Coach Chesswick
Short summary
Nice conversion in your latest win — you turned an equal middlegame into a clear rook-and-pawn plan, created a passed pawn, and calmly promoted it. You show good endgame instincts when you're patient. At the same time your losses often come from time trouble and a few risky early-queen/suicidal-attack positions. Here are focused, practical steps to turn that into steady gains in bullet.
Game references
Recent instructive win vs ethanrlance01:
- Opening: London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation
- Key moment: you simplified into a rook endgame and used a passed h-pawn to promote — excellent plan execution.
- Recommendation: review the final rook-and-pawn technique from about the moment you seized the open file — the conversion is a model for practical play in blitz/bullet.
What you're doing well
- Endgame pattern recognition — you convert simple advantages (active rook + passed pawn) rather than hunting risky tactics.
- King activity — in the win your king marched into the center and helped the pawn advance, which is textbook and very effective.
- Practical decision-making — when trades equalize the position, you patiently improve the remaining pieces and create a plan.
- Opening variety — your repertoire (Colle, Nimzo-Larsen, English) gives you familiar middlegame structures you convert well.
Biggest weaknesses to fix
- Time management in faster games — several losses are on the clock. Avoid getting into long decision trees when down to seconds.
- Early queen sorties and premature attacks — Qh5-style lines in losses let opponents exploit tempo and launch counterplay (and sometimes win on time while you're trying to find the right defense).
- Occasional looseness in the opening — double-check pawn breaks and back-rank/rook tactics before moving fast in the opening stage.
- Certain openings underperform (example: Czech Defense in your stats). Review typical plans and known traps rather than relying on raw calculation in time trouble.
Concrete drills (do these for 2–4 weeks)
- Tactics sprint: 12–20 tactic puzzles/day (1–2 minutes each). Focus on forks, pins and back-rank mates — patterns that appear in bullet. Aim for accuracy first, speed second.
- Rook endgames: 10 focused studies a week — Lucena, Philidor, cutting-off ideas and simple pawn races. You already convert these well; make them automatic.
- 5 + 3 rapid practice: play 10 games at 5|3 or 10|5 and try to keep at least 30–40 seconds on the clock at move 20. The goal: practice decision-making with some time headroom.
- Opening review: pick 2 underperforming lines (eg. Czech Defense and French Defense: Exchange Variation). Learn 3 model games each — typical pawn breaks and one tactical trap to avoid.
- Flag-proof pre-moves: practice using pre-moves only when captures or forced recaptures are obvious. Train with puzzles where you must decide in 3–5 seconds to avoid mouse slips.
Opening-specific notes
- London System (your win): you handled the typical exchange simplification well — continue to steer positions into simplified, piece-active endgames when the opponent misplaces pieces.
- Early Qh5 lines: instead of chasing quick targets with the queen, develop minor pieces first or force the opponent to make a weakening pawn move (g5/g6) and only then look for tactics.
- Repertoire hygiene: with a 96-point recent rise and positive trend slope, consolidate your best-scoring lines (Colle, Nimzo-Larsen, English) and prune lines with sub-40% win rate like the Czech unless you study them deeply.
Practical bullet rules to follow right now
- When ahead: simplify (trade queens/major pieces) and use your time to execute one winning plan — avoid flashy sacrifices unless the tactic is forced.
- When behind on time: avoid complicated lines; flag attempts are risky against accurate players. Make safe, practical moves and try to create counterplay on the fly.
- Pre-move strategy: pre-move in forced recaptures and pawn pushes only. Don't pre-move in positions where the opponent has multiple checks or forks available.
- Two-minute rule: if you drop below ~10–12 seconds, switch to easy-to-play safe moves and rely on the increment — don't calculate long variations.
Next 30-day plan (simple and measurable)
- Daily: 15 minutes tactics + 10 minutes endgame drills (rook & pawn focus).
- Weekly: 6–8 rapid games (5|3 or 10|5) with post-mortem of one lost and one won game each week.
- Openings: 3 model games studied for each of two lines you want to keep improving; add one refutation/trap to your notes for each line.
- Goal: keep average time on move 20 >= 35s, reduce time losses by 50% in the next month.
Quick checklist before each bullet session
- Warm-up: 5 quick tactics to get pattern recognition active.
- Openings: choose 1-2 lines to play; avoid experimental sidelines if you're tired.
- Clock plan: commit to a minimum time buffer (eg. 20s) until move 20 — then spend more if needed.
- Post-game: flag games you lost on time or by simple tactics and review only those positions for 3–5 minutes.
Useful places to study next
- Rook endgame collections (short studies) — make these patterns automatic.
- Tactics books/apps with emphasis on forks/pins/discovered attacks.
- Two model games for each opening in your active repertoire — focus on typical pawn breaks and piece placement.
If you want, I can prepare a 2-week study schedule with specific puzzles and example games from your repertoire.
Closing — keep it simple
Your strengths (endgame sense, patience, opening variety) are a great base. Reduce time losses, avoid early queen hunts, and make rook endgames automatic. Small, consistent practice will convert that 1-month +96 trend into sustainable long-term gains.
Want a personalised 14-day training plan that fits your daily availability? I can create it — tell me how many minutes per day you have.