Michael Bowersock NM

Hi Michael!

Great work maintaining a very high bullet rating and showing consistent attacking flair. Below is some targeted feedback based on your recent games and overall profile.

What you’re doing well

• Opening Ambition – Your Smith-Morra (B21) and early …e5 lines versus the English show that you’re comfortable seizing the initiative immediately.
• Time Pressure Performance – You convert small tactical edges quickly, a vital bullet skill.
  clearly illustrates you peak during late-night sessions – a sign you know when you’re sharpest.
• Tactical Alertness – 11…Qxf2# in your most recent Black win was classic pattern recognition (Greek-Gift back-rank theme plus the loose f-pawn). Keep drilling mating nets; they convert into instant points at this time control.

Areas to refine

• Over-reliance on early queen raids
  • In several PGNs the queen ventures out (e.g. …Qb6 in the Smith-Morra, …Qxf2# success, but also older losses where early queen activity backfired). Against stronger opposition the queen can become a tempo target.
  ➜ Exercise: Play training games where your queen cannot cross the 4th rank before move 10.
• Transition to endgames
  • Your bullet wins rarely reach simplified endings, yet the few classical losses from 2017-18 show some discomfort once queens are off (e.g. the long rook & pawn ending vs daspack).
  ➜ Action plan: 15-minute sessions of basic rook-pawn endings every day for two weeks. Repetition will transfer to intuition even in 60-sec games.
• Opening depth vs. solidity
  • Lines like 1…f5 2…g5 (2018 loss) are fun but drastically lower the margin of error. In bullet this can work; in longer events it is costly.
  ➜ Keep two repertoires: an “express” weapon for bullet and a more resilient one for 3-5-minute games. Your current Elo indicates you can comfortably handle mainline theory.
• Clock technique in winning positions
  • Even when totally winning you sometimes burn 5–10 seconds calculating the flashiest mate. Practise pre-moving simple mates in won positions; it saves time and avoids stalemate tricks.

Concrete study routine (4 weeks)

1. Puzzle rush 5-minute ×2 daily – but stop after first mistake to emulate bullet focus.
2. Endgame flash cards – start with Philidor, Lucena, Vancura; aim for 50 correct drills total per week.
3. Opening sprint – each weekend pick one line you don’t normally play and analyse 10 moves deep with engine off, then on. This widens your bullet trick bag and builds flexibility.
4. Review session – once a week load your last 20 games, favourite three thematic positions, and annotate one alternative move each. Short but high-impact.

Sample self-quiz from your games

1. In the diagram after 5.d5 Ne5 6.Nc3 Qb6 7.Nf3 Ng4 8.Qc2 Bc5 9.Nd1, what is Black’s best practical choice instead of 9…exd5? (Answer hidden – test yourself!)
2. After 11.Nxe5 Qxf2# you mated, but what quiet improving move could White have played on move 9 to avoid the tactic entirely?

Motivation corner

Your peak bullet rating: 2751 (2022-03-08). The next plateau (2700-plus) typically demands a slightly higher accuracy rate (about +3 %) and steadier performance across days – see

Keep up the attacking spirit, add a layer of positional and endgame polish, and 2700 will be a realistic short-term goal. Good luck and have fun at the board!