Yana Ilyuchyk WFM

Hi Yana!

Congratulations on your recent streak of energetic wins (for example, your decisive victory against dmitrymaslo) and for maintaining a peak blitz rating of 2452 (2024-08-12). Below is a personalised report that blends praise with concrete areas for growth.

What you are doing well

• Opening choice & flexibility – You comfortably switch between 1.e4 open games, the Open Sicilian and quieter Caro-Kann structures. In the Scandinavian win you punished 2…e6!? immediately with 3.dxe6, showing good theoretical awareness.
• Tactical alertness – The sequence 22.dxe5 dxe5 23.Rxe5! in the same game shows you spot forcing continuations that increase the initiative.
• Piece activity – In several wins you placed rooks on the 7th rank (e.g. 24.Re7 vs DmitryMASLO) and doubled them quickly, converting pressure into material.

Key themes to focus on next

1. Time management
   Three of your last six losses were on time in roughly equal or even better positions. Try the 3-step method:
   • Openings: play a familiar blueprint and instantly make the first 10 moves if nothing unexpected happens.
   • Middlegame: when the position opens or closes, invest 15-20 s to create a short plan (king safety, piece improvement, pawn breaks).
   • Endgame/critical moments: allow one “tank” – a deep think – but only once per game.
2. Practical conversion
   In the loss to Zarinur you were a pawn up but allowed the passed a-pawn to become unstoppable. Remember the “stopper–blocker–attacker” rule for passed pawns:
   1. Use a minor piece as stopper (e.g. Na4 or Bxa2 early).
   2. Place a rook behind the pawn as blocker.
   3. Mobilise your king toward the pawn before starting counterplay elsewhere.
3. Defending against minority pawn storms
   Both rakshi2005 and rollercoaster29 used …b5/…a5 against your queenside castling. Re-watch your own win vs arvielozano1: you launched your b-pawn first and fixed the enemy structure. The same recipe works defensively:
   • Meet …b5 with a4!, stopping further expansion.
   • Exchange one pair of rooks to reduce attacking potential.

Illustrative moment

Here is the critical tactical shot from your best recent game; replay it to reinforce the pattern of occupying the 7^th rank:

Training menu for the next two weeks

Progress dashboards

Check these widgets periodically to monitor habits rather than ratings:

Final thought

Your attacking style is already intimidating; tightening up the clock and endgame technique will make you a far more resilient competitor. Keep the energy, add a dose of patience, and the next rating jump will follow.

Good luck with your training, and feel free to send me any tricky positions you encounter!