Joshua Johnson FM

Quick overview

Nice energy in your blitz lately — you’re creating king-side pressure and converting chances when opponents mis-handle the defense. The recent wins show good attacking instincts; the loss highlights two recurring blitz pitfalls: time management and allowing tactical access to your king. Below are focused, practical tips you can apply immediately.

Games to review (interactive)

Study these two quick examples — one win and the loss — to see what to repeat and what to avoid. Open against the opponent pages for quick context: invinciblewalkero and leo271207.

Win (nice finish — cleaned up after opening pressure):

Loss (time trouble + tactical collapse — good example to drill):

What you’re doing well

• You create quick attacking plans in the opening and are comfortable launching pawn storms and rook/queen incursions — great for blitz (example: aggressive kingside play in your recent wins).
• You take advantage of opponents who leave their king exposed or mis-coordinate pieces — you spot tactical shots and finish when they appear.
• Your opening choices (for example Caro-Kann Defense and similar setups) lead to clear plans and good piece activity — stick with lines that give you practical play.

Recurring problems to fix (high impact)

• Clock management in short controls (3|0 / 3 minutes): you flagged in the loss. In blitz, time is as important as position — avoid complex long calculations when your clock is low.
• Tactical vulnerability around your king: several lines show openings of files/diagonals into your king (queen or rook infiltrations). Watch for opponent sac ideas that open lines.
• Allowing opponent active queen checks and simplifying into positions where their queen dominates. When the opponent’s queen can check repeatedly, consolidate and trade when safe.

Concrete practical fixes (apply these at your next session)

• Before each move, ask: “Is my king safe?” If not, spend 1–2 extra seconds to find a quiet consolidating move (luft for the king, reduce checks, cover key squares).
• When you have under 20 seconds, switch to “practical mode”: look for forcing moves, trades to simplify, and avoid speculative deep tactics. If material is even, trade down to reduce flag risk.
• Do a 15–20 minute daily blitz drill with an alarm: play 5×3 with a phone timer that beeps at 30s and 10s to practice pacing. Stop and take a 30s breath if you feel panic — it helps refocus.
• Work 10 tactics puzzles per day (focus on pins, forks and queen checks). These are the exact patterns that decide blitz games.
• In your opening prep, keep 1–2 "go-to" lines that lead to clear plans (you already do this well). Memorise 3 typical middlegame plans from those lines instead of long move-lists.

Short training plan (2 weeks)

• Week 1:
  • Daily: 10 tactics (10–15 min), 5×3 blitz with pacing alarm, review one loss and one win for 10–15 minutes each.
  • Focus theme: king safety and spotting mating nets / queen checks.
• Week 2:
  • Daily: 15 tactics, 3 rapid (10|5) games concentrating on time management, review two critical positions per day from your games.
  • Focus theme: simplification in time trouble and transition into winning endgames or safe draws.

Quick checklist to use during blitz

• 3-second check: Is my king safe? Any incoming checks / pins / discovered attacks?
• 20-second rule: If <20s, prefer simple forcing moves or trades; avoid long quiet moves that lose on the clock.
• Before you pre-move: ensure no tactical reply (don’t pre-move when the opponent has forcing options).
• End of game: if winning on the board but low on time, trade down to a simple winning endgame or force a repetition if conversion is risky.

Next steps / homework

• Pick one recent loss and annotate the turning point (where the evaluation changed) — write a one-paragraph note describing what you missed and what you would play instead. Use the loss above as #1.
• Run 3×5-minute sessions focused solely on time control and apply the checklist each game.
• If you want, send me one annotated loss and one annotated win and I’ll give a short post-mortem with 3 concrete changes to your decision-making in blitz.

Final note

You have the tactical instincts and opening structure to keep winning in blitz. The biggest gains will come from better clock management and a few simple positional checks before every move. Do the short drills above and you’ll see immediate improvement — small habits in blitz compound fast.