Brook_wong

Quick summary

Nice run — you’re playing confidently and your rating trend is on a strong upward slope. Your most recent win showed good calculation and finishing technique; your losses highlight recurring themes: king safety, early tactical oversights and time management. Below I’ll point out specific moments from your recent games and give a short, practical plan to improve quickly.

Highlight — what you did well (from your 14 Dec win vs p_sway-z)

• Bold, calculated tactics: the Nxf7 sacrifice was effective — you judged the tactical sequence and followed through accurately instead of hesitating.
• Piece coordination: after the sacrifice you used the rooks, queen and king to chase and limit the opponent’s king — excellent active play.
• Finishing technique: you converted the attack into a forced mate (final Rh6#). Good sense of when to switch from tactics to finishing moves.
• Keeping initiative: you didn’t give the defender time to regroup — constant threats made counterplay difficult for Black.

Want to replay that game quickly? I added an interactive replay you can step through:

Common weaknesses — patterns from recent losses

• King safety: in a few losses (for example the quick mate by RFinley03) you allowed early queen infiltration. Prioritize safe castling and avoid leaving the back rank exposed — see Back rank.
• Early tactical oversights: several games show losing material after one or two tactics by the opponent. Double-check captures and opponent checks before committing.
• Opening risk vs stability: your opening mix includes many unorthodox lines (your openings stats show lots of sharp lines). Those can be fun, but they increase tactical volatility. Consider keeping one or two solid, well-practiced replies to reduce surprise losses.
• Time management: the loss that ended on time suggests you sometimes get into deep time trouble. Keep a simple time plan (see training steps below).

Concrete examples and short fixes

• Example — king walk / early mate (RFinley03): avoid weakening moves that allow the opponent’s queen to come into your camp. If the opponent threatens checks or captures, trade queens if it neutralizes a mating net.
• Example — simplifying vs activity (CHAD_2040 loss): after a risky material grab the opponent simplified into an endgame where your king/pawn structure was worse. If you take material, check whether you leave your king or pawns weak — if yes, look for safer alternatives (piece play or consolidation).
• Small habits to adopt: before each capture ask “Does this open a line to my king?” and before each pawn push ask “Does this create a weak square or a target?”

Practical weekly plan (30–45 minutes/day)

• Daily tactics: 12–20 mixed puzzles focused on forks, pins, discovered checks and mating patterns. Aim to solve without hints; review mistakes.
• Opening drill — 3× week, 15 minutes: pick 1–2 reliable openings (e.g., a solid mainline and one aggressive line). Learn 6–8 typical plans and one common trap for each. (Since you met a French Defense recently, learn the basic ideas vs it.)
• Endgame practice — 3× week, 10–15 minutes: basic rook endings, opposition and king activity. Practice converting an extra rook or holding vs a passed pawn.
• Game review — after each rapid: 10–15 minutes to review 1 loss and 1 win. Identify the turning point and write one sentence: “What I should do next time.”
• Clock plan: keep at least 15s on the clock for move 20. If you find yourself under 30s in the middlegame, switch to simpler plans and avoid speculative sacrifices.

Training exercises (next 7 days)

• Day 1–2: Tactics marathon (pins, forks, back-rank). 20 puzzles/day.
• Day 3: Opening review — memorize the 2 main plans you used successfully in the 14 Dec win (how to follow up an Nxf7 idea, typical rook lifts).
• Day 4: Endgame drill — rook + king vs rook basics and checkmate patterns.
• Day 5–7: Play 6 rapid games with the explicit goal “avoid early queen trades and keep king safe.” After each game, 10 minute postmortem.

Small checklist to use during games

• Before each capture: “Does it open a line to my king?”
• Before every pawn push: “Does it create weak squares?”
• If you consider a sacrificial sequence, force lines (checks/captures) must be calculated to the end.
• At move 15 and 25 glance at the clock and set a soft target (e.g., 5 minutes left at move 25).

Next steps — if you want a deeper review

I can:

• Annotate the 14 Dec game move-by-move and point out alternate winning lines.
• Run a focused analysis on one loss (pick CHAD_2040, RastaManu22 or RFinley03) to find the turning point and suggest exact improvements.
• Build a 2-week opening + tactics plan tuned to your preferred openings (I see a lot of unconventional openings in your stats; we can either reinforce those or switch to more stable choices).

Tell me which option you want and I’ll prepare it. Also here's the opponent profile for your last win: p_sway-z.