Coach Chesswick
Hi Bruno!
Great job staying active and playing a large volume of Daily games. Below is some feedback based on the sample of recent wins and losses you shared.
What you are already doing well
- Fighting spirit & creativity. You are not afraid to push pawns (g- and h-files) or sacrifice material to open lines. That courage will be valuable once it is backed by sound calculation.
- Time-management in Daily games. Several victories were scored on time. Using the full 72 hours per move ensures you rarely lose the same way.
- Peak rating so far: 1232 (2022-10-22) – let’s aim to nudge this upward in the next 4–6 weeks.
Biggest improvement opportunities
- Early pawn moves instead of piece development.
Many openings began with 1 e4 d5 2 f3 or 1 d4 f4. Pawns on f3/f4 weaken the king and take away squares from your own knights. • Goal for the next 20 games: play the first three moves only with center pawns (e- or d-), knights, and bishops. No early queen or flank-pawn adventures.
• Quick mnemonic: “Two pawns, two knights, two bishops, castle.” - King safety.
In the loss vs. TKoch_1971 you were mated with your king on e8 after skipping castling for 20+ moves. Decide on a side to castle by move 10–12 at the latest. Remember that every move spent on queen checks (Qh5, Qg6, etc.) costs a tempo you may need for defense. - Tactical alertness.
Blunders such as 25…Qxb2# or 17…Qh2# show missed one-move threats. Daily chess gives you days per move—use that time to:- Check all captures, checks, and threats for both sides before moving.
- Run three tactics puzzles per day on Chess.com’s trainer. Focus on motifs like double-attack, back-rank mates, and overloaded pieces.
Opening suggestions (simple & solid)
| As White | As Black |
|---|---|
| Play 1 e4 and steer into the Italian: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4. Plans are straightforward: quick castle, d2-d3, c2-c3. |
• vs 1 e4: Learn the Scandinavian properly: 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5 3 Nc3 Qa5—then rapid development. • vs 1 d4: Answer 1 …d5 and develop knights/bishops normally; avoid …f6/…g5 until you’re castled. |
Practical training plan (4 weeks)
- Week 1-2: Play 10 Daily games following the “two pawns, two knights, two bishops, castle” rule. Annotate each completed game and mark every move where you spent >5 minutes—ask “What was I calculating?”
- Week 3-4: Add 10-minute rapid games to test opening discipline under time pressure. Review with the analysis board immediately after.
- Tactics streak: 100 puzzles (~25 per week). Track your accuracy; aim for ≥60 %.
Motivation corner
Your creative style is a strength—the goal now is to anchor that creativity to solid fundamentals. Stick with the plan above and you’ll soon see a measurable bump on the rating graph.
Good luck, enjoy the journey, and feel free to share any game that leaves you puzzled!
Extra stats & trends: