Evgueni Chevelevitch IM

Performance Review for Evgueni Chevelevitch

Quick Snapshot

• Peak Blitz rating: 2409 (2025-05-20)
• Peak Rapid rating: 1563 (2025-03-12)
• Typical style: Dynamic, initiative-driven, unafraid of pawn storms and material imbalances.

What You Are Doing Well

1. Opening Ambition – Your openings often grab space (e4 + h4 vs French, early g-pawn pushes in Chess960). You frequently dictate the character of the game from move 1.
2. Tactical Awareness – In the win against rajuppi you spotted 20.Qxb1!!, calmly giving back material while exposing Black’s king. The follow-up 21.Ba4! sealed the deal.
3. Piece Activity Over Material – You regularly sacrifice pawns to keep pieces active (e.g., 14.dxc6! in your Sicilian win). This suits your dynamic style and often leaves opponents on the back foot.
4. Endgame Conversion (when on the board) – The technical phase vs 2ngthhaphuong_NAN showed good rook-and-pawn technique, pushing the passed d-pawn to promotion.

Key Areas to Improve

1. Time Management
   Your only classical loss on 20 May was a timeout in an equal position. Recurrent pattern: sharp middlegame → heavy think on two or three critical moves → scramble in 20–40 seconds for the rest of the game.
   Practical tips:
   • Aim to keep ≥60 seconds before move 20 in 3|2 games.
   • Use “easy-decision” moments (re-capturing, obvious developing moves) to move instantly and bank increment.
   • When calculating, verbalise a fixed depth (e.g., “stop at 3 ply, compare, move”).
2. King Safety after Pawn Storms
   The h-pawn thrusts are powerful but double-edged. In the Catalan loss you pushed …c5/d4 too early and later allowed Bxg7 with your king still in the centre.
   Action plan: After any flank pawn push, do a quick “king-safety checklist” (castle? central files open? opposite-coloured bishops?). Postpone the next aggressive move until two boxes are ticked.
3. Prophylaxis & Opponent’s Resources
   In several Chess960 defeats (vs Safin_Safar, ketster) you won space but underestimated counter-blows …d5 or …f5. Incorporate “What does my opponent want?” at the end of each calculation branch.
4. Transition to Endgames
   You convert clean positions well, but sometimes enter inferior endings unnecessarily (e.g., 14…Ng4+ in the Catalan frittered away coordination). Before exchanging, ask: “Whose king/pawns benefit from fewer pieces?”

Illustrative Moments

1. Successful Dynamic Play

French Win vs rajuppi – critical sequence 14…bxc3 15.bxc3 Qb2?! 16.Rb1! Qxc3+ 17.Bd2! refuting Black’s adventure.

2. Time-Pressure Slip

Catalan Loss vs tralalopoulos – you had 28 seconds when playing 21…Rac8; calculation depth dropped, and you flagged despite a playable position.

Training Recommendations (Next 4 Weeks)

• Weekly: 2 x 30-minute sessions on the “stop-thinking” drill – play 1|1 games focusing solely on moving under 2 seconds every turn. Goal: internalise quick pattern decisions.
• Openings: Add one solid system as Black (e.g., Slav Defense). It will balance your repertoire when you feel like slowing the game down.
• Middlegame: Solve 10 tactics/day at 2400–2600 level but verbalise the opponent’s threat before your first candidate move.
• Endgame: Revisit basic rook endings (Lucena, Philidor). Even dynamic players need them for flag-races with increments.

Motivation Corner

“Initiative is priceless—but only when the clock supports it.” – A friendly reminder for your next bullet-like time scramble!

Keep pushing your creative style, Evgueni, and add a sprinkle of discipline. That blend will make the next 2409 (2025-05-20) look tiny.