Coach Chesswick
Hi Areg!
Great job keeping your Blitz rating close to 2559 (2020-09-26). Your recent games show an energetic, initiative-oriented style that can overwhelm many opponents. Below is a concise review of your current strengths and the most urgent areas to address.
What you’re already doing well
- Early initiative from flexible openings. Your Reti / English move orders (1 Nf3, 1 c4) let you dodge heavy theory and steer positions toward your preferred middlegames.
- Pawn storms against castled kings. The win vs SportBilly13 (see diagram 17…Rxb2+) highlights how quickly you can translate space into concrete tactics once the h- and g-pawns roll.
- Piece activity over material. In several victories you sacrificed pawns (or even exchange) to keep rooks doubled on open files or bishops on strong diagonals—excellent practical approach for 3-minute chess.
- Conversion when the king reaches the centre/endgame. The technical win vs marsed04 shows good king activation and the patience to push connected passers.
Recurring problems to fix next
-
Pawn over-extension before completing development.
• Loss vs obaltin: 21…h5/22…h4 left holes on g3/f3 and the back rank.
• Loss vs chesscolic8: 24 Bxh6? allowed …Nc3/…c5 and knights invaded.
Rule of thumb: launch flank pawns only when at least two minor pieces and a rook already aim at the target. - Time management. Two recent defeats came from flagging in clearly drawable or even better positions. Try the “30-second check”—glance at the clock every seven moves and speed up if <25 s.
- Missed defensive resources. In fast attacks you spot tactics well, but when defending you sometimes forget intermediate moves (zwischenzug). Example: vs adrico37 you allowed 46…Qxg4 picking up two pawns and promoting.
-
Endgame finesse. The French Alapin game vs Willi7 slipped from +2 to time loss because you hesitated between pushing the passed
a- andc-pawns. A weekly dose of rook-and-pawn endgames will pay huge dividends.
Three targeted drills for the coming week
| Theme | Daily dose | Expected benefit |
|---|---|---|
| “Finish development, then push” mini-games | 10 blitz games where you forbid yourself to move the a/h-pawns before castling + connecting rooks. | Builds discipline & piece coordination. |
| Defensive tactics set | 25 puzzles tagged “saving material / zugzwang / perpetual”. | Spots resources when under pressure. |
| Basic rook-pawn endgames | Review 5 positions per day from Silman’s endgame course or Lichess trainer. | Faster, calmer conversion in winning endings. |
Opening micro-tweaks
- Against …
g6set-ups after 1 Nf3 b3 (your main line), consider an early c4-d4 pawn triangle to claim space before Black achieves …d5 & …d4. - With Black in the QGD/Slav structures you handle c6-d5 well; add the thematic break …e5 when White overprobes with h- and g-pawns.
Progress tracker
Use the interactive widgets below to monitor when most wins/losses happen and schedule training accordingly:
Homework PGN (best win to revisit)
Annotate three critical moments (move 9, 13, 17) focusing on why each tactic works. This reflection will solidify pattern recognition.
Next checkpoint
Let’s reconnect after 50 blitz games or two weeks—whichever comes first. Bring your scorecard (development discipline, puzzle accuracy, endgame wins) and we’ll fine-tune the plan.
Keep the pieces active and the clock under control—good luck!