Chartreuxx WFM

Hi Chartreuxx – personalised feedback on your recent Blitz play

Quick performance snapshot

• Current peak rating: 2551 (2021-10-20)
• Typical play-time pattern: see

Your biggest strengths

• Fearless initiative-grabber. In several wins (e.g. vs TheLollipopBullet14) you launched pawn storms with h/g-pawns and kept the opponent on the back foot. The PGN below shows how effectively you convert pressure into tactics:
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• Piece activity over material. Exchange sacs such as 18…Rxc2 in your win against lucifer278 demonstrate a good feel for dynamic compensation.
• Fast, practical decisions. You frequently keep >40 s when the opponent is already in time trouble, a key edge in 3-minute games.

Priority improvement areas

1. King safety after pawn storms. Both recent losses as White (Petroff vs exterminator6, French vs Golden Horse) started with early g4-h4 pushes but ended with your own king under fire. Before advancing flank pawns, run a three-point safety check: (a) centre closed? (b) can I castle quickly? (c) are opposite-coloured bishops appearing? If one answer is “no”, temper the pawn storm.
2. Early queen excursions. Loss vs hsamar2 shows 4…Qc7 and later 10…Qa5 “fishing” with the queen instead of finishing development. Ask yourself: “Can this move be parried with tempo?” If yes, look for a quieter developing move instead.
3. Choosing the correct defender to exchange. In the Petroff loss 13.Bxg4?! removed a key king-side defender while Black’s bishop became a monster on g4. Train with the theme “good vs bad bishop” and the idea of the Lucena bishop – you’ll feel when to keep the bishop pair.
4. Handling the c-file in the Najdorf/Scheveningen as Black. Two of your resignations came after …Rc8, …Qa5 but without controlling c4. Study 15-move model games by Adams & Gelfand; notice how they hit c4/c3 before launching …b4. A small move-order tweak (…Qc7 then …Rc8 only when White’s knight is not on d5) will plug this leak.

Targeted training drills

• 30-minute session: Play rated puzzles filtered for “Defence” and “King Safety”, aim ≥70% accuracy.
• Opening clean-up: Build one crisp anti-Petroff line (e.g. 3.d4 instead of 3.Nxe5) so you’re not “out-prepped” on move 5.
• Endgame confidence: Your win vs Alexis Ferrara featured a clean conversion of a knight-vs-bishop ending; reinforce this skill by revisiting 4 vs 3 rook endings every few days.

Action plan for the next 2 weeks

Final encouragement

You are already out-calculating 2200-level opponents. Tighten the positional screws outlined above and the jump to 2300 blitz is within reach. Good luck, and feel free to send me your next annotated game!