Montclair Graham

Quick summary

Good job converting opponents' mistakes into wins — you punish loose play quickly and finish cleanly when the position is open. The flip side: when you create weaknesses around your king (pawn pushes and premature piece trades) you become vulnerable to mating nets and tactical shots. Below are targeted, practical steps to keep the strengths and fix the recurring leaks.

Highlights — what you do well

• You attack quickly and create concrete threats — opponents often crack under pressure (see wins against kafzkarma and the_bunkler).
• Good at converting material and time advantages: you finish with mating nets or passed-pawn promotion when given chances (one game ended with a promoted pawn).
• Tactical vision in sharp positions — you spot forks, pins and mates more often than not; your opening aggression produces messy positions that favor tactics.
• Resilient in time scrambles — you survive (and win) tricky time-pressure scenarios by keeping threats active.

Recurring problems to fix

These come up in several recent games and cost you losses or near-losses.

• King safety first: frequent pawn pushes around your king (f-pawn/g-pawn moves) leave holes and back-rank/diagonal mating tactics become fatal. The loss to abgdfftwu is a clear example where early pawn advances and piece trades left your king exposed.
• Premature captures and trades: trading off defenders around your king (or trading a crucial defender) without checking tactical replies often leads to decisive checks and mate threats.
• Neglecting development in favor of chasing pawns or attacking too early — you sometimes have rooks and queens out before knights and bishops are coordinated, which opponents exploit with counterplay.
• Overextending pawns in front of your king: pushes like f3/f4/f5 (or similar) create irreversible weaknesses and open lines against you.
• Time management pattern: you’re sharp in scrambles but still lose to tactical finishers when you let the position slip; a small decrease in blunders per game will raise your win rate significantly.

Concrete examples (study these positions)

Review these moments move-by-move and ask: “What checks and captures did my opponent get because of my last pawn/king move?”

• Loss vs abgdfftwu — early f3 and advancing f-pawn opened lines for the opponent’s queen and bishops; a coordinated queen+rook invasion finished the game. Replay this sequence and mark squares around your king that became weak.
• Win vs kafzkarma — you penalized a loose king and used piece activity to force decisive tactics. Compare how you used open files and checks to the loss and try to spot the difference: in the win your pieces were active and safe; in the loss the king was open and pieces uncoordinated.

Replay the critical loss here (use the move list to follow the idea):

Practical drills and concrete fixes (do these for 2–4 weeks)

• King-safety checklist before each move: have you castled or created luft? Are there undefended squares or diagonals to your king? If yes, fix before continuing the attack.
• Tactics warm-up: 10 minutes/day with fork, pin and mate puzzles. Focus on spotting opponent checks first — that habit reduces sudden mate losses.
• Mini-game: play 10 rapid (10|0 or 15|10) games where you must not push the f-pawn or g-pawn before developing both knights and bishops — enforce discipline and review games where you broke the rule.
• Back-rank defense drill: practice defending against back-rank motifs and common queen+rook checks; learn one or two defensive patterns (lift a rook, create luft, interpose with knight).
• Post-game short reviews: after each session, pick your worst loss and write 3 lines: (1) the first mistake, (2) the decisive tactical shot you missed, (3) one rule to avoid it next time.

Opening & repertoire suggestions

• If you enjoy chaotic, tactical games, keep that style — but avoid early f6/f3 moves that fatally weaken your king. Consider slightly more solid setups that still allow tactics (example: delay pawn pushes, develop knights and bishops first).
• From your openings data you do very well in gambit-style, tactical lines (Amar Gambit, Amazon Attack). Keep those but add one “solid” reply to 1.e4 that prioritizes development over immediate pawn grabs.
• Study 5 typical sidelines leading to the positions you play most. When an opponent plays an unusual pawn push, have one planned response that keeps your king safe and pieces active.

Weekly training plan (simple)

• 3 days — 20 minutes tactics (focus: mates, forks, pins).
• 2 days — 30 minutes opening review: one line, two typical plans and one trap to avoid.
• 1 day — play 3 rapid games (10|0 or 15|10) and do a 10-minute self-review after each.
• 1 day — rest or watch a 20-minute video on king safety and mating nets.

Short-term measurable goals (30 days)

• Reduce mate/lose-by-checkmate frequency by 50%: record the number of games lost by checkmate and track progress.
• Lower avoidable blunders per game by at least 0.5 — use a simple blunder count in reviews.
• Increase average rating trend slope for the month — small + goal like +10 points (you already had +8 last month; push to +15 with disciplined study).

Want help with a focused drill?

Tell me which you prefer: tactics drills, king-safety exercises, or an opening clean-up plan — and I’ll give a 2-week program with specific positions and daily tasks. If you want, I can also generate annotated sequences from the exact games above (I included the loss to abgdfftwu so we can dissect it move-by-move).