Coach Chesswick
Hi BikingBrian – Personalised Coaching Feedback
1. Current snapshot
• Favourite systems: Trompowsky / London as White, Hyper-accelerated
Sicilians & King’s-Indian set-ups as Black.
• Recent form:
• Best blitz so far: 2445 (2020-04-03)
2. What’s working well
- Sharp tactical eye – 25. Qg6! in your win vs. Angelo Cuizon is a model of piece co-ordination and time-pressure management.
- Opening creativity – early Bg5/Bf4 lines regularly drag opponents out of book and into positions you understand better.
- Practical clock handling – many endgames were won because you kept 15–30 s in reserve while opponents panicked.
3. Recurring leaks
- Over-adventurous queen moves. In the loss to kjm241203 the sequence 6.Qb3?!–9.Nb5? walked into …Bb4+ and you never castled. Build the habit: “Before moving the queen, can …Nb4/Nc6-b4 fork a piece or check?”
- King safety during pawn storms. Against rajitha1367 you doubled rooks on the 7th while the back rank and dark squares were loose (see diagram after 31.Rxb7). Add a prophylactic move (h6/h3 or g6/g3) before the final invasion.
- Technical conversion. You resigned an opposite-colour bishop endgame vs. dubovsshadow that sprung from earlier imprecision (25…e5?!). Review typical rook + pawn vs rook and OC-bishop endings.
4. Homework menu
| Theme | Drill | Success goal |
|---|---|---|
| …Nb4 / knight-fork tactics | Solve 50 puzzles that feature a fork on b4/d3 | >80 % accuracy |
| Prophylactic thinking | Write down the opponent’s three threats every move for 20 rapid games | Spot ≥2 threats consistently |
| R+P vs R & OC-bishop endings | Chess.com/Lichess end-game trainer set | 90 % solve rate in 25 attempts |
5. Illustrative moment
Critical fragment from the East-Indian loss (Black to play after 24.Rc2):
Engine line: 24…e5! instead keeps the centre closed, holds the extra pawn and leaves White with no entry squares – a typical fix-the-centre principle you can apply in similar structures.
6. Opening tweaks
- Add one solid d4-response (e.g. Grünfeld) to avoid symmetrical English positions where your Dragon setup feels passive.
- Experiment with a main-line Catalan or Queen’s Gambit to strengthen long-term strategic skills and reduce reliance on early bishop hops.
7. Next steps
- After each loss, locate the first irreversible mistake – not the tactic that ended the game.
- Play two 10 | 0 games per day focused on castling & luft before pawn storms.
- Aim to surpass 2445 (2020-04-03) within six weeks; review this note to stay on track.
Good luck, enjoy the ride, and keep the pedals spinning!