Volodymyr Yaniuk NM

Volodymyr, here’s a personalised performance review

1. What you are doing well

• Dynamic pawn storms. In many of your recent wins (e.g. against krzychu225 and abellanaa_pcap), the quick h-pawn push followed by Rxh5 and Qxh5 created immediate attacking chances. This shows excellent grasp of initiative-based chess.
• Piece activity out of the opening. You consistently develop with tempo (Nc3, Bg5/Bf4, h4) and castle long, enabling fast rook lifts to the h-file.
• Tactical alertness. Your miniature versus Baki finished with 50.Rh4# — a nice mating net (see the replay below).
  
  
  

2. Key areas for improvement

• Time management (critical!). Five of the six listed losses are on time. • Enter each game with a target reserve (e.g. ⩾10 s) and make a “move-now, calculate-later” decision when your clock hits that limit. • Think on your opponent’s time; start calculating candidate moves as soon as they pause.
  • Practise safe premove sequences in won positions to avoid flagging.
• Balancing aggression with safety. In the loss to gajardo your kingside pawn rush left g1-a7 diagonals loose and you never caught up in development. Before launching h-pawn storms, run a quick checklist: 1. King secured? 2. Centre stable? 3. Pieces ready to join the attack?
• Endgame conversion. The game vs madmaxpayne26 reached a better rook endgame yet still flagged. Study practical endgames with “side-to-move” drills; the basic Philidor/Lucena positions will help you convert faster.
• Handling central pawn breaks. Several defeats came after missing a …d5 or …e5 hit (see the Reti/King’s Indian Attack game against Oksana Golubeva). Add 20 minutes of centre-break themed puzzles to your routine so those patterns become automatic.

3. Opening snapshot

Your repertoire is built around 1.d4 with an early Bf4 / Nc3 & h4-h5 thrust, and as Black you favour Modern/King’s Indian set-ups (…g6, …Bg7). That’s perfectly coherent, but consider:

• Adding a solid back-up line (e.g. London System without h4) for when the opponent delays …g6.
• Preparing a crisp reply to 1.e4 beyond the Modern; occasionally choose the French or Sicilian to widen your pattern library.

4. Training menu for the next two weeks

1. Clock discipline drill – 10 blitz games where you must move before dropping under 20 s; resign the game if you fail. This hard-wires good habits.
2. Tactical reps – 40 puzzles/day filtered for “initiative vs defence” motifs.
3. Endgame speed-run – Solve 30 basic rook-pawn endgames against an engine set to 5 s/move.
4. Opening refresh – Build a one-page aide-mémoire for each side of the board with the critical central break positions and your prepared rejoinders.

5. Quick stats & trends

Peak blitz rating: 2726 (2020-03-11)
Your win rate is highest on weekday evenings — see charts below for confirmation.

6. Mindset tip

Most of your losses happen with a material advantage but clock deficit. Consciously remind yourself: “A +3 position is worth zero if the clock says 0.0.” Prioritise safe, fast moves in winning positions.

Keep up the momentum!

With firmer time handling and a touch more opening variety, you’re well on track for the next rating jump. Good luck, and see you on the board!