Bjorn Ivar Karlsson FM

Performance Snapshot

Your current form is very solid, sitting close to 2710 (2020-10-28). The graphs below can help you visualise when you play your best chess:

Key Strengths

• Tactical awareness. Your win against Hugo Wernberg shows a keen eye for loose pieces and an ability to convert material quickly once the position opens.
• Dynamic piece play. You rarely shy away from active choices (e.g. …Nxe4 in your Queen’s-Gambit-Declined games) and often seize the initiative.
• Opening variety. The mix of Slav, QGD, Larsen/Réti and Scandinavian keeps opponents guessing and indicates good overall opening culture.

Growth Areas

1. King safety in sharp openings. In the loss to Димитрий Король (Dragon-Fianchetto) and to darkknightza (Scandinavian) your king wandered into the centre early. Review the typical pawn breaks and safe king routes in these systems.
2. Conversion in winning endgames. Two recent time-outs (vs Same_Old_Jets and ojarke) happened with roughly equal or even favourable material. Practise simple technical endings so you can finish them almost “on autopilot” and save clock time.
3. Clock management. You often reach move 25 with <15 s. Consider the “20-40-40 rule”: keep ~40 % of your time for the last 40 % of the moves. Playing a few increment games can teach the habit of moving faster in familiar positions.
4. Prophylactic thinking. Several losses started with optimistic pawn pushes (h4/h5, f5/f4) that weakened squares around your king. Add a quick “what will my opponent do after my move?” check to your routine – classic prophylaxis.

Game-Specific Nuggets

Recent Win – Slav vs Schack-Hugo

You handled the Nd2-b5-a4-a5-a6 space-gaining plan beautifully.
Illustrative fragment:

• 13.a6! provoked …Bc8 and tied Black’s queenside for the rest of the game.
• Try adding 18.Qb1 (instead of 21.Qa1) in future games – it keeps the queen more flexible.

Recent Loss – Dragon Fianchetto vs KorolDimitriy75

Critical moment: 19…Rfe8?

• After 19…e5! the c4-knight plug would have given you the initiative.
• Remember that in the Fianchetto-Dragon you must challenge the d5-square before White secures it with Nb4-c6 ideas.

Action Plan for the Next Two Weeks

• Micro-goal: Start every blitz session with five 3-min +2 s games and aim to keep >20 s on your clock by move 30.
• Opening focus: Review the mainlines of the Dragon Fianchetto (moves 8-15) and the …Qd8 Scandinavian. Play at least 15 training games in each line.
• Puzzle routine: 15 min/day on defence-oriented puzzles to sharpen board vision when the king is under fire (search for tags: “double-check”, “zwischenzug”, “back-rank”).
• Endgame drill: Practise K+P vs K and basic rook endings until you can win them in <30 s on a physical board; this will turbo-charge your blitz conversion rate.

Encouragement

You have all the tools to push beyond your current level. Refine your decision-making in critical moments, respect your king’s safety, and watch the rating climb. Enjoy the journey!