Coach Chesswick
Hi Evgeny, here is a snapshot of your current chess trajectory
At a glance 2725 (2019-06-22)
1. What you already do very well
- Tactical alertness. Your recent wins against Angel Gabriel Cordoba Roa and Zurab Javakhadze show an excellent eye for concrete tactics and forcing continuations, especially in open positions.
- Initiative-first mindset. Pawn storms with h4-h5 or f4-f5 in the Closed/Grand-Prix Sicilian regularly give you the attack before your opponents are ready.
- Rook activity & conversion. In the victory over Julian Antonio Rojas Alarcon you transferred the rook to c7 and later won a tricky R+P ending with accurate technique under 20 seconds.
- Opening breadth. Vienna Game, Closed Sicilian, Accelerated Dragon – you are comfortable from both sides of the e-pawn, making you hard to prepare for.
2. Repeating pain points
- King safety versus material greed. Grabbing on b2–a1 in the loss to Vasiliy Korchmar let a queen and minor-piece battery crash through. A typical snapshot position:
- Early g-pawn thrusts. Moves like ...g5 (loss vs. Hans Niemann) or h-pawn races sometimes create more weaknesses than threats.
- Allowing central counter-play. In several Sicilians you permitted d5/e5 breaks that turned the game. A touch more prophylaxis – e.g. Re8, Bf8 setups in the Accelerated Dragon – will pay dividends.
- Clock swings. You often start with a time edge but drift below 15 seconds in complex middlegames. Most of your decisive mistakes happened in the final 30 seconds of play.
3. Targeted training plan (4-week micro-cycle)
- Week 1 – King shelter audit.
Go through ten of your own games where the g/h-pawns moved before castling. Ask: “Did this pawn move force a weakness or create one?” Annotate with an engine for objective feedback. - Week 2 – Greed control drills.
Solve 50 puzzles where the tempting material grab is punished. Theme search: “Poisoned pawn”, “Loose piece”. - Week 3 – 10 + 0 sparring.
Two sessions per day, same openings. No increment forces disciplined time budgeting and deeper calculation. - Week 4 – Opening refinement.
• Accelerated Dragon: update your notes on the critical 9.O-O & 9.Re1 Maroczy lines.
• Vienna Game: add the modern 4.g3 sideline to sidestep the main-line Max-Lange theory.
• Prepare a calmer backup as Black (e.g. French Defense) for days you want solidity.
4. Practical in-game reminders
- 30-second rule. If under 0 : 30, simplify or force a perpetual; do not start pawn-grabs.
- Double-check forcing moves whenever your own king is on the same colour complex as your opponent’s bishop or queen.
- “No loose pieces” mantra. Before playing a capture, visualise the square you will leave empty – can a tactic exploit it? This would have prevented 12…Bxb2 above.
5. Suggested study resources (all in-site)
- Interactive lessons on the Maroczy Bind structures.
- The “King Safety” chapter in the defensive skills course.
- Custom Puzzle Rush set to themes “skewer” and “mate-in-two” to sharpen finish-off technique.
Keep harnessing your natural tactical flair while adding a layer of prophylaxis and time discipline, and pushing beyond the 2600-blitz mark will be within reach.
Good luck, train hard, and enjoy the journey!
— Your chess coach