Coach Chesswick
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.