joseph victoria

Hi Joseph Victoria! 👋

I’ve gone through your most recent games as Chosencheess2023 and put together some feedback to help you climb toward your next 803 (2023-02-20). Below you’ll find a balance of praise, honest criticism, and an action-oriented study plan.

1. What you’re already doing well

• Fighting spirit & tactical alertness. In several wins you spotted neat tactics (e.g. 7…Nc2+!! in the checkmate vs. bergantesmermaid). Your eye for forks, skewers and double-attacks is ahead of many peers at this rating.
• Piece activity. You usually seize space with e4/e5, develop bishops aggressively to Bc4/Bb5, and don’t shy away from central pawn breaks such as …d5 or …c5.
• Clock management. Even in 10-minute games you keep a healthy time margin, so there’s room to slow down at key moments without flagging.

2. Patterns that are costing you points

• Early queen adventures. In the loss to momoozx (4…Nxe4 5.Nxf7 Nxf2 6.Qe2+) and the Bishop’s Opening games, a wandering queen let your opponent develop with tempo and target exposed pieces.
• King safety & castling delays. In five of the six recent losses your king stayed in the center past move 10. Central kings invite tactics—note the decisive 13…Qd1+ in the checkmate vs. bergantesmermaid.
• Over-sacrificing material. Gambits are great, but evaluate objectively. In the Vienna-Hybrid loss (…Nxe4 & …Qh4+) you gave up two pieces for insufficient attack. Learn to distinguish a sound sacrifice from an optimistic one.
• Neglecting minor-piece development. Several openings feature multiple knight jumps (Ng5–h8–g6 etc.) while the other knight and bishop stay home. Follow the classic rule: all pieces should be active before launching assaults.

3. Concrete study plan (next 4–6 weeks)

1. Opening discipline drill (15 min / session)
   • Play out the first 10 moves of your main openings against the computer, forcing yourself to castle by move 10 and to move each piece only once (queen last!).
   • After each drill compare your moves to master games— focus on “What did I do differently?”
2. Tactics & calculation (20 min)
   • Solve 10–15 puzzles rated 200–300 points above you.
   • During games use a “two-blunder check”: before every move ask, “What are his threats? What are mine?”
   • Study classic motifs: fork, pin, discovered attack, and smothered mates.
3. Game review routine (20 min / finished game)
   • Immediately after each game, mark two moments you felt unsure. Later, run an engine and see what was really happening.
   • Create a personal “mistake notebook” with recurring errors (e.g. “Moved queen too early”).
4. Endgame basics (1–2 sessions / week)
   • Practice king-and-pawn vs. king endings until you can convert from both sides.
   • Learn the Philidor and Lucena rook-endgame positions.

4. Illustrative examples

Your win vs. klovatinus (French Exchange) showed excellent tactical awareness, but notice how you moved the queen five times in the first ten moves. Try replaying the same position keeping the queen on d1 until you’ve developed both knights and castled short.

5. Progress tracker

6. Final encouragement

You’re creative and fearless—great qualities! Blend that attacking flair with solid fundamentals and you’ll blast past the 500-rating barrier in no time. Feel free to send me a couple of annotated games in a month; we’ll measure progress and set new targets.

Good luck, and enjoy the journey! ♟️