Christoph Scheerer IM

Quick summary

Nice session — you converted multiple messy middlegames into wins by active piece play and sharp queen/rook infiltration. Your rating trend is very strong (recent +51 in 1 month, +127 over 3–6 months) and your Strength‑Adjusted Win Rate is about 0.52, so your results match your form. Below I highlight what you did well, where the recurring leaks are, and a short, practical plan to keep improving in blitz.

What you did well (themes to keep doing)

• Queen activity and invasion — you repeatedly use your queen to create decisive threats (example: the game vs Gerasimenyuk Mikhail where Qa6 / Qxa7+ and coordinating rooks won decisive material and forced resignation).
• Tactical awareness — you see and execute tactics (sacrifices, captures on the 7th/8th ranks, rook lifts). That’s a major strength in blitz.
• Opening choices that match your strengths — your English/Drill and many flank lines give you the kinds of middlegame positions you handle well (your Opening Performance shows high win rates here).
• Keeping pressure — once you obtained initiative you pushed for concrete gains instead of shying away from complications (good conversion technique in several wins).

Recurring problems to fix

• King safety and back‑rank issues — a few losses (and the mate vs golaiet123) came from allowing mating nets or decisive checks. Make "get luft" or a luft‑creating pawn move a reflex in cramped positions.
• Allowing central exchanges that open lines toward your king — in the loss vs sml60 the central trades (Nxd5 / Qxd5+) opened lines and left weak dark squares; be cautious about when to liquidate near your king.
• Loose pieces and coordination — sometimes pieces end up uncoordinated or overloaded after simplifications; watch for hanging minor pieces and avoid unnecessary pawn moves that create holes.
• Time management in complex moments — you play fast and well, but in chaotic positions spend an extra second to check tactical resources (saves you from blunders in blitz). Your positive slope shows good time use overall, but a small tweak helps reduce cheap losses.

Key position (study this moment)

Review this game position to see how you convert queen/rook pressure into material and a decisive attack. Open the replay and step through candidate moves — ask yourself why each opponent reply fails.

Concrete next steps (short checklist)

• Before each move in critical positions, do a 3‑step check: (1) What are all opponent checks? (2) Are any pieces hanging? (3) Any immediate tactics for either side?
• Drill back‑rank and basic mating nets for 10 minutes daily (mates in 1–3). Make creating/avoiding luft a habit.
• Spend one rapid (15|10 or 10|5) game per day where you practice not pre‑moving and spend 15–20 extra seconds in messy positions to improve decision quality under time pressure.
• Analyze each loss quickly after the game: identify the one or two moves that changed the eval and write a one‑sentence plan to avoid that mistake next time.

Training plan (2‑week cycle)

• Days 1–3: Tactics — 60 puzzles/day focused on forks, skewers, discovered attacks, and queen+rook tactics.
• Days 4–6: Endgames — 20 minutes on basic king + rook vs rook, and queen vs rook basics; practice converting an outside passed pawn.
• Days 7–8: Opening review — reinforce the small move orders where your repertoire gets into comfortable middlegames (English/Drill lines).
• Days 9–10: Play 6 rapid games (10|5). Focus on king safety and candidate checks, not only winning material.
• Days 11–14: Review your losses: one short written note per game with the root cause (tactical oversight / king safety / time scramble).

Practical tips for your most common patterns

• If you get queen + rook on the 7th, look for simplifications that leave the opponent with a vulnerable king rather than forcing an immediate win by material — often the mate net or a second weakness is decisive.
• When opponent trades in the center and you have an uncastled or exposed king, prioritize moves that reduce checks and give the king a flight square.
• When you're up material in blitz, exchange queens if the opponent's attack is still strong; simplify when you can convert with minimal risk.

Follow‑up

Review the two losses I highlighted (vs sml60 and vs golaiet123) with an engine quickly to find the tactical turning point, then make a one‑move rule ("never allow X", e.g., "never allow Qxd5+ with my king in the center without Rf8 ready"). If you want, send me 1–2 annotated moves from those games and I’ll give short concrete fixes.

Closing encouragement

Your recent form and upward rating slope show you’re on the right track. With a small focus on back‑rank awareness, linked piece coordination, and a tiny time‑management habit change, you’ll convert even more of those sharp positions into wins.

Keep pushing — good session!