Thi Thu Hien Pham WFM

Hi Thi Thu Hien Pham!

You are playing sharp, creative chess and holding your own against 2400-plus opposition—great job. Below are three focus areas that will help you convert even more of those close 3-minute games.

1. Time management – your single biggest rating gain

• You lost on time in two of the last five games even though the final positions were defensible. Aim to reach move 25 with ≥ 1:30 still on the clock.
• Practical tip: make every non-forcing decision in ≤ 3 seconds. Reserve your “think tank” for one or two critical positions per game.
• Drill: play a daily set of three bullet games (1+1) focusing only on moving instantly in winning positions; this will retrain your time-nerves for blitz.
• Progress tracker:
  (higher win-rate in sessions where average remaining time ≥ 20 s).

2. Pawn-storm discipline – keep your king safer

You often launch g-/h-pawn storms (e.g., 17.g4 in the French Exchange and 21.g4 in the Pirc) while your own king is still on the back rank. Strong opponents punished the resulting dark-square holes.

• Apply two-move prophylaxis (Prophylaxis) before pushing flank pawns: “If I play g4, what two moves does my opponent get?”
• Study model games: Carlsen – Topalov 2012 (restrained pawn play led to long-term pressure).
• Practical drill: play thematic positions vs engine with half-point handicaps—win without advancing the g-/h-pawns.

3. Rook-ending conversion – lock the ½-½ or 1-0

In your loss to QuesoDeJalisco the critical moment came right after 31…Ke6. You allowed …Rb4 …Kf5 and the activity snowballed.

• Principle reminder: in equal rook endings, activity > material. When you are the side up a pawn, avoid allowing the defender’s rook to reach your second rank.
• Drill: set up the diagram after 31…Ke6 and beat Stockfish at depth 4 until you score 8/10.

What you are already doing well

• Excellent opening variety—Vienna Game as White and both Pirc & O’Kelly Sicilian as Black keep your opponents guessing.
• Strong tactical alertness: the 28.Ne5+ shot in your win vs Nenad Purić is model calculation under 40 seconds.
• Endgame stamina: converting the pawn ending vs GMVladimir_Petkov showed precise counting.

Next-month action plan

1. Daily 10-minute tactic set (1200 – 2400 motif range).
2. Two 15-minute sessions on Chessable’s “100 Endgame Patterns” (sections on rook activity).
3. One 3-game blitz set where you forbid yourself from thinking longer than 5 s before move 15.

Keep up the great work! With sharper clock handling and a little more king safety discipline, a new personal best is right around the corner.

Current peak blitz rating: 2633 (2025-02-11). Let’s push it 50 points higher this season!

— Your Chess Coach