engin topak FM

Hi Engin (etopak1) – personalised post-game feedback

1. What you’re already doing well

• Early piece activity. In your Sicilian win you quickly developed the queen and both rooks, forcing 664-rated ahmetfbayrak to resign before move 26. This shows confident initiative-taking and good coordination.
• Opening repertoire depth. You handle a wide range of defences (Alekhine, Caro-Kann, Bogo-Indian, Sicilian). Opponents rarely catch you in the first 10 moves.
• Tactics. Forks such as 9…Nxf3+ and exchanges like 18…Nxf3 in your win illustrate sharp tactical vision; you routinely spot forcing sequences one ply earlier than many blitz foes.

2. Typical stumbling blocks

• Pawn-structure awareness vs elite players. In the loss to GetThePartyStarted you played …b5, …a5 and …c4, fixing queenside pawns on dark squares. White’s knight later dominated those weaknesses and the bishop pair decided the endgame. Aim to ask yourself “Which pawns will be weak in 20 moves?” before committing to pawn pushes.
• Conversion technique. Several lost games show good positions that drift into lost endings (see 12-move sequence 35–46 against AttilaTurzo). After simplification your plan often becomes “push random pawns” rather than a concrete roadmap.
• Clock management. Even in wins you spent 20–25 seconds on obvious recaptures. Against 2700-level blitz players that hesitation is fatal. Try the “think on opponent’s time” rule: calculate your reply while his clock is ticking, then play almost instantly when it’s your move.

3. Concrete study plan (4-week micro-cycle)

1. Week 1 – Pawn structures
   • Pick 5 model games with the Alekhine’s Defence: Flohr Variation. Recreate them on a board and verbalise why each pawn move was played.
   • Do 10 puzzles per day that begin with a pawn break (filter by theme if you use a trainer).
2. Week 2 – Endgame transitions
   • Every rapid game you play, stop after queens are traded. Write one-sentence plans for both colours. Compare with engine suggestions.
   • Solve 50 rook-and-pawn studies. (Your recent rook endgame vs AttilaTurzo collapsed because you missed a simple 46…Ke7-d6 blockade.)
3. Week 3 – Time-usage discipline
   • Play ten 3|2 games but set yourself a hard cap of 15 seconds per move. Review positions where you hit the cap—were they truly critical?
   • Analyse your
   ; avoid playing at hours when your blunder rate spikes.
4. Week 4 – Practical openings tune-up
   • Build an “If then” file for the Caro-Kann. Eg: “If 6.h3 Bf5 7.Bd3, then 7…g6 avoiding tempo loss.”
   • Play sparring games from move 7 of the Alekhine (start from FEN after 6…Nb6) against your engine set to 2300.

4. Key moment to remember

From the loss on 07-Dec (Black):

Your 17…Rxd1+ looked tempting but allowed White to swap into a slightly better rook endgame. Instead 17…O-O! first, keeping tension, is objectively equal.

5. Quick wins for the next session

• Add …a6 to your Caro-Kann repertoire: it neutralises the annoying h4–h5 pawn-storm seen in your loss vs F4sterThanYou.
• Stop auto-pinning with …Bg4 in Alekhine. Strong players play h3/g4 gaining space; play …d6/…c6 first and drop the bishop later.
• Between sessions revisit your best peak 2753 (2022-11-30) and write down what habits you had that month (opening notebook, warm-up puzzles, etc.). Re-instating them often gives an instant rating bump.

6. Motivation corner

Your win-rate vs 2000- opposition is excellent. The next plateau (2500+ blitz) is mostly about quality of pawn moves and endgame confidence. Keep the tactics sharp and add that positional layer—your attacking flair will shine even brighter.

Good luck, and see you at the board!
– Coach Bot