Coach Chesswick
Hi Jim, here’s some constructive feedback based on your latest blitz (180 + 2) games.
1. Quick Snapshot
- Current form: several convincing tactical wins balanced by a few painful collapses.
- 2180 (2022-11-29) – keep an eye on how close you are to your personal best.
- – use these to spot when you play your sharpest chess.
2. What you’re doing well
- Piece manoeuvring ▶ The win against Alexandrovski shows excellent rerouting (…Nf8–g6, …Qc7–c8) and patient pressure before striking with 33…Qa1+ and 36…Qg6#.
- Dynamic openings ▶ You handle flexible structures (Modern, Queens-Indian, Fianchetto set-ups) comfortably, often outplaying opponents out of book.
- Tactical awareness ▶ Finishes such as 46…Qb2# (vs disoku) highlight good calculation when the initiative is yours.
3. Repeating trouble spots
- King safety before pawn storms
In several losses you opened your own king with …g6 / h4-h5 without being fully developed.
Example: against maafernan you never castled and after the open diagonal + g-pawn hook was decisive. - Over-extension in the centre
Pushing …d4 or …c5 too early (London loss, Caro-Kann loss vs Vlad-93) left targets behind your pawns. Ask “Can my opponent lock or undermine this pawn in one move?” before advancing. - Time management
Four of the last ten results were decided on the clock (two wins, two losses). You often spend 60-70 % of your time on the first 15 moves and then rush critical endings. Try the “40/40 rule”: aim to keep ≥40 % of your clock for the final 40 % of moves.
4. Targeted recommendations
- Early castling habit – make it automatic unless there is a concrete reason not to. Delayed castling cost you in both London and English games.
- Structured middlegame plans
• Queens-Indian / Modern setups: review classical plans with …e5 break only after completing development.
• As White vs Sicilian: when you choose 9.f4 (Magnus variation) keep an eye on the b4-square – Black’s …Nb4 in your win vs ODYSSEUS shows why. - Prophylactic thinking drills – after every candidate move ask “What is my opponent’s most annoying reply?” (see Karpov’s games for model examples).
- Endgame refresh – the won rook ending you flagged vs giza1 would be trivial with a rehearsed conversion routine (cut the king, push passer, use checks from behind).
5. Practical study plan (4 hrs / week)
| Mon | 30 min tactic trainer (rated puzzles) 30 min review of one of your time-loss games focusing on move-by-move clock usage. |
| Wed | 45 min endgame drill (rook + pawn vs rook, Lucena & Philidor) 15 min openings – update London-System defence file. |
| Fri | 1 rapid (15|10) game with commentary, emphasising early castling and centre control. |
| Weekend | 60 min model-game study – pick one game each from Karpov (prophylaxis) and Kasparov (pawn storms executed safely). |
6. Motivation corner
You’re already beating 2100-level players with tactical flair. Shoring up king safety and clock control could realistically add 80-100 rating points in the next month. Keep the creative spark – just give it a safer home!
Good luck in your upcoming games, Jim. I’m always here if you need deeper opening files or game annotations.