Avatar of Oladapo Adu
Player Profile

Oladapo Adu IM

dapsay Washington DC, USA Since 2010 (Active) Chess.com ♟♟♟♟♟♟
53.8% W 40.4% L 5.7% D
Bullet
2675
2369W 1821L 225D
Blitz
2669
6667W 5068L 728D
Rapid
2288
245W 97L 39D
Daily
1834
17W 2L 1D

Coach’s Feedback for Oladapo Adu (dapsay)

What You’re Doing Well

  • Relentless activity. Your pieces rarely stand idle. In your latest win you doubled rooks on the e-file, marched the h-pawn and finished with 48. Re8# – a textbook mating net.
  • Converting advantages. When you enter a winning endgame you usually keep control (4/5 recent wins were by mate or resignation).
  • Handling flank pawn storms as Black. Against 1.d4 g6 set-ups you meet h-pawn hacks with timely …c6/…c5 strikes, seizing the centre at the right moment.

Main Improvement Targets

  1. Clock management.
    Two of your last five losses were on time in objectively drawable (even winning) positions.
    • Adopt a “<15 s rule”: when the clock dips below 15 s, simplify or force repetition immediately.
    • Practise bullet sessions where the only goal is to finish with >5 s left.
  2. Opening choice with White.
    1.c3/Saragossa is fine for variety, but three recent losses showed you drifting into passive structures after …e5 or …b5.
    • Add one mainstream d4 system (Queen’s Gambit, London, etc.) so opponents can’t prepare only for your off-beat line.
    • If you keep 1.c3, study plans after …e5 (see Carls Defence).
  3. Early queen adventures.
    Loss PGN 139139721364 featured Qb1-a2-b1 while pieces slept. Try not to move the queen before three minor pieces are developed unless you win concrete material.
  4. Tactics on the c-file.
    In the check-mate loss (game 139139466650) 32…Nxd3! hit an overloaded back rank. Drill puzzles with double attacks on c2/c3/f2 to sharpen your radar.

Illustrative Moments

Finishing Accurately


The rook lift 46.Rg7+!! forced the king to the edge and sealed the mate. Excellent technique.

Time-Trouble Slip


Up material yet flagged. Two fast checks would have forced a draw. Let’s fix that clock habit!

4-Week Action Plan

  • Opening prep: 15 min/day on a mainline Queen’s Gambit or Ruy Lopez.
  • Clock drills: three bullet games per session; objective = finish with >5 s.
  • Tactics: 30 puzzles/day focused on intermediate moves & overloaded pieces.
  • Endgames: rehearse Lucena & Philidor plus K+P vs K within 60 s to ingrain patterns.

Stats Snapshot

Peak Rapid: 2530 (2021-06-25)  |  Peak Bullet: 2613 (2025-06-01)
Hourly win-rate trend:
01234567891011121314151617181920212223100%0%Hour of Day
 |  Win-rate by day:
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun100%0%Day of Week

Keep up the fighting spirit, Oladapo! Tighten the clock control and diversify your openings and you’ll clear the next rating barrier soon.