Coach Chesswick
Feedback for enselb
Your current picture
- Peak rapid rating: 736 (2023-06-15)
- Activity patterns:
What you already do well
- Active piece play. As White you reach Italian-type positions quickly (1.e4 Bc4/Nf3). This leads to open lines where your tactical eye shines.
- Punishing hesitation. When opponents drift you calculate forcing moves (see 23…Qxc3 25…Qxd1# vs isakthefunk).
- Initiative-oriented mindset. You don’t mind temporary material imbalances if it keeps your pieces active—an excellent habit for long-term growth.
Main improvement priorities
- King safety. Four of your last five losses featured an uncastled or over-exposed king. Aim to castle by move 10 in 80 % of your games.
- Early-queen discipline. You know how to punish early queen sorties—now avoid making them yourself unless you see a forced win.
- Pawn-push awareness. The pawns on g4/g5 (both colours!) decided several games. Before advancing a wing pawn ask: “What square am I weakening? Can I defend it next move?”
- Tactical consistency. Daily puzzle work will reduce oversights of forks, pins and zwischenzugs. Ten minutes a day is enough.
- Endgame basics. Build a small repertoire of winning techniques: king-and-pawn, same-colour bishop endings, active rook on the 7th.
Spotlight on a strong performance
Versus isakthefunk you kept the initiative and finished with a clean mate:
[Pgn|1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.d3 Qf6 5.Be3 Bxe3 6.fxe3 h6 7.d4 exd4 8.exd4 d6 9.d5 Nb4 10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Bxd7+ Kxd7 12.a3 Na6 13.O-O g5 14.b4 g4 15.b5 Nc5 16.Nd4 Qe5 17.Qxg4+ Ne6 18.Nxe6 fxe6 19.dxe6+ Ke7 20.Rf7+ Ke8 21.Rxc7 Nf6 22.Rxb7 Nxg4 23.e7 Qxc3 24.Rd1 Qxc2 25.h3 Qxd1#|fen|r3k2r/pR2P3/3p3p/1P6/4P1n1/P6P/6P1/3q2K1 w - - 0 26]- Every move asked a concrete question; the opponent was never allowed to consolidate.
- Queen, rook and knights combined for mate once the seventh rank was breached.
What happened in your latest loss
Against DailonNick the king stayed in the centre while you opened lines yourself:
[Pgn|1.e4 e5 2.Qf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nh6 4.c3 d6 5.d3 Bg4 6.Qg3 Be6 7.Qf3 Bxc4 8.dxc4 a6 9.Qh3 Ne7 10.Bxh6 gxh6 11.Nf3 Ng6 12.O-O Nf4 13.Qg4 Ne2+ 14.Kh1 Nf4 15.Nd4 exd4 16.Qxf4 dxc3 17.Nxc3 Rg8 18.Rfe1 Qg5 19.g3 d5 20.exd5+ Kd7 21.Qxf7+ Kd6 22.Ne4+ Ke5 23.Nxg5+ Kd6 24.Re6+ Kc5 25.Qxg8 Kxc4 26.Ne4 Kxd5 27.Rd1+ Kc4 28.b3+ Kb4 29.Qxh7|fen|r4b2/1pp4Q/p3R2p/8/1k2N3/1P4P1/P4P1P/3R3K b - - 0 29]- 3…Nh6 & 6…Be6 spent tempi redeploying the same bishop while White castled first.
- The break 19…d5 opened the e-file with your king still on e8—White’s pieces flooded in.
- Rule of thumb: Finish development & castle; then decide which centre pawn to break with.
Two-week improvement plan
| Days | Focus | Micro-goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Tactics trainer | 40 puzzles, ≥ 70 % accuracy |
| 4-6 | Opening repair | Draft one solid line vs 1.e4 and one Italian line as Black; no early queen moves |
| 7-9 | Endgames | Win K+P vs K and basic rook endgames from both sides |
| 10-12 | Self-analysis | Annotate three losses; write the turning point & a better alternative |
| 13-14 | Practice | Play 5 rapid games focusing on castling & pawn-break timing; review instantly |
Quick reminders before every game
- Is my king safe after the move I’m about to play?
- What does my opponent threaten? (Look for immediate forks, pins, zwischenzug ideas.)
- Improve the worst-placed piece, then create or attack a weakness.
Keep the attacking spirit, build a safer foundation, and the 700-plus milestone will arrive soon. Good luck in your next games, enselb!