Andreas Vogt FM

Andreas, here’s a focused review of your recent play

What you’re already doing well

• Dynamism in the center: In both your recent wins and losses you seize space with early ...d5 / ...dxc4 or d5 breaks. This keeps the initiative and often forces opponents to solve concrete problems.
• Piece activity & tactics: Tactical alertness is evident in combinations such as 27…Nxd4!! in your win vs zenosparadox. You spot intermediate moves and aren’t afraid to calculate complicated lines.
• Opening range: You comfortably handle Queen’s-Pawn structures as both colors and are not shy about flexible set-ups like the Benko or French. This variety makes you hard to prepare for.

Key improvement themes

1 – Time management (Zeitnot)

Three of the last five losses were on the clock while the position was playable. When you’re under 40 seconds, accuracy drops sharply (e.g. 32.Rcb1 & 33.Qh4?? vs Tonijo). Try:

• Adopt a “Bronstein buffer” – never dip below 20 sec per increment game unless you’re already winning.
• Use opening “pre-moves”: have go-to responses in familiar structures so early moves cost < 2 seconds each.
• Practice 1-minute “move-sprints” on harmless positions to train quick, safe moves.

2 – Defensive resourcefulness when worse

In the loss to Pestininkas123 a promising kingside pawn storm left your own king airy. When the attack fizzles, switch mindset from “attack” to “control”:

1. Identify the opponent’s only active plan.
2. Trade attacking pieces or create flight squares.
3. Use the clock gain from forcing moves to rebuild.

3 – Endgame conversion

Even in victories, winning techniques can be cleaner. Review:

• Rook vs rook + passer endings – your game vs pale_horse_rider was convincing, but a faster path existed (36…Bxd1!+ earlier).
• Minor-piece endgames with asymmetrical pawns (e.g. knights vs bishops). Drill fundamental positions so you rely less on over-the-board calculation.

4 – Opening polish

You often meet 1.d4 with Queen’s Gambit-style structures, then transpose into Benoni/Benko set-ups. Two suggestions:

• Add a simple, solid line against the English (1.c4) – in the loss to michael124667 the early …e6/…d5 French set-up was fine but you drifted. Study 8…c5 ideas sooner to equalize.
• White side: after 1.d4 b5 (Polish) you grabbed space but didn’t punish Black’s pawn moves quickly. Have a prepared line with early a4 & c3, keeping the center closed until you can open with e4-e5.

Action plan for the next two weeks

1. Daily puzzle rush (5 min) – sharpens tactical vision, especially under time pressure.
2. Endgame drill (10 min) – rook endgames with pawns on both wings; aim for 10 examples/day.
3. Opening flash cards (5 min) – choose one critical variation (e.g. Benko 8…c5 ideas) and memorise move order.
4. Play two 3 + 2 games applying the 20-second buffer rule, annotate them, and note how often you respected it.

Your peak ratings

Blitz 2502 (2020-04-03)  •  Rapid 2408 (2020-03-27)  •  Bullet 

Performance snapshots

For inspiration

Replay your crisp miniature against zenosparadox – focus on how early central tension turned into concrete tactics:

Keep combining your tactical eye with disciplined time use and you’ll break the next rating barrier soon. Good luck, and happy calculating!