Coach Chesswick
Hi BernaBlazquez, here’s a personalized post-match review
✨ What you’re already doing well
- Dynamic opening choices. You’re comfortable with open games as White (e4) and choose ambitious Sicilians, French-Wing Gambits and Pirc setups. This keeps opponents out of book quickly.
- Conversion technique. In the win versus Doblek24 you steered a complicated Sicilian Kan into a pleasant rook-and-minor-piece endgame and converted without allowing counter-play. Good technique!
- Practical use of the initiative. Your games contain several timely pawn breaks (e5 vs Doblek24, f6 vs caissa06) that forced concessions and opened attacking lines.
🚦 Main improvement themes
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Piece activity over material.
In the loss to NakimurAstur you accepted doubled isolated pawns and allowed White’s bishops/rooks to dominate open files. Before grabbing material (16…Nxe4) ask, “Do all my pieces have squares after the capture?” A 5-second check here avoids many blunders. -
King safety in sharp openings.
When you play …g6/…h5 structures (e.g. Pirc & Wing Gambit games) your dark-square weaknesses appear. Study classic Pirc games by V. Korchnoi and note how Black keeps the king in the center longer and delays …h6/…h5 until the center is resolved. -
Time management.
One recent loss came on time against a 2300+ opponent even though the position was defensible. Aim to keep at least one minute in reserve by move 25 in 3 + 2 games; use the increment to think during your opponent’s turn. -
Transition to endgames.
In winning positions you sometimes trade into rook endings without an obvious technical route (see 33.Rxb5 Rxb5 in the Kan game). Before exchanging:- Count pawns and assess pawn-structure weaknesses.
- Compare king activity—if your king is more active, trades are usually good.
🛠️ Targeted training plan
| Week 1 | Daily 15-minute tactic rush focused on defensive themes (overloaded defender, back-rank). |
| Week 2 | Review 10 master games in the Sicilian Kan. Pause after move 12, guess the next move and write down a short plan sentence. |
| Week 3 | Endgame basics: play the rook vs rook + pawn drill until you can hold the draw 8/10 times from the weaker side. |
| Week 4 | Play three 15 | 10 games focusing on clock discipline. Annotate them, marking every move where you sank below 30 seconds. |
📊 When you win & when you struggle
Glance at these trend snapshots to schedule training when your performance peaks:
🏆 Motivation corner
Your best rapid rating so far: 1740 (2020-04-25). You’re consistently beating 1700–1800 players; sharpening the four topics above can push you into the 1900s.
Next steps
Pick one theme (I recommend Time management) and track it in your next 20 games. Small, focused goals accelerate improvement far more than broad resolutions.
Good luck, keep enjoying the game, and feel free to share any annotated games—happy to look at them! ♟️