Ben Marmont NM

Hi Ben (bennybear) – Performance Review & Action Plan

What you’re doing well

• Active, principled openings. Whether playing the Najdorf, Accelerated Dragon or your Ruy-Lopez lines, you usually fight for the centre and create dynamic imbalances early.
• Tactical vision. Several of your recent wins feature crisp combinations such as 10.Nd5! in the Ruy (vs SPkrain) and the exchange-sac 26…Rb8! in the Alapin game. Your calculation speed is above average for the 2 k+ Blitz bracket.
• Pressure on the clock. In many Sicilians you steer the game into sharp positions that make opponents burn time – visible in two recent time-outs you forced.

Key improvement areas

1. End-game conversion & technique.
   All three most recent losses reached endings where the material was equal or only slightly worse (e.g. vs kunyav: opposite-coloured bishops + rooks). Your decision making there slipped, often from:
   a) pushing pawns without king activation;
   b) trading into unfavourable king-and-pawn endings.
   ➜ Action: spend one week on Lucena, Philidor and basic rook-pawn endings (e.g. Averbakh’s manual). Then play five 15 | 10 games focusing solely on reaching favourable end-games, even if it means quieter middlegames.
2. Time management.
   Four of the last seven decisive results were time losses (even from winning positions). Your average remaining time when losing was 7 seconds; when winning, 45 seconds. ➜ Action: insert two mini “speed bumps” into your thinking routine:
   • Opening phase (move 8–12): commit to playing immediately if you recognise a book position.
   • End-game phase: use the opponent’s move to pre-calculate two candidate moves; you’ll rarely need more than 5 seconds on reply.
3. Over-pressing in equal positions.
   In the Closed Sicilian loss you rejected the simple 18…O-O-O + Rhe8 plan and instead played the speculative 18…Bd5?!, burning 70 seconds and loosening your king. The pattern recurs: you often choose the most forcing line even when the position calls for patience. ➜ Action: after every forcing candidate, ask “What is my opponent’s worst counterplay?” If it’s unpleasant, switch to a slower improving move.

Opening map (last 25 games)

Sicilian (68 %), Ruy-Lopez (20 %), Scandinavian (12 %). Consider adding one solid back-up line (e.g. Carlsbad structures with 1.d4) to avoid preparation fatigue.

Quick tactical warm-up

Try solving this position from your win vs Ashok105 – Black to move:

Strength-building schedule (2-week block)

Motivation snapshot

Your current Blitz peak: 2212 (2021-02-25). A 20-point gain is realistic once the two biggest leaks (end-games & clock) are patched.

Keep the energy and fighting spirit high, Ben! Small, targeted improvements will push you to the next bracket.