DrAlan FM

Hi DrAlan – well played! Here’s some tailored feedback to accelerate your next rating jump.

1. What you’re already doing well

• Active opening choices. With White you combine Catalan-style systems and the Maroczy Bind; with Black you’re comfortable in both the Sicilian and Grünfeld structures. This gives you dynamic positions that suit your tactical eye.
• Initiative-seeking play. In your win against RockyMachado (Sicilian B40) you sacrificed the h-pawn, kept the queen on h4, and converted with energetic rook lifts. Your willingness to seize the attack is a clear strength.
• End-game technique. The same game shows patient conversion of a rook+knight ending; you centralised the king, fixed targets, and only then cashed in pawns.

2. Biggest improvement levers

1. Time management – your single fastest rating gain.
   Four of your last six losses were on time or abandonment even from playable or better positions.
   • Adopt a “40-20-10 rule” for 3 | 2 games: 40 s for opening phase (moves 1-10), 20 s for middlegame (moves 11-30), 10 s for each move after that. Train it in puzzles with the same clock.
   • When under 15 s, simplify: trade queens or enter an endgame you know.
2. Stop the early pawn grabs in the Catalan/Benoni structures.
   In the loss vs FreMax (E06) 5…dxc4 gave Black a free tempo with …Nc6-a5. Instead, keep tension with
   and only capture on c4 after Black has wasted …a6 or …c6.
3. Improve calculation depth by 1-2 ply.
   • In your Benko loss to LVVDNISTER, 18…e5! trapped your queen; the tactic was only three moves deep. Daily 10-minute sessions on “Mate-in-3 & 4” puzzles will hard-wire this.
   • Look for forcing moves first: checks, captures, threats (CCT principle).
4. Have a clear repertoire vs 1.e4 that avoids heavy theory.
   Your Sicilian Taimanov scores well, but you sometimes drift into sidelines (…e6/…d5 structures) and get passive. Consider adding the Kan move-order (…a6, …e6, …Qc7) so you can transpose comfortably and sidestep early Bg5 pins.
5. Endgame conversion speed.
   Even when winning you spend too long in won endings (e.g., K+B vs pawns). Drill the basic rook endings (Lucena/Philidor) until you can execute in <10 s. Lichess “Rook vs Pawn” trainer is perfect for this.

3. Opening snapshots

4. Tracking progress

Use these dashboards each Sunday to verify improvement:

• Blitz performance by hour –
• Win rate by day of week –
• Your lifetime best – 2006 (2013-07-24) (aim to push this +100 in the next 60 days)

5. Weekly training plan (≈3 hrs)

1. 30 min puzzle rush (focus on 3-5 move tactics).
2. 15 min endgame drill (rook + pawn vs rook).
3. 30 min annotated review of one of your own games (win and loss).
4. Play 8-10 games of 3 | 2 with the 40-20-10 clock discipline.
5. 10 min opening refresher (Kan or Catalan notes).

Stick to the plan for two weeks, then revisit the charts above. Expect clearer middlegames, fewer time scrambles, and a solid boost to confidence.

Keep up the great work, and enjoy the climb!