David Lana FM

Hi David! 👋 Here is your personalised post-tournament review

Quick Stats

Peak blitz rating: 2838 (2020-05-06)

When you score best:

What you are already doing well

• Tactical alertness. In your win vs Rasmus Svane you spotted 22.Nxe4!!, liquidated Black’s centre and then wrapped things up with the neat sequence 27.Ne6 hxg4 28.Nxf4!
  .
• Opening variety. You handle both 1.e4 and 1.d4 positions and can switch between the Caro-Kann, French and Sicilian as Black, keeping opponents guessing.
• Willingness to fight on. Several wins came from holding slightly worse positions and turning the tables when the opponent came under time pressure.

Most common trouble spots

1. Clock control. Four of your last five losses were decided by the clock or in ≤10 s. Even in wins you often dipped below 15 s with a complex position on the board.
   ➜ Fix: train “hand-speed” by playing a set of 20 bullet games only to practice premove patterns, then analyse the first 10 moves of each game for blunders. Add a 5-minute daily session of Woodpecker-style tactic reps to improve instant pattern recall.
2. Drifting in equal endgames. Loss vs Vignesh N.R shows a level, simplified position on move 30 but you were pushed back and lost after 60…Bd2+. Your rook-and-pawn technique is solid, yet you occasionally miss counter-play ideas such as activating the king early.
   ➜ Fix: solve three practical rook-endgame studies every training day and play “rook-endgame only” sparring positions vs an engine set to 2300.
3. In-game reflection. Two early-queen raids (e.g. 11.Qxa7 against the Caro-Kann) netted a pawn but cost you tempi and harmony. Against precise defence (see loss to Ido Gorshtein) the initiative evaporated.
   ➜ Fix: add a “sanity check” to your candidate-move routine: “Does this move improve my worst piece or create a new weakness?” Force yourself to reject at least one tempting but risky line each game to build discipline.
4. Opening depth vs. elite blitzers. In the Alapin loss Black equalised by move 12 thanks to …Qxd1. Your current lines are healthy but occasionally superficial.
   ➜ Fix: build one model game tree per opening this week. For each critical branch add: key ideas, common traps, typical endgame. Review the tree before each session until you can recite the main line without boards.

Concrete training plan (next 14 days)

Key concepts to revisit

• Tempo
• Prophylaxis
• Zugzwang

Final thought

You are already playing at an impressive level; most of the remaining rating points lie in polishing time-management habits and deepening a few critical opening positions. See you at the next session—looking forward to celebrating your new peak!