Coach Chesswick
Overview — recent blitz wins
Nice work — your recent blitz results show the two things you do best: you punish inaccuracies quickly in the opening and you convert long endgame advantages with patience. Below I highlight the patterns I saw in the PGNs you provided and give clear steps to improve further.
Example game (quick view):
What you’re doing well
- Opening awareness: you routinely get comfortable piece placement out of popular systems (English, some Queen’s-pawn lines and French structures). That gives you many practical advantages in blitz.
- Tactical alertness early: several wins came from punishing opponents' early Bf4/Bxg5 ideas and missed checks — you’re spotting forcing continuations and tactical resources quickly.
- Endgame technique: the longer win shows excellent king activity and passed-pawn play — you convert small advantages methodically instead of rushing and creating counterplay.
- Practical choices: you pick active plans (pawn pushes, rook activity, king centralization) that increase winning chances in time trouble.
Key areas to improve (focused & actionable)
- Respect pawn storms: moves like ...g5 work well as a practical weapon, but they can create long-term weaknesses. Before committing, check for fast tactical refutations and a safe king plan.
- Move-order and prophylaxis: in openings where the opponent plays early bishop sorties (Bf4, Bb5, Bxg5), reinforce move-order checks — ask “does this allow a forcing check/tactic?” before grabbing space.
- Time management in blitz: you convert well in long wins, but keep practicing quick, accurate moves in the first 5–10 moves so you don’t enter critical middlegame decisions with little time.
- Endgame simplifications: sometimes you can simplify too early or miss the fastest route to an outside passed pawn. Prefer active king + rook coordination patterns (rook on 7th, cutting opponent king) over passive simplifications.
Concrete drills and training plan (next 2–4 weeks)
- Tactics: 15 minutes/day on mixed tactics with a focus on forks, skewers, and discovered checks. In blitz prep, prioritize puzzles with immediate wins (mates and piece-winning sequences).
- Rook endgames: 3 practice sessions per week (15–30 min). Drill basic Lucena/Rosenthal positions and king+rook vs king activity patterns — these pay off directly in your long games.
- Opening consolidation: pick 1 main English/1 main French line. Review 10 model games for each line (focus on typical pawn breaks and one bad-transposition to avoid). Use the opening explorer to memorize move orders and common tactical shots. See your strong area: English Opening.
- Blitz time control drills: play 5×5 with the target of making the first 10 moves in 3 minutes or less, while trying to keep accuracy (no hanging pieces in the first 10 moves).
- Post-game review habit: after each session, pick 2 losses and 2 wins for a 3–5 minute review — identify the single critical moment that changed the evaluation and write one sentence on how to improve it.
Opening-specific notes from your recent games
- Against early Bf4 lines: opponents often allow queenside tactics or check ideas (Qa5+/...g5). When you face Bf4, look for immediate check motifs and quick development — respond with moves that threaten to win time or exploit the pin.
- English/structure play: you handle the English well — keep reinforcing the pawn-break ideas (c5/c4 and b4/b5 timing) and the rook lifts that appear in your wins.
- If you use ...g5 (or opponents use it): double-check king safety and whether the pawn push creates target squares (light-square weaknesses). If the opponent misplays, your tactical instinct is good — if not, you can be left with holes.
Quick tactical & endgame checklist (use before moving)
- Are there checks, captures, or threats for either side? (5–10 sec check in blitz)
- If you push pawns near your king (…g5, …h5), is the king safe and do you have escape squares?
- In endgames: activate the king before making a remote pawn push. Rooks belong behind passed pawns or on open files.
- Before exchanging into an endgame, verify the resulting pawn structure and whether you’ll have an outside passed pawn or active king.
Next 48-hour to-do (simple)
- Do two 15-minute tactics sessions (focus forks/skewers).
- Play three 5|2 blitz games with the rule: make the first 10 moves in under 3 minutes total.
- Review the two recent wins and losses and write one tactical motif you missed/won from each.
- Study one Lucena example and one opposition/king-route example (10–15 minutes).
Closing & follow-up
You have excellent practical instincts for blitz — you spot tactics and convert endgames. Focus on tightening move-order discipline in the opening and keep sharpening rook endgames and time management. If you want, send me one loss you found frustrating and I’ll annotate the critical 5–10 moves and give an exact line to practice.
Opponent reference: andy15549