Peter Finn CM

Personal Feedback for Peter Finn

Snapshot

Current performance looks solid around the 2400-2500 blitz range, with a peak of 2543 (2024-06-16). Your activity chart shows healthy volume:

What You Already Do Well

• Active, principled openings. As Black you steer the game into the Sicilian (Open / Sveshnikov / Pelikan) and as White you play flexible 1.d4 set-ups (King’s Indian Attack & Reti ideas). This variety keeps opponents out of book.
• Tactical alertness. Your victories vs Slovafn and megaman80 show good awareness of forks, mating nets and the typical knight jump.
• Conversion of extra material. In several endgames you simplified smoothly (e.g. the R+B vs king finish against megaman80).

Key Areas to Tackle Next

1. King safety when you win material.
   In the loss to phutien06 you grabbed multiple pawns but left your king stuck on g8 and the back rank weak: [[Pgn| 18...Re2 19.Rae1 Rxc2 20.Re7 Rxa2 21.h4 Rb2 22.h5 h6 23.Rfe1 Qxb3 24.Qf4! ]] — the queen infiltration decided the game. Checklist: after you capture, ask “What changed around my king?”.
2. Time management.
   The timeout against hot163 happened with a completely drawn R+Q vs R+Q ending. You often dip below 15 seconds around move 30. Try a 3-second self-imposed “mini-blunder-check” instead of 10-second deep dives every few moves; you will finish with 20-30 seconds more.
3. Handling opposite-side pawn storms.
   In the game vs agustinwyatt you advanced a4-a5 without coordinating your king, allowing …Bxa5, …g3 and a decisive passed pawn pair. Study classic examples of minor-piece vs pawns endings to judge when to push and when to restrain.
4. End-game precision.
   Some wins required multiple extra moves because the easiest technique (cutting the king with the rook, building a bridge, etc.) wasn’t chosen immediately. Ten minutes a day on basic rook-and-pawn drills will pay huge dividends.

Opening Tune-Ups

• Sicilian (Black): After …Bb4 in the Sveshnikov, consider the modern plan …Be7 > …0-0 > …f5 to reduce early tactical landmines (see Caruana–Carlsen, 2018).
• 1.d4 systems (White): Mix in an occasional c4 + Nc3 Queen’s Gambit line to force Black into unfamiliar positions instead of the repetitive g3 setups.

Training Plan (4-Week Block)

Quick Reference Glossary

• Zwischenzug – an “in-between” move changing the tactical picture.
• Prophylaxis – moves that stop an opponent’s plan before it starts.
• Triangulation – king maneuver to gain a tempo in same-coloured-squared endgames.

Next Action

Play a mini-match vs a friend at 5 + 5 time control focusing solely on keeping your clock above 45 seconds after move 30. Re-watch the critical moment against phutien06 and write one sentence about what you would do differently. Small, focused steps will convert those near-misses into wins.

Keep up the great work, Peter—your attacking flair is evident. Sharpen the defensive fundamentals and your next rating plateau will come quickly!