dagnor

Hi dagnor – here’s a clear-eyed look at your recent games and a roadmap for the next rating jump.

What you’re already doing well

• Enterprising openings as Black. In several Italian games you equalised quickly with ...d5 or ...Nxe4; your win against jeffnl78 (…Nxe4! on move 10) shows you spot thematic tactics.
• Sharp tactical finishing. When you get attacking chances you convert confidently – 37...Qxg2# versus JeffNL78 is a textbook example.
• Time-management. You usually keep a healthy clock lead, giving yourself the luxury to think harder at critical moments.

Recurring problems that are costing points

1. Too many early pawn moves as White.
   In the loss to pneumocoque you played five different pawn moves in the first ten turns and your king was still in the centre when …d4! blew it open.
   ✱ Guideline: aim for three pawn moves and two minor pieces developed before touching a flank pawn.
2. Loose Pieces Drop Off – “LPDO”.
   Against Felipe Jesus conceição both c4 and e4 pawns were hanging; …Nxe4 and …Bf5 created double attacks you couldn’t parry.
   ✱ New habit: after every move ask “what is undefended now – mine and theirs?”
3. Forcing queen manoeuvres overlooked.
   Opponents often batter you with repeated queen checks (…Qg5, …Qh4, …Qe3+). Here is one key moment:
   
   A quick “checks-captures-threats” scan would have shown 22…Nxe3 winning material.

Opening tune-ups (3-step plan)

1. With White choose one structure and learn it deeply. The solid London System (d4 Nf3 Bf4 e3 c3) fits your style and gets you castled faster than the current double-fianchetto set-ups.
2. With Black vs 1.e4 keep your Italian / Two-Knights scheme but memorise the critical lines after 4.Ng5 and 5.d4 so you punish inaccuracies with confidence.
3. With Black vs 1.d4/1.Nf3/1.c4 adopt a simple Queen's Gambit Declined set-up: …d5, …e6, …Nf6, …Be7 (or …Bb4+), castle, …c5. You’ll get clear plans and fewer early queen chases.

Training menu for the next month

• Daily: 10–15 tactical puzzles focused on defence. Force yourself to look for the opponent’s ideas first.
• Weekly: choose one loss, turn engines off, and write down three better candidate moves at the critical moment; then check with the engine.
• Sunday: play one 30 + 10 rapid game to practise slower calculation and the “blunder-check” routine.

Quick inspiration

Your current peak rapid rating is 1368 (2023-07-26). With the safety measures above plus your existing tactical punch, +100 points is well within reach.

Good luck and enjoy the climb!