Coach Chesswick
Hi Dalila!
Congratulations on the steady progress you have made—your games show inventiveness and a willingness to fight in every phase. Below is some constructive feedback drawn from your most recent results plus a few practical recommendations for the coming weeks.
Quick Snapshot
- Peak rapid rating: 1924 (2021-08-28)
- Typical openings: French Defence, Queen’s Gambit Declined & various Queen-pawn setups with early e3/e4.
- Tendency: Solid opening play ➜ sharp middlegames ➜ occasionally rushed endings.
Your Strengths
- Opening understanding. Your French and Semi-Slav structures are handled confidently. In the win versus suzette95 you neutralised the Steinitz French and seized the initiative with 13…f6! and 17…b5!.
- Tactical alertness. You seldom miss direct tactics (e.g. 24…Nc4! in that same game), and your mating attack in the Rh3-swing game shows good attacking instincts.
- Piece activity. You are happy to give a pawn or two for piece play—this keeps practical pressure on your opponents.
What to Improve
- Time management. Four of your last five losses were on time or in heavy time trouble. Build the habit of budgeting: Opening 30 %, Middlegame 50 %, Endgame 20 % of your clock.
- King safety when attacking. In the loss vs. diamonds13 you launched 29. Qa4 and 33. g4 without finishing development; the back-rank & light-square weaknesses cost you after 34…Qxf5 35 Rh3 exd4 36 exd4 Qg5+.
- Conversion technique. Some won positions drift (e.g. blitz endings where extra material is not coordinated). Drill basic rook + pawn endings so you can convert on autopilot when low on time.
Action Plan
- Opening tune-up: prepare one clear line against 1.d4 that avoids heavy theory (e.g. the Triangle set-up) so you can play quicker moves.
- Endgame routine: 10 minutes daily on rook endings (Lucena, Philidor, long-side defence). This will also sharpen your calculation under time pressure.
- Clock discipline drill: play 5 rapid games where your self-imposed rule is “move before the clock shows ⅔ of the starting time.” Review only your biggest think in each game and ask “could that decision have been simplified?”
- Tactics & conversion: finish every tactics session with one “simplify to win” puzzle—train spotting trades that kill counter-play.
Performance by Schedule
Consider scheduling games at the times you historically score best:
Keep an Eye on These Thematic Ideas
- Know when to break with …f6 in the French—time it so your bishop on c8 or e7 is ready to join.
- After playing cxd4 exd4 in Semi-Slav structures, aim for the minority attack b5-b4 only if your king is safe and rooks are connected.
- Versus the London-type setups you often face, remember the …e5 break: prepare with …Nd7, …Re8, …c5 and only then strike.
Mindset
Games decided on time are still instructive losses—log the critical position where you dipped under two minutes and ask what information you truly needed before moving. Over weeks, this reflection will carve away habitual over-thinking.
Keep playing actively, review with a cool head, and you will see the next rating jump soon. Good luck and enjoy the journey!