Quick summary — recent blitz snapshot
Stanoje Jovic — nice run. Your short-term rating trend is up (1m +7, 3m +32, 6m +54) and your opening record (English, Caro‑Kann) is very healthy. In the short sample you sent you converted multiple advantages, won by resignation/time, and only one decisive loss was on time. That tells me your chess understanding is strong; the biggest practical leak is clock handling and a few avoidable tactical slips in sharp positions.
What you’re doing well
- Opening choice and preparation — you get comfortable, active piece play out of the English/Caro‑Kann families. Your Openings Performance shows consistently high win rates in those lines.
- Creating and converting long-term advantages — in the wins you push passed pawns and open files at the right moment (good sense for simplification when ahead).
- Tactical awareness in the middlegame — you spot tactics that force resignations or decisive material gains.
- Practical play under pressure — multiple wins ended by resignation or opponent flagging, which means you keep posing problems.
Key areas to improve (high impact)
- Time management / Flagging: you lost a game on time. In blitz that costs points quickly — tighten your pre-move / increment strategy and avoid long think-sprints early on. (Flagging)
- Tactical hygiene in complex positions: a few games show you allowed the opponent counterplay (knight jumps, forks, passed-pawn races). Slow, quiet checks for opponent tactics before every move will cut your blunders.
- Endgame technique under the clock: when you simplify into pawn/rook/queen endgames keep a short checklist (active king, passed pawns, opposition, checking squares). You already convert well when there's a clear plan; sharpen the technical finish under time pressure.
- Move selection in critical moments — aim to replace “hope chess” with a short forcing test: do I have a forcing tactical refutation? If yes, calculate; if no, improve my position first (king safety, rooks to open files).
Concrete drills you can do this week
- Tactics: 15–20 puzzles daily, 10 minutes focused on forks/pins/x‑ray/skewers. Prioritize motifs you miss in games (forks, back‑rank tactics).
- Endgames: 10–15 minutes every other day on rook+pawn endings and basic queen vs. pawn techniques. Practice against a clock (5+3) to simulate pressure.
- Blitz practice plan: 6–8 blitz games with an explicit clock rule — don’t spend more than 30 seconds on opening moves 1–8. Use increment to your advantage; train to rely on 2s increment to avoid flagging.
- One‑game deep review: pick one loss or close win per day, run through with an engine only after you’ve written your own 3‑point takeaway (what I missed, what I did well, next time do X).
Opening checklist (blitz friendly)
- Have 2–3 tried move orders per side for the first 10 moves. If your opponent deviates, play a safe, familiar plan rather than trying to force novelty under time pressure.
- At move 8–12 ask: is my king safe? Can I simplify to an endgame where I know the plan? If ahead, swap into endgame; if behind, keep tensions & create complications.
- Keep one “trump” idea to complicate the game (a pawn break or piece sacrifice) that you can reach in your favored lines — useful when you’re under the clock and need counterplay.
Practical in‑game habits to cut losses immediately
- Two‑step move check: before you click, (A) did I drop material? (B) did I walk into a check/ fork / discovered attack? — this short routine catches most loose‑piece moments.
- If you're low on time: switch to simpler plans (trade queens if you’re ahead, avoid risky kingside storms if you’re behind) and use pre‑moves only when safe.
- Use the increment: when you’re below 10s, make safe waiting moves that maintain your position rather than heroic calculations with no time to calculate.
Example positions — study these
Review the loss vs darkknightattack and look for where you spent most time and why the position simplified into a scenario the opponent could exploit. Here’s the final phase for quick review:
Also re-examine your convert-from-advantage games where the opponent resigned — identify the one in each game-winning sequence that forced the simplification (pawn break/open file).
Short personalized plan — next 2 weeks
- Week 1: Daily 15 min tactics + 3 x 5+3 training games. After each training session, pick 1 loss to annotate (5 minutes).
- Week 2: Add 3 endgame drills (rook/pawn basics) and a 30‑minute review session of your top opening lines. Keep one “time management goal”: reduce flag losses by 100% (track results).
- Post‑game ritual: 2 quick notes — (1) one tactical miss, (2) one positional improvement, (3) one clock habit to fix.
Useful links / references
- Opponent you recently lost to: darkknightattack
- Opponent from a recent win: literal_worst_move
- Concept to google/study: Flagging and Loose Piece
Final note
You have very strong foundations — your long history and rising trend show that. Small, focused fixes (clock discipline + tactical double‑checks + targeted endgame drills) will convert more of those close games into wins and remove the rare “lost on time” results. If you want, send me one annotated loss (your notes only) and I’ll give a line‑by‑line checklist of the turning point.