Blitz improvement focus
David, your recent blitz games show a dynamic style with good start-of-game activity. You often seize the initiative and keep pieces active, which creates practical chances even in time trouble. To convert more of these chances into wins, you can sharpen your decision-making and endgame technique in fast games.
What you do well
- Quick, principled development and active piece placement in the opening.
- Willingness to complicate the position and keep the action going when you have the initiative.
- Resilience in complex tactical sequences; you don’t shy away from sharp lines and keep trying for the best practical chances.
Key areas to improve
- Time management under pressure. In blitz, a few quick checks and a fast calculation can prevent time trouble and avoid overthinking critical moments.
- Maintain a clear plan in the middlegame. In tactically rich positions, choose 1 plan (for example increasing pressure on a file, targeting a pawn structure, or preparing a king-side attack) and try to stick to it unless a forcing tactical opportunity demands a change.
- Endgame technique and simplification. When the position is favorable or even, decide when to exchange to reach a straightforward endgame you can win, and be wary of trades that give the opponent counterplay.
- Rook and minor-piece endgames. Practice common rook endings and king activity endgames; these are frequent in blitz and often decide close games.
Opening and repertoire guidance
Build a compact, reliable opening set you can play quickly without second-guessing. Focus on 2 White setups you like and 2 Black responses you know well. For example, refine a Nimzo-Larsen Attack line as White and a Scandinavian or English-based system as Black, with a short, consistent middlegame plan for each. Create a simple reference sheet with typical pawn structures and common endgames arising from those lines, and review one model line per week.
Structured training plan
- Daily blitz-focused tactics: 15–20 minutes solving patterns you encounter in your openings (forks, pins, discovered attacks, and tactical ideas in the middlegame).
- Weekly endgame practice: 15 minutes on rook endings and king activity endings to improve conversion in blitz.
- Opening refinement sessions: pick 2 White and 2 Black lines, build a concise cheat sheet with typical middlegame plans, and practice transitions from opening to middlegame in focused drills.
- Time-management drills: in training games, enforce a quick plan for the first 10 moves and practice choosing a forcing continuation when possible.
Next steps
- In your next 5–7 blitz games, aim to implement a simple plan for the opening and avoid unnecessary exchanges that reduce tension when you are ahead.
- Maintain a concise repertoire and practice one clear middlegame plan per game.
- Schedule short daily sessions for tactics and endgames to improve pattern recognition and conversion without overloading training time.