Boris Markoja IM

Hi Boris (aka Boris98) — personalised training report

Quick snapshot

• Current peak: 2849 (2020-03-10)
• Most common time trouble: last 3 minutes of 10|5 games (five results decided by flag).
• Typical session pattern: see

Your key strengths

• Enterprising pawn storms — e.g. the g- and h-pawn charge in your win against mihailnik put Black on the back foot from move 8.
• Tactical alertness — sharp shots such as 30.Rcxg7+!! in the same game show good calculation when the position is open.
• Resourceful defence — several endgames (see win vs Bababa66) were saved despite material deficits.

Main improvement themes

1. King safety before launching pawn storms
   • In the loss to Muisback26 (French Advance) the early h-pawn push created weaknesses that were exploited by 15.Bg5 and 22.Qa4+.
   • Rule of thumb: castle first, connect rooks, then advance side-pawns.
2. Central tension & pawn structure
   • Several games feature …cxd4 or …c5 concessions that leave you with isolated or backward pawns (Slav & French).
   • Drill: play thematic positions vs engine where you must maintain the d4/e4 chain for 20 moves.
3. Conversion technique
   • You had +8.0 vs Tamas Banusz yet resigned after missing the breakthrough 28.Rd3! instead of 28.Rd1?.
   • Practice two-rooks-plus-pawns endgames; aim to recognise standard winning plans such as the fourth-rank rook lift.
4. Clock management
   • Three recent losses were on time in ≤ 5-move drawn endings.
   • Recommendation: add a decision checkpoint at 3 minutes — if evaluation is ±0.50, simplify; if winning, switch to “safe-moves-per-minute” mode.

Opening priorities for the next two weeks

Highlighted sequence to revisit

From your best recent attack (White vs. MihailNik):

Next steps

• Play three sparring games starting from move 12 of the loss vs Muisback26; focus on defending the dark squares.
• Solve 20 tactical puzzles per day, difficulty 2700–3000, with a strict 3-minute limit — this mirrors blitz time pressure.
• Annotate one win and one loss each week; pay special attention to missed zwischenzug and zugzwang motifs.

Keep up the dynamic play, Boris, and channel your creativity into positions where your king is safe and the centre is solid. Good luck in your next session!