Coach Chesswick
Hi cyber87547 – constructive feedback on your recent games
What you are already doing very well
- Opening depth. In the French (C11) you steered the game to a pawn-majority endgame you clearly understood. Your middlegame plan …c4-Bb7-Bb5-cxb3 was thematic and forced White into awkward coordination.
- Practical instincts in time scrambles. Several wins came from keeping the position complicated when both clocks were low – e.g. 25…Ne2+ in the 10 + 0.1 Chigorin game. This shows good tactical radar and a willingness to take calculated risks.
- Piece activity over material. In multiple blitz games you willingly returned material to keep pieces active (e.g. 30…Rxc6 in the French win and 31…Rxe5 sacrifice in your loss vs Vladimir – the idea was correct, only the follow-up faltered).
Patterns holding you back
- Time management. Four of the six recent losses were on time, often in drawable or even favorable positions (see diagram at move 68 in the Vladimir_Zakhartsov game). Your speed is good, but the clock still decides too many results.
- Pawn-storm optimism as Black. In the Mieses loss you met 5.g4 with …h6 g6, allowing White to open lines toward your king and finish with 22.Qg7#. Similar over-expansion appeared in the English game (…h5 without development). When facing early h-pawn pushes, favour development & central breaks over matching flank pawn moves.
- Converting technical endings. The Catalan endgame vs Vladimir looked holdable; you even reached an extra passer (…a4-a3) yet flagged. Technique + clock awareness would convert many of these 2800-level half-points into full points.
Action plan for the next two weeks
| Focus | Training task | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Clock control | Play 10 blitz games using a strict “Move < 10 sec before calculating” rule in the opening. Review only the positions where you spent >20 sec. | Reduce average think-time in moves 1-15 by 15 %. |
| King safety vs pawn storms | Collect 20 master games where Black faced h-pawn pushes (KID Attack, English, Trompowsky). Build a mini-repertoire with …c5, …d5, rapid castling and central counterplay. | Know three model setups you can play without burning time. |
| Technical endings | Run the “Rook + passed pawn vs Rook” drill in an end-game trainer; then replay the final 25 moves of the Vladimir game against an engine set to 5″/move until you hold or win in <90 sec. | Score 8/10 in the drill, win the replay twice. |
Quick tactical moment to remember
From your French win – the dynamite sequence that forced resignation:
Stats & trend glance
Your current peak blitz rating: . Keep an eye on when you log in:
- Performance during the day:
- Hourly rhythm:
Key concepts to revisit
• prophylaxis • zwischenzug • increment management
Final encouragement
You are already operating at a very high level – small refinements in clock handling and defensive discipline will push you past your current ceiling. Play with confidence, review with curiosity, and enjoy the climb!