Dastan Turar

Hi Dastan, here’s some personalised feedback to help you reach the next level!

1. What you’re doing well

• Reliable opening repertoire. You achieve comfortable positions with 1.d4/2.c4 as White and the King’s Indian / Grünfeld setups as Black. Most of your wins start with solid development and healthy pawn structures.
• Piece activity & imbalances. Games such as your win vs. Slava0590 show you willingly sacrifice structure (…c5 break, …f5 push) to activate pieces—an advanced skill.
• Converting initiative. When you get the first tactical shot (e.g., 22.Bf6# miniature), you finish decisively without letting the advantage slip.

2. Growth areas

• Clock management. Three of your last five losses were on time. You often drop below 25 seconds with a winning or drawable position. Practise “hand-instinct” moves and use premove in dead-won endings.
• Prophylaxis & king safety. In the loss to RisingAA (KID), queens penetrated via b6–b3–bxa2 because the a- and c-pawns were pushed prematurely. Ask “What’s my opponent’s next threat?” each move.
• End-game conversion. The marathon vs. meaintnotme reached a won R+P ending, yet you ran out of time after missing the textbook cutting-off technique. Systematic end-game drills will fix this.
• Over-ambitious pawn thrusts. Early g- and h-pawn pushes (French Advance game) gave your opponent durable central squares. Evaluate pawn breaks with the static vs. dynamic lens before committing.

3. Opening snapshots

• White – Queen’s Gambit Exchange: You know the minority attack, but sometimes misplace the queen on c2 too early. Consider the prophylactic 0–0, Rc1, then b4–b5.
• Black – King’s Indian: After 7.d5 Nb8, delay …a5 until you have completed …Na6/…Nc5 or …c6; otherwise the queenside holes become targets.
• Anti-French systems: Your choice of 11.g4!? is spicy, yet sound only with precise follow-up. Study the model game Shirov–Gelfand 1990 to refine the concept.

4. Action plan

1. Time-pressure workouts. Play one 3-minute arena daily focusing solely on moving under 10 seconds; annotate blunders afterwards.
2. Tactics first, then lines. Solve 15 puzzles/day at 25-minute total limit to simulate game tempo. Emphasise zwischenzug and clearance themes (tactics).
3. End-game flashcards. Drill Lucena, Philidor, & basic rook vs. pawn endings until you can play them in < 15 seconds.
4. Prophylactic thinking drill. Before every move, verbalise one opponent threat aloud; make it a habit.
5. Monthly review. Track progress with
   and
   . Aim for a 5 % uptick in late-evening win rate where time-outs spike.

5. Motivation corner

Your current peak ratings: Blitz 2695 (2025-06-21), Rapid 2457 (2025-05-30). A 50-point jump is realistic once the clock issues shrink—every lost half-point converts into rating instantly.

6. Model position to study

Analyse why 38...Qe6 (centralising) is stronger than the game continuation, and how Black can hold.

Keep enjoying the process, Dastan. With sharper clock handling and a dose of prophylactic awareness, you’re on track for the next rating bracket. Happy studying!