Zachary Tanenbaum FM

Recent blitz play: what stood out

You’ve shown a willingness to enter sharp, tactical middlegames and pressure the opponent’s king when the position opens up. In your win and some of your dynamic lines, you use piece activity and pawn storms to create practical chances quickly. There are also a few games where quiet, solid play or cleaner endgame technique would have been enough to convert advantages—these are the kinds of positions where blitz mistakes often slip in when time is tight.

Strengths to lean into

• Willingness to enter aggressive, tactical mazes and seek concrete targets. This can lead to decisive attacks when you sense initiative.
• Good instinct for piece activity and coordination in middlegames, which helps you create practical chances in sharp openings (for example, in lines related to your strongest openings).
• Resilience in defense when the position remains dynamic; you often find counterplay or resourceful ideas even after the opponent starts a direct attack.

Areas to improve

• Time management under blitz pressure. You sometimes commit to aggressive lines without fully verifying sequences, which can lead to missed resources or back-rank issues. Build a simple plan for the next few moves in critical positions and budget a few seconds for a quick check of tactics before committing.
• Candidate move generation. In complex middlegames you can benefit from explicitly considering 2–3 plausible plans before deciding on a line, rather than jumping to the first sharp idea that pops up.
• Endgame conversion. A few wins in which you convert advantages to a clean finish would strengthen your overall score in blitz. Regular endgame practice (rook endings, king and pawn endings) will pay off when the clock is tight.
• Opening consistency and repertoire curation. You perform very well in several aggressive lines, but some openings show higher risk in blitz. Narrow your repertoire to 2–3 reliable lines per color and study typical middlegame plans rather than chasing only tactical tricks.

Opening insights and practical recommendations

Your openings data shows strong results in the following lines, which you can leverage to keep blitz pace high while reducing risk:

• Giuoco Piano: Tarrasch Variation – high win rate around 60% across many games. Great for solid but active play; study the typical middlegame plans and common ideas in this line.
• Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation – around 60% win rate; very dynamic, but requires deep knowledge. Use in blitz when you’re comfortable with the typical tactical motifs and know when to step back to safer plans.
• Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation – around 58% win rate; reliable and solid, a good complement for lower-risk blitz days.
• Italian Game: Two Knights Defense – solid results; another practical option for faster games where you want quick development and pressure on the center.
• London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation and similar solid lines – mid-50s win rate; useful for days you prefer a stable structure with straightforward plans.
• QGA and some sharp lines with 3.e3 c5 show mixed results; consider using them selectively when you’re confident in the resulting plans and tactics.

Practical takeaway: build a compact blitz repertoire focused on 2–3 strong lines per color (favoring solid, yet active setups) and reserve the sharper lines for days when you’re feeling confident in your preparation.

Performance trends and what they imply

Your strength-adjusted win rate sits around the 50% mark, suggesting your blitz results are close to even when accounting for opponent strength. The rating changes show a strong short-term gain in the last month, with more modest gains over 3–6 months and a slight dip over 12 months. The slopes indicate fluctuation rather than steady climb, which is common in blitz. The goal is to translate those bursts of success into consistent, repeatable results.

Two-week plan to raise your blitz results

• Week 1: Repertoire consolidation. Pick 2 lines you feel comfortable with for white and 2 for black (one solid, one dynamic each color). Study 2–3 typical middlegame plans for each line and practice 10–15 minute drills focused on those positions.
• Week 2: Tactics and candidate moves. Do daily 15–20 minute tactic sets, emphasizing spotting a second viable plan in common structures and checking for tactical traps in blitz positions.
• Week 3: Endgames. Practice rook endings and king-and-pawn endings with a timer, focusing on simple, practical conversion techniques.
• Week 4: Time management discipline. Play blitz with a fixed pace (for example 3+0 or 3+2) and implement a 2-second independent check on each critical move, ensuring you don’t overcommit before confirming the tactical and structural implications.

Next steps

Implement the two-week plan to solidify your repertoire and improve time management. After completing it, review a few recent blitz games to identify patterns in mistakes (for example, recurring overextension or missed resources) and adjust your plan accordingly. If you’d like, I can tailor a week-by-week drill schedule around your current favorite openings and common blitz motifs.