Coach Chesswick
Hi Karin, here’s a tailored review of your recent play
Quick snapshot
Peak rating so far: 1180 (2018-06-01) Performance trends:What you are already doing well
- Fast, forceful development – In your latest win (14-move miniature!) you followed the classical recipe open centre, develop, hit f7/f2. Your pieces flooded the black king before it castled.
Example PGN: - Tactical alertness – You spot loose pieces and hanging tactics (…Ng3+, …Qxf8#). Your opponents frequently resign after material swings.
- Willingness to sacrifice – Exchange sacs (Rxf4, Rxh6) and gambits appear in many wins. This keeps pressure on lower-rated opponents who dislike complications.
- Time handling in winning games – You often finish with >40 s still on the clock, showing calm conversion when things go your way.
- Opening variety – You try Petrov, Scandinavian, Sicilian, Modern, English. This broad experience will pay long-term.
Main growth areas
- King safety in your own camp – Several losses start with an early pawn push (h-pawn or c-pawn) that weakens the dark squares.
• Loss vs radekskuthan (A40, 21 Apr): after 5…Bg4 you exchanged on f3, opened g-file and soon faced powerful pins.
- Over-reliance on tactics – When the shot isn’t there you sometimes overextend (e.g. 17.g4 in your Nimzo loss). Incorporate prophylaxis & structural plans, not just concrete blows.
- Handling opposite-side attacks – In several Modern/King’s-fianchetto games you launch h-pawns but forget Black’s counter-break …e5 or …c5. Study model games by Tal vs solid defenders to learn coordination.
- Endgame technique – Very few wins reach simplified endings; when they do, time trouble or missed ideas appear. Add a weekly endgame slot (rook vs rook + pawn, minor-piece endings).
- Time management under pressure – Your time advantage disappears in tough positions (see the QGD time-forfeit vs pawnspathwaysgm). Practise increment awareness: make a safe move every 2–3 s to harvest the +2 s.
Action plan for the next month
- Opening focus: Choose one main defence with Black (e.g. Scandinavian) and annotate 10 master games. Aim to understand typical pawn structures and typical manoeuvres like the …c6 & …e6 break.
- Pattern training: 20 daily puzzles featuring pins, forks, and discovered attacks. Use the tag filters for interference and zwischenzug – these were decisive in both your wins and losses.
- Post-mortem discipline: After each session, save two critical games (one win, one loss) and run the “blunder check” only after you’ve written down your own thoughts. This builds self-diagnosis skills.
- Endgame sprint: work through one chapter of Silman’s “Complete Endgame Course” per week, starting at your rating band (Class B). Reinforce Lucena, Philidor and pawn race calculation.
- Structured time drills: Play 10 games of 3 + 2 where you must reach move 20 with ≥2 min left. This trains quick, solid decision-making.
Inspirational checkpoint
Retest your progress after 30 games. If your Rapid peak pushes +75 elo, reward yourself with a mini-tournament or analysing one classical game of your favourite player together with a friend.Keep the fighting spirit, Karin – refine the foundations and your tactical flair will become a real weapon!