Paulo Bersamina IM

Quick summary for Paulo Bersamina

Nice mix of sharp attacking wins and some painful tactical losses. Your instincts in the attack are excellent — you open lines, lift rooks and hunt the king well. The main leak is a handful of tactical oversights and occasional time mismanagement that cost material or the game in bullet. Below are focused, practical fixes you can apply immediately.

What you did well

• Sharp attacking sense — you consistently create kingside storms (pawn pushes, rook lifts, queen/rook batteries) and convert when the opponent’s king is exposed.
• Active piece play — you put rooks on open files, use bishops on long diagonals and look for outposts for knights quickly in the middle game.
• Flagging and practical pressure — you use the clock as a weapon (forcing repetitive checks and complications when the opponent is low on time).
• Opening repertoire suited to you — good results with Caro‑Kann and East Indian lines show you know your systems and get playable middlegames out of the opening. See: Caro-Kann Defense and Pirc Defense.

Main mistakes to fix (bullet-focused)

• Speculative sacrifices without concrete follow-up. In one loss you grabbed material/created tactical complications but then missed the clean reply that refutes the idea — avoid “hope chess” in bullet.
• Loose pieces / hanging tactics after forcing moves — double-check captures that open ranks or leave pieces unprotected (common pattern: capture then opponent plays a central check or rook infiltration).
• Poor reserve on the clock. You win by flag sometimes, but also lose on time in complex endgames. Keep a 10–12 second buffer for moves that require calculation.
• Too many repeated checks instead of converting an advantage. When you are better, swap into a simple winning endgame or use a plan to improve pieces rather than perpetual checking patterns that waste time.

Concrete, short-term drills (for bullet)

• Tactics sprint: 5–10 minutes of 1–2 minute puzzles on pattern recognition (forks, discovered checks, back rank). Aim for speed + accuracy, not 100% solutions.
• Pre-move hygiene drill: play 20 blitz/bullet positions where you intentionally only pre-move safe recaptures and pawn pushes. Train the habit: pre-move only when the opponent has no forcing check or tactic.
• 10 games of 60s (not hyperbullet) focusing on one decision each game: “Keep at least 12s in reserve” or “never initiate a speculative sac without a forced continuation.”
• Endgame quickies: 5 minutes of basic rook endgames and king+pawns vs king conversions. In bullet, technical wins are often decided by simple patterns.

Game patterns to practice

• Pawn storms on the kingside: you create strong attacking chances with g4/g5/g6 and h4/h5. Practice the timing: open one file, bring a rook to the 7th/8th rank and avoid premature piece trades.
• Rook lifts and back rank awareness: your wins showed excellent rook lifts to invade (rook to the 7th/8th and lateral swings). Counterpoint — always check for Back rank mate weaknesses when you trade off defenders.
• Simplification when ahead: trade into a winning rook+bishop vs rook or winning king+pawn endgame instead of hunting flashy mates that cost time.

One-page training plan (this week)

• Day 1 — 15 min tactics sprint (focus: forks, pins, X-ray, discovery) + 10 bullet games with the “12s reserve” rule.
• Day 2 — 10 min rook endgames + 20 tactics (long diagonals & back-rank motifs) + 8 games 60s (no pre-move except captures of pieces that are hanging).
• Day 3 — Play 15 bullet games but force yourself to decline speculative sacrifices; mark 3 losses and analyze 5 minutes each for recurring tactical misses.
• Day 4 — Review 5 of your winning games (identify converting moments) and 5 of your losses (spot the exact tactical oversight). Make short notes of patterns.

Key moment — a model win (reviewable)

Study this clean attacking game: note pawn storm timing, rook lift and the final mating net. Use it as a template for how you like to play.

Final checklist for your next session

• Before each game: pick one practical goal (save time, avoid speculative sacs, convert a small advantage).
• In-game: when you see a capture, ask quick 2-question test — “Is my piece left hanging?” and “Does opponent get a check or fork after I move?”
• After the session: review 3 critical positions (2 losses, 1 win) and write the one pattern you must not repeat.
• If you want, I can analyze any single game in depth — paste the PGN and I’ll give a 6–8 move tactical/strategic post‑mortem.

Also, if you want to quickly pull up the opponent from these games, here’s a profile link: Alexander Velikanov.