Alex Dexter IM

Hi Alex “DexyDex” Dexter!

Your recent games show why you are already flirting with the 2900-plus blitz range (2958 (2020-12-28)), but they also uncover a few practical issues that, once fixed, could push you through the next ceiling.

What you’re doing especially well

• Opening Ambition & Flexibility
  • You score heavily with off-beat systems (e.g. Bowdler Attack 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4, Modern Scandinavian with …Bg4). • Against 1.d4 you handle both …e6 and …g6 set-ups confidently, giving opponents a moving target.
• Tactical Alertness
  • The win vs Leon Livaic (30…Rb3! in the Sicilian) and vs Pranav V (24…Bxd4!! in the Zukertort) show that you rarely miss shots that win material or force resignation.
  • Your king-side mating patterns out of seemingly “equal” positions are a recurring theme. Keep sharpening that sense!
• Conversion Technique in Materially Unbalanced Endings
  • In multiple games you calmly coordinated rook+minor vs queen (or vice-versa) without allowing counterplay.

Key growth areas

• Pawn-Structure Sensitivity
  • Recent loss vs Nderim Saraci shows doubled isolated pawn weakness (…cxd4 & …b5) that became target practice.
  • Tip: Before playing pawn breaks, mentally label resulting pawn islands. Three or more = probable long-term pain.
• Time-Management in Winning Positions
  • In the same loss your clock dropped from 2:30 to under 0:45 while still “just” two pawns down in a rook ending—resigning with drawing chances on the board.
  • Practical drill: During training games, force yourself to move whenever your edge crosses +2.00; trust the evaluation and play quickly.
• Endgame Horizon
  • Several resignations happened one or two moves before clear drawing resources (e.g. Philidor or Vancura-type defences). • Recommendation: set up those endings and defend vs an engine; aim for 10 successful holds in a row.
• Opening Depth vs Top Opposition
  • Your Bowdler win is nice, but after 5…Nxe4!? you were objectively worse. Strong GMs will punish Bc4 lines; consider adding a main-line Sicilian weapon or at least an update to your anti-Sicilian repertoire.

Micro-Focus Drill (next two weeks)

1. Pick one critical pawn structure you misplayed (e.g. IQP from your QGD loss). • Search master games with identical structure. • Create a flash-card with three plans for each side.
2. Daily 5-minute “conversion sprint”: start from +4 position with 1:00 vs 1:00 and convert vs engine on level 5.
3. Weekly review using
   to spot any time-of-day tilt patterns.

Instructive snapshot

The following critical phase from your last win is worth replaying; notice how quickly Black’s position collapses once your pieces flood the d-file:

Next checkpoint

Let’s aim to reassess after 50 rapid games or once you add +50 Elo, whichever comes first. By then we’ll revisit the

Keep the pressure on, stay practical, and enjoy the grind!

—Coach