Christopher Toolin NM

Hi Christopher!

You are doing many things well: you’re fearless, you develop quickly, and you are happy to sacrifice material when you sense an initiative. Your French-Exchange miniature against dandrean is a great example—after 11…Rxe3+! you kept the king in the centre and never let him recover.

Key Strengths

• Tactical alertness. You spot thematic shots such as …Rxe3+, …Nxc3+, and …Nb4+ very quickly.
• Opening range as Black. Najdorf, Modern, French and even off-beat Caro-Kann lines give you a practical edge because opponents must be ready for everything.
• Confidence to attack. You willingly launch pawn storms (…b5 in the Najdorf, g- and h-pawns with White, etc.). When the clock is your friend this converts into many mating attacks.

Recurring Issues

1. Time management.
   • 6 of the 8 recent losses ended on the clock.
   • In several bullet games you reach move 25 with <5 seconds.
   Fix: train 1-minute pre-move drills and play more 3 + 2 blitz to develop “speed patterns”. While playing, decide before the opponent’s move which of your candidate moves you will pre-move.
2. Over-extension with White.
   In the loss to Hartmut Metz (3 + 2) the early g4-h4 push in an Accelerated London left weak dark squares and cost a pawn. A quieter setup (c2-c4, Nc3, e2-e3) keeps long-term pressure without self-inflicted targets.
3. Endgame conversion.
   You often reach won or drawable endings but either misplay them or simply flag. In the rook-and-pawn endgame vs. 46tumtrah you missed the “cut-off king” motif and let the passed a-pawn run.
   Fix: daily 15-minute end-game routine:
   • Play the rook-vs-rook & 3 vs 2 same-side pawn drill (Lichess studies or tabletop).
   • Review the “Lucena” and “Philidor” positions—core of rook endings.

Opening Suggestions

Action Plan (next 4 weeks)

1. Play 30 rapid games at 5 + 3 (or 10 + 0). Goal: finish each game with >30 sec.
2. Solve 50 mixed tactics every day at 15 sec/move—simulate bullet conditions.
3. Finish the 100 Endgames You Must Know rook chapter (20 positions).
4. Annotate (voice-note or short text) every lost game, focusing on the first moment you were unhappy with your clock or structure.

Progress Tracker

Peak Blitz: 2506 (2022-05-26)
Peak Bullet: 2559 (2022-05-19)

When you feel plateaus, consult your personal trends:
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Final Thoughts

Your tactical flair is already master-level. Pair it with sharper time-sense and cleaner endgames and you will crack 2400 blitz soon.

Good luck, keep attacking, and remember: your opponent’s clock is also a target!