eli shmuel

Quick summary

Nice momentum recently — your rating and results show a very strong upward run. You’re converting advantages, finishing cleanly in winning positions, and your opening choices are producing real results. Below I highlight what’s working, what to tidy up, and a short weekly plan to keep the climb steady.

What you did well (patterns I see)

• Big rating jump and a positive trend — your 3–6 month slopes show rapid improvement. Keep the habits that got you here.
• You convert middlegame advantages: several wins end with clean tactical finishes or decisive endgame technique (good sense for trading into winning endgames).
• Opening variety with good win rates in focused lines — examples: Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Amazon Attack and Australian Defense show high win rates. That means your preparation is paying off.
• Practical play under pressure — you finish mates and force resignations rather than letting games drift.

Key areas to improve

• Time management: a few games show heavy time use late — winning on time is fine, but you’ll climb faster if you keep a steady clock (practice quicker, safe moves in simplified positions).
• Tactical sharpness in complex return-plays: when the opponent starts counterplay (queen checks / active pieces), don’t rush — pause to look for defensive resources and simple exchanges that reduce their initiative.
• Opening follow-up and plans: your openings reach playable middlegames, but sometimes there’s not a clear long-term plan (where to put rooks, which pawn breaks to aim for). Convert a small edge by deciding a concrete plan earlier (piece targets, pawn breaks, exchange targets).
• Endgame technique polishing — basic rook and king + pawn patterns are mostly good, but sharpen theoretical rook endgames and queen vs rook scenarios so you convert faster and safely when opponent complicates.

Concrete drills (30–60 minutes each week)

• Daily tactics: 12–20 mixed puzzles, focus on forks, pins, and mating patterns. Goal: fewer “missed forks” and quicker recognition.
• One annotated game per week: pick a win and a loss from your last 20 games. Write a 6–8 line note: turning point, alternative line, and time usage. This fixes recurring mistakes.
• Endgame blocks (3 sessions): king + pawn vs king, basic rook endings, and queen vs rook defense patterns. 20 minutes each session with focused examples.
• Opening tune-up: pick your two most-played lines (you have strong wins in Alapin and Amazon Attack). Spend one session on common sidelines and typical plans — not only moves but WHY the moves are played.
• Time management drill: play three rapid games (10+0 or 8+0) forcing yourself to move within 30 seconds in quiet positions to build speed. Then one game with 5|3 to practice accuracy with increment.

Short, practical checklist (do these this week)

• Do 3 tactical sets (15–20 puzzles total).
• Annotate one won and one lost game from your recent pool.
• 30 minutes studying 2 typical rook endgames.
• Play 4 rapid games with a strict “30-second rule” on non-critical moves.

Notes from your most recent win (example)

Opponent: chessman82008 — opening: Queens Gambit Declined

What stands out in this game: you built a queenside pawn majority, simplified into the right endgame, resisted counterchecks, and queened on move 57. The structure and patience were textbook — earlier piece trades removed counterplay, and you kept a steady plan (advance, fix the opponent’s pawns, create a passed pawn).

Embedded game (review move-by-move):

Why this plan will help

• Tactics & puzzles reduce “missed” short combinations and speed up your calculation in time trouble.
• Annotating games builds pattern recognition — you’ll spot the same plans earlier and save clock time.
• Endgame study increases conversion rate when you have a small advantage — you already head in the right direction, a little polish converts more wins.
• Time drills train the habit of making safe, fast moves in simple positions so you're not burning time for critical moments.

Next steps (30 / 60 / 90 day goals)

• 30 days — make the time-management drill routine; annotate 8 games; +20 puzzles/week.
• 60 days — solidify two opening lines with typical plans; add targeted endgame practice (rook endings).
• 90 days — aim for consistent conversion: reduce losses from equal positions and convert 60–70% of won positions into full points.

Parting note

You’ve got the right trajectory — keep the focused practice (tactics + 1 deep study area per week). If you want, send 2 specific losses and I’ll annotate turning points and give precise alternative moves to use in future games.