Quick summary
Nice session — you won several cleanly and converted messy endgames into wins. Your opening repertoire (especially the various French Defense lines and the English setups) is working: you get playable middlegames and practical chances. The loss to Xiao Tong shows where you can tighten up in long rook-and-pawn endgames and in handling opponent passed pawns.
What you did well
- Opening choice and preparation — you consistently steer the game into familiar territory (great results in French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Chistyakov Defense and French Defense: Exchange Variation). That gives you a strong baseline.
- Tactical awareness in sharp positions — several wins ended after you found forcing continuations that won material or created decisive passed pawns.
- Converting advantages in simplified endgames — you showed patience turning rook/queen activity and passed pawns into promotion threats and mate nets.
- Practical play under pressure — you used active piece play (rook lifts, king marches) to keep the opponent uncomfortable in the late middlegame and endgame.
Key areas to improve
- Endgame technique — the loss vs Xiao Tong highlights recurring issues in long rook-and-pawn endgames. Focus on defending/blocking passed pawns and avoiding passive piece placements that let the opponent create outside pawns.
- Pawn structure choices — in a few games you allowed the opponent counterplay by creating weak pawn islands or playing ceding squares (holes) that knights/bishops used as outposts. Be stingier with pawn pushes when the position is simplified.
- Time management in complex positions — in several long games the clock dips low on critical moves. Spend your extra seconds on “is this tactic available?” and on clear plan changes (not just the next move).
- King safety in transitions — when you simplify into endgames, double-check active checks and back-rank tactics from the opponent before simplifying queens/rooks.
Concrete next steps (30/60/90 day plan)
- 30 days
- Daily: 15 tactical puzzles (focus: forks, skewers, promotions). Keep a log of missed tactics to review weekly.
- Endgame drills: 3 saved rook endgames per day (defense and conversion). Use simple tablebase or trainer positions.
- Review two recent wins and the loss vs Xiao Tong — annotate where the evaluation flipped and why.
- 60 days
- Build a short “must-know” endgame checklist (opposition, active king, cutting off, building outside passed pawn).
- Work on one opening line deeper — pick the French/Tarrasch line you play most and prepare 3 replies your opponents use frequently.
- 90 days
- Play a focused mini-match (10+0 or 15+10 rapid) using only your strongest opening to test middlegame plans without time pressure.
- Targeted training: 100 tactics from positions that arise from your favorite openings (to reduce recurring blindspots).
Practical drills and study items
- Tactics: ladder these — forks, back-rank mates, promotion tactics. Do pattern-repeat sets (15/day).
- Endgames: 10–15 minutes per session on rook vs rook + pawn, king and pawn races, and queen vs rook basics.
- Opening: reinforce typical pawn breaks and piece reroutes for your French and English lines. When your opponent trades into an endgame, learn the standard plan (which pawn breaks, which piece to exchange).
- Post-game review: for each loss/resignation, identify the one move where your situation went from “equal/plus” to “critical”. Write a one-line plan to avoid it next time.
Opening-specific notes
Your opening performance shows real strengths — high win rates in the Tarrasch and Exchange lines. Keep doing what’s working, but:
- French lines: double-check typical exchanges that create opposite-colored bishop endgames or isolated pawn structures — know when to simplify vs. keep tension.
- English systems: watch out for early b- or c-file breaks by the opponent; keep a plan for when they play ...c5 or ...b5 to free their game.
- If you want, isolate one frequent reply you face and prepare a short trap or simplifying plan (3 moves deep) to gain confidence over-the-board.
Useful references: French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Chistyakov Defense, French Defense: Exchange Variation, English Opening.
Example game — review suggestion
Here’s a compact replay of one of the recent wins. Load it and look for the moment you transitioned from active play to forced material win — note how you used rook activity and a mating net to finish:
Short checklist to use during blitz games
- Before you move: one-second tactical scan for checks/forks/promotion threats.
- If you reach an endgame: ask “are there passed pawns or outside pawns?” and place your king actively.
- Don’t rush simplification — only trade when the resulting pawn structure/favorability is clear.
- Use your opening prep to save time: if opponent deviates from book, play a safe developing move and re-evaluate.
Final notes & motivation
Your strength-adjusted win rate and opening stats show you have a reliable foundation. Tightening endgames and spending a little training time on rook endgame patterns and blitz time management will yield quick rating gains. Keep the opening weapons you already have, drill tactics, and review the loss to Xiao Tong to lock those lessons in.
If you want, I can:
- Annotate one of the losses and mark the exact turning moves.
- Create a 2-week tactics/endgame micro-plan tailored to your favorite openings.
- Prepare 10 model positions from your Tarrasch/Exchange lines for practice.