Noah Ward NM

Feedback for Noah Ward

Congratulations on reaching 2549 (2023-05-11) and maintaining a consistently high win-rate (

). Your recent games show creative attacking ideas and good tactical alertness. Below is a structured review based on the patterns that appeared most often in your latest wins and losses.

What’s working well

• Active piece play early: In your Modern-Defense win (Oliver_Wartiovaara – Blitz) you rapidly mobilised the queen’s knight and broke with …c5, seizing the initiative.
• King-side pawn storms: Plans such as h4–h5 (e.g. 12 h4 & 13 h5 in your most recent win) show good intuition for opening lanes toward the enemy king.
• Calculation under time pressure: The conversion in your 1-minute scramble against Mattechecetmatt demonstrates calm tactical vision even with only seconds on the clock.

Growth opportunities

1. Broaden your White repertoire

You often start with g3 Bg2 e3 set-ups. Opponents are meeting this with early …c5/d5 (see your loss to Oliver_Wartiovaara) and equalising comfortably. Consider adding a more direct 1 e4 line or a Queen’s-Pawn main line to keep them guessing and to practice playing for central space.

2. Central tension management

In several losses you released the tension too early (e.g. 9 c4 dxc4 and 13 cxd5 in the loss to RoelandPruijssers). Before capturing ask, “Who benefits if the centre opens now?” Holding the pawn tension longer would have kept more options and preserved your space advantage.

3. Prophylaxis & move-ordering

Moves like 31 g4 against Mattechecetmatt created weaknesses that Black later exploited. Insert a quiet improving move first (e.g. Kf1, Rd1) to limit counter-play – classic prophylaxis.

4. Time management

• Bullet/Blitz: You often reach single-digit seconds with a winning position (see the 0-1 loss on time in your Daily game). Allocate an extra second per move for “blunder-check” – many rivals collapse if you simply keep moves flowing.
• Daily: Several forfeits on time are painless rating losses. Use conditional moves or set calendar reminders to avoid them.

5. End-game technique

The end-game versus Oliver_Wartiovaara (…c-pawn relay & passed a-pawn) highlighted hesitation in converting material. Study basic rook-and-pawn endings and the principle of creating two passed pawns – a quick refresher pays huge dividends at your level.

Training plan for the next four weeks

1. Opening lab (15 min/day) – Build a new White main line; test in unrated games.
2. Tactics (20 min/day) – Focus on deflection & zwischenzug motifs; aim for 50 puzzles/day.
3. End-games (3 sessions/week) – Rook end-games: Philidor & Lucena, plus converting extra pawn.
4. Game review (weekly) – Annotate one win & one loss; identify a single missed resource each.

Game of the week

Below is the PGN of your most recent win. Re-play it and ask after each of your moves, “What was my opponent’s best defence?” This habit will sharpen your ability to anticipate resistance.

Keep enjoying the game, Noah – your attacking flair is a real strength. With a bit more opening variety and end-game polish you can push well beyond your current peak. Good luck!