Celeberimbor

Hi Celeberimbor!

You’re already stringing wins together (nice miniature against rohanascend!), and your peak has climbed to 552 (2025-05-04). Below are some observations and an action-plan to help you gain the next 200-300 rating points.

What’s working well

• Quick tactical eye – you often spot loose pieces (e.g., 11…Qxc3+ vs Prayasst and 3…Qxd4 in your fastest win).
• Willingness to calculate forcing lines – sacrificing pawns in the opening shows courage and helps you learn tactics fast.
• Active queen play when the position is already open – once the opponent’s king is exposed, your queen usually finishes the job efficiently.

Biggest rating leaks

1. Premature queen adventures
   • In several openings (2.Qd3, 3.Qb5+), the queen comes out before minor pieces are developed.
   • This allowed cheap tempi for opponents, or even direct mates (e.g., yuricastro91 punished 5.Qb5?).
   Rule of thumb: bring the queen out after you have at least two minor pieces developed and your king is safe.
2. King still in the centre
   • Four of the recent losses ended with your king on e-file or g-file, unable to castle.
   • Castling by move 10-12 will eliminate half the mating nets you face.
3. Missed back-rank & fork tactics
   • You were mated by a rook lift (31.Rf7# vs i-u-shebhay) and a queen + knight combo (35...Qxg4#).
   • Try 5–10 themed puzzles a day on back-rank mates and forks.
4. Time-management
   • You flagged from a completely playable position on move 49 against Francarbealirajo.
   • Aim to keep at least 40 % of your clock for the last 20 moves. If you’re below that, simplify or speed up.

Opening suggestions

Instead of early queen sorties, test these “no-theory” structures that follow basic principles:

• White: 1.d4 2.Nf3 3.Bf4 (London setup) – fast, safe castle, zero sharp theory.
• Black vs 1.e4: 1…e5 2…Nc6 3…Nf6 (classical Italian/Ruy structures) – develops pieces naturally.
• Black vs 1.d4: 1…d5 2…Nf6 3…e6 (Queen’s Gambit Declined style).

Training routine for the next two weeks

1. Daily 10-minute session of “Checkmate in 2” puzzles to sharpen pattern recognition.
2. Play two rapid games (10|0 or 15|10). After each, spend 5 minutes reviewing:
   • Where did my queen move before move 10?
   • Did I castle? If not, why?
3. Every second day, pick one of your losses and replay it with an engine, stopping at the first big blunder. Ask “What principle did I break?” Write the answer in a notebook.

Progress tracker

Visualise your grind upward here:

Keep the momentum!

You already have the tactical spark; adding solid fundamentals will make your rating jump quickly. Feel free to share any game you’re unsure about, and we’ll dive deeper together.

Good luck and good chess! – Coach