Coach Chesswick
Hi Richard!
Below is a concise, data-driven review of your recent blitz performance together with an action plan for the next training cycle.
Quick Stats
- Current peak blitz rating: 2608 (2025-04-29)
- Main openings with White: 1.d4 → Catalan / Queen’s Indian setups
- Main openings with Black: Modern–Robatsch, Accelerated Dragon
What You Already Do Well
- Dynamic piece sacrifices. 16.Nxf7 & 17.Nxe6 (!!) against Dietmar Hiermann displayed confident calculation and a killer instinct.
- Creating time pressure for the opponent. Four of your last five wins ended with your rival flagging while you still had >25 s on the clock.
- Effective pawn breaks. The f-pawn thrusts (15.f5! vs alexutz2005) and timely c-file pressure show good understanding of when to open lines.
Key Areas to Improve
-
Time management under stress.
Every recorded loss was a time-forfeit. In the Accelerated Dragon game you burned 82 s on moves 6–10 and had 1.6 s left by move 31.
Target: Reach move 20 with ≥50 % of your initial time in at least 8/10 blitz games this week. -
Premature …f6/…f5 in Sicilian & Modern structures.
Against Antonio Micaias Silva de Sousa the sequence 6…f6 ?! 8…f5 ?! weakened e6/e5 and locked your own bishop. Compare with standard Maroczy plans (…Nf6, …d6, …0-0) before committing the f-pawn. -
Technical conversion.
Even in wins you occasionally return material (22…Qxa2 vs Didi67) and allow counter-play. Sharpening rook-endgame technique will save seconds and half-points.
Illustrative Example
Notice how the e4-square became a permanent outpost after the early pawn pushes:
[[Pgn|1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.c4 c5 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Be3 f6 7.Nc3 d6 8.Qd2 f5 9.f3 fxe4 10.Nxe4 Nf6 11.Nc3 Bd7 12.Be2 0-0 13.0-0 Rc8 14.Rac1 a6 15.Rfd1 Ne5 16.b3 Qa5 17.h3 Nc6 18.a4 Rfe8 19.Bf1 Nxd4 20.Bxd4 Bc6 21.Rb1 Qa5? 22.g4 …]One-Week Drill Plan
| Theme | Exercise | Aim |
|---|---|---|
| Clock Discipline | Play 10 blitz games; resign if below 45 s before move 20. | Internalise faster decision cycles. |
| Light-Square Safety | Review 20 Dragon/Modern positions; decide in <30 s whether …f-pawn is safe. | Cut down automatic pawn pushes. |
| End-game Technique | Daily 15 min rook + pawns vs rook drill. | Smoother conversions, fewer flags. |
Strategic Addition
Adopt one calmer defence to 1.e4 (e.g. the Taimanov Sicilian or a classical French Defense) for days when the Modern feels too risky. Variety will make you tougher to prepare for and relieve clock pressure.
Progress Monitor
Keep me posted after 30 games and we’ll refine the plan. Good luck at the board!