Chris Welcome NM

Hi Chris, here’s some personalized feedback based on your recent games.

What you’re already doing well

• Initiative-oriented play. Your wins often arise from forcing pawn breaks (f4/f5, g-pawns) that open files for your pieces. This shows good middlegame awareness and confidence in dynamic positions.
• Piece activity out of the opening. As Black in the Nimzo-Indian you repeatedly hit …Bb4, …Ne4 ideas early and seize squares before White completes development.
• Staying alert to opponent’s time trouble. Three of your recent wins came when you kept pressure on the clock, demonstrating that you can play quickly when needed.

Key themes to focus on next

1. Time management (highest ROI)

You lost two games simply by running out of time in drawable or even winning positions. Aim to arrive at move 25 with at least 45 seconds still on the clock.

• Think during your opponent’s turn; decide on a candidate move before it’s your move.
• Use the “touch-move rule” mentally: pick a move and stick to it instead of hovering between options.
• When < 20 s, simplify: trade queens or force perpetuals rather than calculating deep combinations.

2. Dragon structure vs 9. O-O-O (critical theory gap)

In the loss against swiveleyedknight the sequence 9…d5 10.Kb1 e5?! gave White three central pawns for one and let the queen invade with 15.Qxa8. Review the main line 9…d5 10.exd5 …Nb4 or consider the safer Accelerated Dragon set-up.

Mini-replay of the turning point:

3. Calculation discipline

Several setbacks start with “looks-active” moves that drop material two moves later (e.g., 24…Rb8?? in the Slav game, 18…e4 in the QGA). Add a 5-second “blunder check” before committing:

1. What is my opponent’s most forcing reply—checks, captures, threats?
2. If I answer it, does anything hang afterwards?

Doing 10 puzzles/day that feature double-checks and intermediate moves Zwischenzug will sharpen this skill.

4. Endgame & conversion

You often reach winning rook endings but allow counterplay (see the QGA time-forfeit). Practical tips:

• Push your healthiest passed pawn first; shoulder the enemy king with your rook.
• When you’re up a rook vs pawn(s), trade rooks only if the resulting king-pawn ending is a tablebase win.
• Memorize the Lucena and Philidor positions; they show up frequently in blitz time scrambles.

5. Opening housekeeping

Progress tracker

• Current personal best: 2309 (2023-09-29)
• Weekly performance heat-map:

Action plan for the next 10 days

1. 30 minutes daily on themed tactics (double attacks & deflection).
2. Play 5 games where you must keep >20 seconds by move 30—resign early if you fail (time-discipline drill).
3. Analyse one lost game per day without engine for 15 minutes, then compare with engine to spot what you missed.
4. Rehearse the Dragon critical line with a friend or the computer until you can play it from memory.

Keep enjoying the game, Chris! Your tactical eye and fighting spirit are clear strengths—polish the time usage and tighten calculation checks and you’ll cruise past 2300 soon.