brocolirouge

Hi brocolirouge – personalised coaching report

1. Quick snapshot

• Current ladder: ~600 Elo in 10 min “Live” games.
• Your historical best result so far: 679 (2025-05-23). Keep an eye on it and aim to beat it before the end of next month.
• Tendency to play late in the evening; see how your performance varies:
   
  . Use this to choose your “fresh-mind” hours.

2. What you already do well

1. Comfortable French Defence set-up as Black.
   A nice example is your win against nasipa25 where you developed quickly and punished an exposed king:
   • You kept the centre closed for your opponent, castled promptly and used tactics (…Bxg2) to rip open lines.
   • Good awareness of forks: …Rab8 on move 17 increased pressure without wasting tempi.
2. Spotting one-move tactics.
   In several wins (e.g. versus attend-la-fin, move 27 …Rxc4!) you found direct ways to collect loose material. Keep sharpening this skill with 10–15 tactics puzzles every day.
3. Playing actively with the queen when you already have a safe king.
   Your attacking conversion versus zoran1278 is a model for lower-rating play: once your pieces coordinate, do not hesitate to enter with Qd7#.

3. Priority improvement areas

1. King safety in the opening (especially as White).
   A recent loss shows the danger of delaying castling:
   .
   • You moved the king to f1 instead of simply 8. Nc3  or 8. Qe2 and short castling.
   ➜ Guideline: castle by move 10 unless you have a concrete reason not to.
   ➜ Drill: play 20 blitz games where you force yourself to castle as soon as development allows.
2. Avoid premature resignations / tilt.
   Against milovert you resigned after only two moves. At 600 Elo anything can still happen – give yourself a chance to fight back.
   ➜ New rule: never resign before move 25 unless you are down a queen and about to be mated.
3. Openings as White.
   You alternate between 1.e4 and 1.d4 but often drift into off-book positions where your pieces are uncoordinated.
   ➜ Pick one main weapon (e.g. Scotch, Italian, London) and learn the first 8–10 moves.
   ➜ Copy the model game below on a board until you can play it from memory:
4. Converting extra material.
   Even in wins you sometimes allow counter-play (e.g. vs Nasipa25, 14…Qg5⁺ missed the simple …Qf4 picking up the bishop).
   ➜ After you gain material, trade queens and simplify into won endgames. Study the “basic” endings: K+P vs K, rook & pawn technique.

4. Action plan for the next two weeks

• Daily: 15 tactical puzzles (focus on mates in 2–3 and forks).
• 3 rapid games (10|0) with the rule “castle by move 10”. Review them immediately.
• Watch one short video or article on the French Defence as White so you learn how opponents try to break your set-up.
• Endgame drill: Play out K+P vs K from both sides until you win/draw consistently.

5. Motivational milestone

1. Play three games.
2. Analyse the first critical mistake in each.
3. Solve five puzzles that feature that motif.

Enjoy the process and good luck at the board, brocolirouge! I’ll be keeping an eye on your progress.