darkestdungeon1

Quick summary

Nice energy in your recent blitz: you create active play and you know how to convert passed pawns into a queen (see your win vs alemartinn). A cluster of losses shows recurring tactical and king-safety issues you can fix quickly to stop giving opponents counterplay.

What you did well (keep doing this)

• Creating and advancing passed pawns — your final pawn push in the last win was well executed and shows effective endgame technique.
• Active piece play — you habitually bring rooks and the queen to open files and ranks rather than waiting passively.
• Opening familiarity — you reach middlegame plans quickly in your preferred systems (Bird Opening and French Defense), which saves time and avoids early errors.
• Practical play in time scrambles — you press opponents well and win on the clock when positions get chaotic.

Recurring weaknesses (concrete)

• King safety and tactical shots around your king — in several losses (for example vs kurochizo and Alexander Krayz) checks and exchanged pieces opened attacking lanes. Before pushing a pawn or making a developing move, scan for immediate checks, pins or discovered attacks.
• Loose pieces and forks — a few games show you dropping material or enabling forks by not checking opponent replies. Take a one–two second extra look before captures in blitz to verify tactics.
• Pawn moves that open your king — advancing g/h or exchanging pawns near your castled king without concrete gains often created targets. If you castle short, be conservative with adjacent pawn moves unless you calculate safety.
• Time management in complex positions — you’re good at pressuring in time scrambles, but when your clock is low simplify (trade pieces) unless a forced tactic exists. That reduces tactical collapse and resignations.

Specific moment to study from your last win

The final sequence where your b‑pawn queens is instructive. Key themes to study:

• How you used king activity and checks to cut off the enemy king's escape squares.
• How the passed pawn was protected and supported by the king/rook/queen to reach promotion safely.
• Why the opponent had no effective counterplay — you eliminated timely checks and created a promotion net.

Two‑week blitz practice plan

• Daily (12–18 min): tactics trainer focused on pins, forks and back‑rank mates (5–10 puzzles/day). These motifs are the ones costing you the most games.
• 3×/week (15–25 min): annotate one recent loss — find the moment a tactic became possible and write the defensive move you missed.
• 2×/week (20 min): endgame drills — king + pawn vs king and basic queen/rook endgames so promotion technique becomes automatic.
• Opening tune‑up (2 short sessions): review one typical pawn‑break plan for your top openings (Bird Opening and French Defense) and the common middlegame plans that follow.
• Blitz habit: if under 30 seconds and ahead, prioritize simplification (trade pieces) over speculative attacks.

Short checklist to use during games

• Before any pawn push near your king: will it open lines or squares for enemy pieces?
• Before a capture: check for a reply that forks, pins or gains material (2‑second tactical scan).
• If low on time and slightly better: trade pieces and simplify.
• Spot passed‑pawn themes: centralize your king and activate rooks fast to support or blockade.

Which games to review first

• Win: alemartinn — study the pawn‑promotion technique and how you neutralized counterplay.
• Loss: kurochizo — inspect the back‑rank / queen tactics around moves 26–32.
• Loss: Alexander Krayz — see how kingside exchanges and pawn captures opened your king to decisive attack.

Next steps

• Start each session with a 5–10 minute tactical warmup to prime pattern recognition.
• After a loss, add a one‑line note to your "don't lose this way" list describing the tactical motif or mistake.
• Once a week, pick one won game and write down why you converted — turn successes into repeatable habits.

If you want, tell me which loss you'd like a full move‑by‑move post‑mortem for and I’ll annotate the critical tactical moments and suggest exact alternatives.