Coach Chesswick
Quick summary
Nice momentum lately. Your rating and win rate show a steady climb and strong results in sharp attacking lines. Below I highlight what you are already doing well, the biggest leaks I see from the recent games, and a compact practice plan you can use between sessions.
Games to review (click to open)
- Most recent win — aggressive play, created a passed pawn and converted: Review this win. Opponent: Èmile Tasse
- Most recent loss — tactical oversight around the queenside and back rank pressure: Review this loss. Opponent: deepolive
What you are doing well
- Sharp tactical intuition. You spot sacrifices and attacking motifs quickly (for example you won with a decisive knight/ pawn storm leading to a passed pawn in your recent win).
- Active piece play. You consistently place rooks and major pieces on open files and use the king in the endgame — that pays off in blitz.
- Opening variety that works. You get excellent results in several aggressive lines (multiple 100% win-rate openings in your record). Keep building that comfort zone.
- Upward rating trend. Your recent +40 and longer-term +175 trends show your training is effective. Use that confidence to tighten the weak spots below.
Main areas to improve
- Tactical awareness under distraction. In the loss you allowed a decisive material/king-side gain early on by missing the opponent’s threats. Before grabbing pawns ask: "What checks or captures does opponent have next?"
- Back-rank and king safety checks. Don’t assume the opponent cannot generate back-rank or mating nets when you push pawns or trade pieces. Make a quick luft or bring a defender when needed.
- Time management in the final phase. You convert well but sometimes play with very little clock. Aim to keep a 10–20 second buffer going into the last 10 moves to avoid flagging or rushing simple conversions.
- Opening consistency in some lines. Your Caro-Kann results are solid, but Closed Sicilian performance is weak. Either narrow your repertoire or study the key plans against that variation.
Concrete next steps (practiceable)
- Daily 15 minute tactics: focus on forks, discovered checks, and knight forks. Drill puzzles where you must check for opponent replies first.
- One-loss postmortem each day: open the loss linked above (Review this loss) and answer: what single defensive resource I missed and how to avoid it next time.
- Spend two 30-minute sessions this week on basic endgames (king+rook vs king, passed-pawn races). Those saved seconds and technique win many blitz games.
- Before making a material grab in the opening/middlegame ask three quick checks: can my king be checked, can any piece be pinned, and does the opponent get counterplay on my back rank?
Short checklist to use during blitz
- One-second habit: scan for immediate checks and captures before every move.
- If you are winning material, pause and verify escape squares and counterchecks for the opponent.
- When you reach an endgame with a passed pawn, centralize the king and activate rooks before pushing too fast.
- Keep 10–20 seconds when possible for the final conversion; simplify when low on time into a winning but easy-to-play position.
Opening focus suggestions
- Double down on the lines where you score best. If you enjoy the aggressive Vienna/Amar-style games keep refining them: Vienna Gambit and Caro-Kann Defense.
- Patch the weaker lines. Your Closed Sicilian performance is below average. Either avoid it in blitz or study the typical pawn breaks and knight maneuvers for a week.
- Build 2 short anti-ideas for each common reply you face. Simple plans beat on-the-spot calculation in blitz.
Compact 2-week training plan
- Days 1–4: 15m tactics + 30m endgame fundamentals (rook endgames, opposition).
- Days 5–8: 20m opening review (one problematic line per day) + 20m rapid practice (10|5 games focused on using the checklist).
- Days 9–14: 10m tactics, 30m game review (annotate your losses/wins — start with your recent win and the loss link), and 30m slow game (15|10) to practice technique without time pressure.
Final notes and quick wins
- Keep doing what gives you results: active rooks and king activity. Those win blitz games.
- Small habit: before every move, spend one second verifying opponent checks and captures. It will cut tactical losses significantly.
- If you want, tell me which two games you want a full move-by-move annotated review for and I will prepare a short postmortem focused on decision points.