihatrong – 17…Rh5 looks active, but it disconnected the rooks and cost tempos. A quieter 17…0-0 keeps the h-file idea in reserve while finishing development.
• vs rdclayton – When the queens came off, your plan should shift from attack to pawn-structure & king activity. You spent tempi pushing pawns instead of centralising the king and rook.
• vs Vadim_Yumakhuzhin – Excellent conversion! You doubled rooks on the 7th and calculated accurately. File this in your “model games” folder.

Action plan for the next two weeks

1. Daily endgame workout: 10 rook + pawn studies on a trainer; aim to solve each within 60 seconds.
2. Opening discipline drill: Play five games per session with a “no pawn past the 4th rank before move 5” rule. This forces you to develop pieces first.
3. Clock control habit: Check remaining time every five moves and commit to moving within 10 seconds in non-critical positions.
4. Review streak chart: After each session glance at
   and
   to spot patterns (e.g., are late-night games costing points?).

Key concepts to revisit

Prophylaxis, Zugzwang and the “principle of two weaknesses” will complement your attacking skill with positional depth.

Keep the creativity, add a layer of structure, and your rating ceiling will rise quickly. Good luck, and have fun refuting mainstream theory your own way!