Avatar of Evgeny Melikhov

Evgeny Melikhov FM

emeli_chess Since 2021 (Inactive) Chess.com
36.8%- 49.9%- 13.3%
Blitz 2451
983W 1335L 355D
Coach Chesswick's Profile Photo
Coach Chesswick

Hi Evgeny!

Great job maintaining a high Blitz rating around 2496 (2024-01-23). Your recent games show lively, dynamic play and an appetite for complicated positions. Here’s some tailored feedback to help you keep climbing:

What you’re already doing well

  • Opening variety & ambition. You’re willing to enter sharp Najdorf lines as Black (e.g. vs IranianCheetah) and use active systems such as the Nimzo-Indian.
  • Tactical alertness. Several wins arise from tactical resourcefulness (…Qg1#, …Rc8+, intermezzi in the centre, etc.). Your pieces find activity quickly when the position opens.
  • Practical mindset. In Blitz you often choose forcing continuations that put the onus on the opponent to find only moves.

Key areas to sharpen

  1. Conversion & clock management.
    • Four recent losses were on time despite reasonable positions.
    • Aim to reach the late middlegame with ≥40 s; consider a “speed-up” trigger when under 1:00.
    • Practise increment endgames online: play won king-and-pawn endings vs engine at 10 s + 1 s to habituate quick, accurate moves.
  2. Defence against flank pressure.
    • Games vs AlfilesCruzados and LeninGuerra show difficulties after opponents expand with f4/f5 or g4/g5.
    • Review pawn-storm scenarios in the Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange and Ruy Lopez Worrall; rehearse setups where …h6…g5 is met by h4/h5.
    • Drill typical structures with the thematically similar Carlsbad & KID Mar del Plata pawn races.
  3. Endgame technique.
    • In the loss to DiogenesSinopeus the rook endgame collapsed after 32…h6?; in wins you sometimes miss cleaner finishes.
    • Weekly routine: 10–15 composed rook-and-pawn studies; annotate your solution, then compare with engine. Focus on active rook, passed-pawn creation, king activity.
  4. Opening tightening.
    Najdorf 6.h3 e6 7.g4: after 12…b4 the knight manoeuvre …Nd7–c5 was good, but 17…Bc5!? left d6 loose. Add the mainline plan …Be7 / …g5 / …Kf8.
    • Nimzo Indian Kmoch: re-examine the move order after …Rc8 & …Rc4; the queen sortie …Qb5!? vs 17.e4 was interesting but time-consuming.
    • Consider adding a solid fallback line (e.g. Chekhover Sicilian as White, Bogo-Indian as Black) for when you need low-theory positions.

Suggested training blend (per week)

ElementMinutes
Opening file revision & flashcards90
Tactics (3-5 min average)120
Endgame studies / rook-pawn drill60
Annotated blitz sessions (self-review immediately after)120

Progress trackers

The following dashboards can help you visualise improvement trends:

  • 0781314151617181920212223100%0%Hour of Day
    – discover your best/worst playing hours.
  • TueWedFriSatSun100%0%Day of Week
    – identify fatigue patterns across the week.

Quick reference links

• Brush up on zugzwang: zugzwang
• Review prophylaxis concepts: prophylaxis
• Tactical motif library: back-rank mate

Final thoughts

Your aggressive style is a real asset—refine the defensive and technical sides to become a more complete player. Keep having fun at the board, and may your next peak eclipse 2496 (2024-01-23) very soon!


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