eZaRiX FM

Hi eZaRiX! Here’s a personalised post-mortem of your recent play.

Quick glance at your trends

Your competitive strengths

• Fighting spirit & stamina. You often reach move 40-50 in blitz (e.g. the win vs. kolobov_leonid), and you rarely resign hopeless positions—this perseverance harvests timeout wins.
• Tactical alertness under pressure. In the Chess960 win 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3…7.Qd7# you spotted a mating net very quickly. You also found 25.Qb8+! in the Kolobov game to keep practical chances.
• Flexible openings. You try both 1.d4 and 1.Nf3 as White and answer 1.d4 … with Slav, QID, and East-Indian as Black. Exploring systems is great for growth.

Key improvement themes

1. Time management

Four of the five recent losses were on time, even when the position was still defensible. Try the “Bronstein 15-second rule”: never let the clock dip below 15 s except in forced sequences. It buys you one calm moment per move to blunder-check.

2. Early queen excursions & pawn thrusts

In the loss to Francesco Bettalli the sequence 6.h4 h5 7.c3 … 11.e5 weakened dark squares, then 12.Na4?? ceded the initiative. Similarly, vs. Robert_Chessmood your queen grabbed on b7/b4/b5 and cost precious tempi. Ask yourself before every queen move: “What tempi am I giving away?”  tempo

3. Converting advantages

Against Kolobov you reached a winning rook-ending pawn up but still needed 70+ moves. Study technical endgames so you can switch from “calculating” to “methodical” mode and finish games earlier, freeing mental energy for the next round.

4. Opening hygiene

Sampling lines is healthy, yet a core repertoire cuts down prep time. My suggestion:

• As White: Reti/English blend with early g3 (you already play it). Add a structured plan versus …d5 and …e5 so you’re never improvising before move 5.
• As Black: stick to one defence against 1.e4 (e.g. Classical Sicilian you toyed with) and one against 1.d4 (your Slav feels natural). Depth > breadth.

Concrete training plan (4 weeks)

1. Tactics: 30 puzzles/day, rating >= your blitz Elo for realism. Focus on intermediate moves & zwischenzugs.
2. Endgames: Week 1 rook vs. rook +pawn; week 2 minor-piece endings; week 3-4 practical studies—aim for conversion drills in ≤ 30 s per move.
3. Opening files: Build one living PGN:
   and annotate with plans, not moves.
4. Clock discipline: Play 10 games of 3 + 2 where the only goal is to finish every move with > 10 s left—even if it means skipping a fancy line.

Micro-tips from specific positions

• GM_Aryan_Legend – eZaRiX (diagram 17…Qc7). Instead of 18…d6?! (soft) consider 18…Re8! bringing the last piece before touching pawns.
• eZaRiX – betta2004 after 17…Nd3! you can still rescue the centre with 18.Bxd3 Qxc3 19.Rxc3, trading activity for safety.
• Abund – eZaRiX the adventurous …Ra1-a8-a2 plan looked tempting but violated the “two weaknesses” rule; consolidate kingside first.

Mindset takeaway

You already compete with titled opposition. Shaving off clock blunders and tightening early middlegame structure will convert many of those time-out losses into wins. Keep the creativity, add a dash of restraint, and watch your graph climb. Good luck!

“The player who makes the second-to-last mistake wins.” – Tartakower