Quick summary
Nice run of blitz wins — you’re converting practical chances, holding the initiative in the Najdorf and similar Sicilian structures, and using active piece play to create targets. A few recurring items (time usage, a couple of tactical slips, and endgame simplification choices) are costing you in close games. Below are focused, practical suggestions you can apply right away.
Highlight — a game to review
Here’s one of your recent wins (Black vs cmr58). Replay the critical phase where central tension and piece activity decided the game — look at the conversion and the tactical danger that followed.
- Replay:
Key moment: your active rooks and central queen infiltration created long-term pressure — but the final position also shows the danger of an exposed back rank and allowing a decisive queen check/capture. Review move 28...Qxc3: was it forced or could a safer consolidation have kept material parity and simplified?
What you’re doing well
- Opening choice and results: You handle the Sicilian Defense — especially the Najdorf Variation — very well (strong win rate). Your preparation leads to comfortable, active middlegame structures.
- Piece activity: You consistently seek active squares for rooks and knights and punish passive setups. Several wins came from piling up on weak pawns / the 7th/2nd ranks.
- Practical blitz instincts: Good at creating threats quickly and forcing opponents into time trouble — you won multiple games on the clock.
- Endgame awareness: You turn material and king activity into concrete wins (see the games vs olm1965 and Eduardo Ortiz).
Primary areas to improve
- Time management under increment — avoid getting down under 15 seconds on complex moves. A few wins came from the opponent flagging; you’ll gain more consistent results by keeping ~20–30s buffer for critical moments.
- Tactical oversight in sharp positions — small hanging pieces or back-rank issues appear occasionally (for example, late queen checks / c3/c2 forks or sacrifices). Slow down one extra second to scan for opponent forcing moves before committing.
- Conversion and safe simplification — when you have initiative or a small edge, prefer simplifications that remove counterplay (trade when up in material or when your opponent’s pieces are active). Avoid speculative queen invasions if your pieces are uncoordinated.
- Variety vs non-Najdorf Sicilians — your overall Sicilian (non-Najdorf) win rate is lower. Be ready with specific sidelines and plan B move orders to avoid unfamiliar structures.
Concrete drills and study plan (weekly)
- Tactics — 15–20 minutes daily on mixed puzzles; focus on forks, pins, back-rank motifs and quiet defensive resources.
- Blitz-specific training — 3× 3+2 blitz games focusing on one goal per game (e.g., "no move under 10s", or "trade into a winning endgame").
- Opening refresh — 2 sessions/week: review critical Najdorf move orders and the common plans for both sides. Use short annotated model games rather than only engine lines.
- Endgames — 2× 20-minute sessions/week: basic rook vs minor, king + pawn vs king, and common queen endgame patterns. Convert—don’t overcomplicate.
- Post-game review — spend 5–10 minutes after each session: flag one recurring mistake (time trouble, missed tactic, opening trap) and note one improvement.
Practical blitz tips (apply immediately)
- Keep a 20–30s safety buffer: use increment to avoid fire fights — if you must think longer, try a safe waiting move instead of a long think in a non-critical position.
- Use premoves only when captures are forced or when you’re certain — avoid premoves in tactical messes.
- When ahead: exchange queens and simplify. In blitz, trading reduces your practical risk and the chance to blunder in time trouble.
- When behind: create complexity and practical problems (pawns storms, piece activity). But don’t leave a lone piece en prise trying to generate counterplay.
- One-turn tactic check: before you move, scan for your piece becoming hanging, opponent checks, and major forks — this 1–2 second habit prevents many losses.
Opening-specific notes
- Najdorf (your strongest): keep reinforcing the typical breaks (…b5, …e5/e6) and study a handful of up-to-date model games so your response to offbeat tries is automatic.
- If you meet Moscow/Moscow-like move orders, watch out for early piece trades that swap you into inferior minor-piece endgames — prepare a clear plan for pawn breaks.
- Work a short cheat-sheet of 3 move-sequences per opening you play often — these save precious seconds and reduce blunders.
30/90/180-day goals (actionable)
- 30 days: Reduce games with <10s on the clock by 60%. Track time-stamps and force yourself to keep a 20s buffer.
- 90 days: Increase your conversion ratio in winning positions — aim to convert 80% of +1 to +3 eval games by practicing simplification and tactical checks.
- 180 days: Solidify your Najdorf and one secondary repertoire line so both have >60% practical win rates versus your current pool (matches current strength-adjusted win rate ~0.52).
Final notes & next steps
Your rating trend is strongly positive — keep the focus on what wins you blitz: fast, active plans and clean tactics. Add time-control hygiene (use increment wisely) and do short, regular reviews of lost games to stop repeating the same errors. If you want, I can produce a 4-week exercise schedule tailored to your openings and a short annotated review of any one loss you pick.