Petar Benkovic IM

Hi Petar!

Congratulations on maintaining a strong online rapid rating of 2341 (2025-05-29). Your recent games show a creative, tactical style that frequently overwhelms opponents rated 200-300 points lower. Below is a concise, three-part report that should help you convert more of those advantages against peers and higher-rated players.

1. What you’re already doing well

• Opening variety & initiative. You employ the Sicilian, Semi-Slav, Caro-Kann and 1.Nf3 English/Retí setups with confidence. In the win vs. a_fat_sheep (05 Jun 2025) you seized the centre with …d5 in the Alapin and never looked back.
• Calculating forcing lines. Your combination 25…Kg7 26…c4 → 37…c1=Q+ in the same game is an excellent illustration. See the miniature clip:
  
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• Tactical awareness under pressure. Moves such as 32.Qxg8+!! in your Semi-Slav crush illustrate you can spot resourceful shots even with <90 seconds on the clock.

2. Recurring issues to address

• Clock management. Four of the five losses supplied were on time in equal or winning positions (e.g. vs. Caio_Buys & delphin11). Good practical players rarely fall below 20 % of the starting time without a clear plan. See tip set below.
• End-game conversion. In the French loss (Sept 2024) a rook + two passed pawns should never lose. Your technique with rook + pawns vs. rook looked shaky in several examples; study classical models (Capablanca, Rubinstein) and drill conversion exercises.
• Prophylaxis & counterplay. Several defeats stemmed from ignoring opponent plans:
  • French Tarrasch: after 19…Qe4?! your queen became misplaced; White seized the initiative with Bd3–e4.
  • English vs. Caio_Buys: queenside expansion with 28…d4! eventually rolled you up—your own passer on b7 arrived one tempo too late.
  Work on recognising threats one move earlier—see Prophylaxis.

3. Action plan (next 4–6 weeks)

1. Refine openings—narrow the repertoire.
   • Black vs. 1.e4 – choose one between French and Sicilian for rapid play. Deepen the line instead of juggling both.
   • Against 1.d4 stick to Semi-Slav; memorise the critical Meran tabiyas to move 15 so you reach the middlegame with an extra 1-2 minutes.
2. Clock discipline routine.
   • Use a “2-minute checkpoint”: if you are under 2 minutes with >10 moves to reach increment phase, force yourself to move within 10 seconds until increment stabilises.
   • Practise 5-minute no-increment blitz exclusively for one week to train fast decision making under pressure.
3. End-game drills.
   • Daily 15-minute session on rook endings (Lichess studies or a physical board). Focus on Lucena, Philidor & “rook behind passed pawn” ideas.
   • Add 10 puzzles featuring Opposite-Colored Bishops and technical wins.
4. Game review habit.
   • After each session pick one critical moment and write a single sentence: “What was the opponent’s threat?”—this reinforces Prophylaxis.
   • Log results with the built-in stats tool; your personal heatmap (
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     ) already indicates score drops after the 3-hour mark—schedule tougher games earlier.

Motivational snapshot

Your tactical imagination is easily top-2300 level; pairing it with sturdier technique and better clock handling should push you comfortably into 2400-plus territory this season. Stay curious, keep analysing, and let’s aim to turn every passed pawn into a queen, not a time-scramble. Good luck!