Quick overview
Bogdan — good momentum lately. Your games show you create real winning chances: you press with pawn storms, activate rooks on open files and invade with your queen and rooks. The losses point to a few recurring practical issues (king safety, recapture choices and tactical oversights) that are easy to improve with targeted practice.
What you did well (concrete examples)
- Active piece play: you repeatedly bring rooks and queen into the opponent's position (examples: successful rook lifts and the Rh/Rd invasions in your wins).
- Creating and converting passed pawns: in the Arystanner game you pushed and liberated pawns on the kingside/queenside and converted the advantage carefully.
- Good use of outposts and knight jumps: moves like Nb4 / Nd5 in winning games show you fight for central squares and exploit weak squares in the opponent camp.
- Endgame instincts: you simplify into endgames when favorable and use king activity to support pawn advances — a reliable practical strength.
Recurring problems and how to fix them
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King safety / recapture mistakes — example from your recent loss:
You played into a tactical sequence starting with ...Rxf2. Recapturing with the king allowed the opponent to win decisive material (queen checks followed). In many similar positions a rook or interposition is safer than Kxf2. Before capturing, quickly check: "Can my king be checked? Can the opponent win material with a discovered attack or a queen check?"
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Calculation under pressure
When opponents throw tactical shots (exchange sacs, checks on e1/d2, forks) you sometimes accept captures quickly. Drill calculation of 2–4 ply forcing lines daily: visualise opponent replies for at least two candidate responses before committing.
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Overextension of pawns
G pawns and h pawns can be powerful (you use them well!), but avoid pushing them when your king is exposed or when they create targets. Balance attack with king safety.
Concrete training plan (next 4 weeks)
- Tactics: 20–30 puzzles per day focused on pins, forks, discovered checks and queen tactics. Emphasize solving slowly and checking opponent replies.
- Calculation drills: 10 minutes daily of forced-line calculation. Practice "look two moves ahead" on every capture and check in your practice games.
- Endgames: 2 sessions per week (30–45 minutes). Work pawn endgames and basic rook + pawn endings — your game conversions will improve faster than you think.
- Opening hygiene: pick 1 poor-performing opening and study the typical plans (not just moves). For example: review thematic pawn breaks and piece exchanges in the Sicilian Defense Closed systems and the QGD: 3.Nc3 Bb4 positions you played.
- Practical play: play 3 rapid games per week (10+2). After each loss, write one short note: the one key mistake that changed the evaluation.
Targeted opening notes
- Keep the openings that give you wins — you score well in lines like the Nimzo-Indian Defense St. Petersburg and Benko Gambit Accepted in your recent games. Reinforce the core pawn break ideas and typical knight maneuvers there.
- Work on your weaker lines: the Closed Sicilian Defense produced losses — study one model game per variation and learn the plan (where to place knights, when to close the center or open it with a break).
- Don’t memorize responses only — learn the typical pawn structures that arise from your preferred setups so you can play by plan rather than by rote moves.
Practical tips for over-the-board/time-control play
- Before every capture, ask: "Does this expose my king or lose material on the next move?" If yes, calculate the forcing continuation immediately.
- Use increment: if you have two seconds per move initially, keep simple moves fast and spend extra time on candidates when a capture or check is possible.
- If you see a sacrificial-looking move from your opponent (exchange or check), pause and check one forcing line — many of your losses started after quickly accepting a tempting capture.
Short tactical example (review this position)
Replay the tactical sequence that cost you the last loss to train your pattern recognition:
Next steps / follow-up
- Focus on the 4-week plan above and keep a short log: "tactics solved / game notes." I can help create a weekly checklist if you want.
- If you want, share one game where you felt lost in the middlegame and I’ll annotate the critical 8–12 moves and give concrete alternatives.
- Review a recent opponent: Qingyu Yuan was the one who beat you with that tactical finish — replay their decisive sequence a few times to internalize the motifs.
Final encouragement
Your rating trend is clearly moving up — keep the training targeted and consistent. Small fixes (double-checking recaptures, 10–15 minutes of daily tactics, and two structured endgame sessions per week) will convert many of those narrow losses into wins.