Coach Chesswick
Hi Damian – personalised feedback on your recent play
1. What you already do well
- Tactical alertness: Your most recent win against donmacchiato29 (see miniature below) shows that you quickly recognise loose pieces and mating nets.
- Practical aggression: Moving the h-pawn in several games (e.g. vs jacobagulu) indicates you are not afraid to seize space or open lines against the enemy king.
- Fighting spirit in low-rated pools: When the position turns wild you usually keep looking for checks, captures and threats until your opponent cracks.
2. Priority improvements
-
Follow basic opening principles more faithfully.
• In your losses you often bring the same piece out twice (e.g.Ne5–c4–e5in the Modern Defence game) or launch the queen before finishing development.
• Remedy: Aim for three pieces plus castling before any queen adventure. A quick mental checklist after move 6 keeps you on track. -
King safety first, even when you are the attacker.
• Against jacobagulu you played 9.h4 without completing development; when the counter-blow came you had no pieces left near your king.
• Drill: Set up training positions where you must repel attacks with an under-defended king. Use the “King & pawn shield” theme on tactics servers. -
Time-management. Several defeats (e.g. vs youthhunter63) were due to running out of time despite a playable position.
• Practical tip: Allocate your 3-minute game roughly as follows – Opening 45 s, Middlegame 1 m 45 s, Ending 30 s. Glance at the clock every two moves, not just in crisis moments.
3. Opening repertoire suggestions
| With White | With Black |
|---|---|
| You already steer into a London-style setup (1.d4 Bf4 e3 c3). Study 5 classic model games and memorise the tabiya up to move 8. This will give you solid structures and free more time on the clock. | After 1.e4 you like 1…e5 and even 2…Nc6 3.d5 Nd4. Keep that as a surprise weapon, but add a main-line defence (e.g. the Scotch Four Knights or the Italian Two Knights with the safer 4…Bc5) so you don’t rely on opponent mistakes. |
4. Sneak-peek at your quick tactical win
5. Training menu for the next two weeks
- 30 tactical puzzles/day focusing on forks & double-attacks.
- Play five 10|0 games and annotate them manually; highlight moments where you moved the same piece twice in the opening.
- Watch one short video on the importance of tempo in the opening (search “tempo in chess” in your favourite platform).
6. Stats & progress trackers
Your current peak Blitz rating: 575 (2022-12-11)
Track your performance here:
Keep up the hard work, Damian, and let me know how the next training batch feels!