Coach Chesswick
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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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”).
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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. -
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. -
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.