Dinh Nho Kiet FM

Quick summary

Nice set of recent wins — you convert passed pawns well and you create practical winning chances. Your rating history shows steady improvement and a recent bump in the last 6 months. Below are focused, concrete suggestions to turn those strengths into a reliable +score and reduce the types of losses you're seeing.

What you're doing well

• Creating and advancing passed pawns — your wins often finish with a promoted pawn or a decisive pawn march (good awareness of passed-pawn potential).
• Active king usage in the endgame — you use the king aggressively to support pawn advances and to invade (seen in your Catalan/Kings-Indian win).
• Good conversion technique — when you have a material or positional edge you tend to simplify and convert instead of overcomplicating.
• Opening variety — you play many systems (French, QGD, Alekhine, etc.) which gives you a broad repertoire to leverage.

Recurring weaknesses to fix

• Tactical oversights in the middlegame — a few losses come from missed tactics around knight forks, discovered checks and hanging pieces. Increase tactical sharpening.
• English / Symmetrical positions — the recent loss vs %3Ctranjminh%3E came from trouble organizing counterplay after early exchanges; be careful accepting structural changes without a clear plan.
• Opening lines with low win rates — some systems you use (for example the London Poisoned Pawn and Blackburne Shilling Gambit) show below-average results. Either study critical lines or avoid them until you’re confident.
• Time management in complex moments — several games tighten on the clock; use the 5-second increment deliberately (take the extra second on critical nodes).

Concrete training plan (next 4 weeks)

• Daily tactics: 10–15 minutes focused on forks, pins, discoveries and mating patterns. Emphasize calculation depth, not speed.
• Endgame drills: 3× per week — king + pawn vs king, rook + pawn endings and converting a single outside passed pawn. Practice technique until it’s routine.
• Opening focus: pick 2 trouble areas to study this month — for you I recommend:
  • Study the English/Symmetrical structures and typical pawn breaks (b4, a4, c5 plans).
  • Refresh the main ideas in the Catalan Opening and King's Indian Defense structures you play — understand typical piece placements and one strategic plan per side.
• One slow post-mortem per week: pick a recent win and a loss, and annotate critical positions (either yourself or with a coach) to internalize decision patterns.

Practical in-game tips

• When you have a passed pawn, simplify into a technical ending only when you are certain your king/piece activity remains superior.
• Avoid automatic captures in the opening — ask: “Does this change pawn structure or give my opponent a target?”
• When the position becomes messy, spend an extra 10–20 seconds to check for immediate tactics (forks, skewers, discovered checks).
• If you face an opening you struggle with, steer the game to quieter structures or known sidelines rather than sharp theoretical lines.

Openings — what to change and what to keep

• Keep playing the French Defense and QGA lines — your statistics show strong results there; deepen typical pawn-break plans and common endgames from those openings.
• Rework or temporarily avoid the London Poisoned Pawn and Blackburne Shilling Gambit lines until you study the traps and refutations — your WinRate there is low.
• If you want a quick win from the English/Symmetrical: study one concrete plan (e.g., a queenside expansion with a4/b4 and when to trade rooks) rather than many loose ideas.

Concrete examples from your recent games

Two instructive moments:

• Win vs %3Ctranjminh%3E — excellent use of an outside passed pawn and active king to promote (good conversion of a technical advantage).
• Loss vs %3Ctranjminh%3E — the critical theme was piece coordination and an opponent tactical shot on the queenside after early exchanges. Study similar middlegames and practice spotting back-rank and fork threats.

Replay a key sequence from your Catalan/Kings-Indian win (study the thematic pawn push and final conversion):

Small checklist before you press the move

• Is any of my pieces hanging or can it be forked this turn?
• If I trade, who benefits from the resulting pawn structure?
• Does my king have flight squares / is it vulnerable to back-rank issues?
• If I push a pawn, what weaknesses do I create and who gets the outposts?

Next steps

• Start the 4-week training plan above. Track your weekly tactics progress and two annotated games.
• If you want, send 2–3 annotated recent games (one win, one loss) and I’ll give move-by-move feedback and a short plan to fix the key mistakes.

Motivation

You have a solid foundation and clear strengths (passed pawns, endgame conversion). With targeted tactical training and a bit of opening pruning you’ll turn more close games into wins. Keep at it — steady, focused work will pay off.