Coach Chesswick
Overall Performance Feedback
Elina, your recent blitz games show solid skills and a generally positive trend in your play over the past months. Although your rating dropped slightly by 6 points in the last month, your 3-month and 6-month rating increases (+60 and +158 points respectively) highlight your overall improvement. Keep in mind that a short-term setback, especially in fast-paced blitz, is quite normal.
Your strength-adjusted win rate is just under 50%, indicating that you are competing evenly against opponents of similar rating. This provides a strong foundation to build on.
Key Positives from Recent Wins
- You demonstrate good opening knowledge and have successfully applied the Trompowsky Attack several times, as seen in your wins against DrDrunkensteining and crazychess2800.
- Your awareness in the middlegame helped you capitalize on tactical chances, including winning material and delivering checkmate efficiently.
- Positional understanding shines through your careful piece placement and controlling key squares in openings like the Accelerated London and Alekhine's Defense.
- You remain composed in endgame scenarios, converting advantages and pressing opponents effectively, as in games ending by resignation or time.
Areas for Improvement
- Time Management: A few losses were due to time pressure or loss on time – working on faster decision making without compromising too much on quality can help improve your results in blitz.
- Opening Variety and Accuracy: While your favored openings perform well, incorporating deeper preparation in less familiar lines could reduce early inaccuracies and gain better positions out of the opening. For example, review the Alekhine Defense games for opportunities to improve handling of the dynamic pawn structures.
- Tactical Alertness: Moments in losses suggest vulnerability to tactical threats (pins, forks). Regular tactical training focusing on alertness to opponent threats will make you more resilient.
- Endgame Technique: Continue to refine endgame fundamentals to reliably convert advantageous positions and avoid counterplay chances for your opponents.
Opening Recommendations
Given your success with the Trompowsky Attack and London's System varieties:
- Study typical plans and pawn structures of the Trompowsky Attack more deeply, focusing on different black setups.
- Analyze the Alekhine Defense games you played, try to understand key positional themes and counter-strategies to different second-move responses by White.
- Experiment with flexible move orders in your openings to keep opponents guessing and avoid heavily memorized responses.
Next Steps
- Set up a balanced training plan with tactical exercises, opening study, and endgame practice.
- Review your losses actively by identifying key moments where alternate moves would improve your position or save time.
- Consider practicing longer time controls occasionally to deepen your strategic understanding.
- Maintain your composure under time pressure with practice and use increment time control games to build confidence.
Keep up the great work! Your trend shows that success is on the horizon with continued effort.