fatgiri FM

Hi fatgiri!

You play dynamic, resource-hungry chess and your tactical eye often wins you games in spectacular style. Below are three focus areas that should give you the fastest rating gains, followed by some tailored practice suggestions.

1. Early-game Safety & Queen Security

• Your only decisive loss this week came after 11 moves when the queen was picked off (see mini-game below). Similar queen losses also showed up in January. Before committing an early …e4 or …d4 push, add one extra blunder-check to your move routine:
  1. “What is currently en prise?”
  2. “If my opponent ignores me, what do I take?”
  3. “What changes after my pawn push?”
  Pausing for those three questions would have saved the game against lb08.
• Consider tightening your Modern/​Robatsch lines with …Bg7, …d6 instead of the immediate …d5. It keeps your queen off the d-file and avoids tactical shots like Qxg7/Qxh8 that occurred vs utepujem.

2. Time Management

• Four of your last eight losses (and two wins) were decided by the clock, not the board. When you reach a technically winning endgame (e.g. vs sleepykeph), you often have <5 s remaining.
• Practical fix: decide on a “red-zone” time (15 s for 1|0, 30 s for 3|0, 60 s for 5|0) and simplify ruthlessly once you dip below it. Don’t worry about winning “prettily” – just win.
• Add a couple of 3 min +2 s sessions each week; the increment teaches you to convert technically winning endings without rushing.

3. Opening Refinement

Your aggressive repertoire is sound, but a few small tweaks could net free points:

• Caro-Kann Two Knights (White): after 5...h6 or …e6 you often jump in with Nxf7. The sac works only if Black’s queen cannot reach h4/​f6 quickly. Spend 15 min with an engine to catalogue which responses yield full compensation.
• Modern / Pirc (Black): study the Classical setup …Nf6, …d6, …0-0. Your current “early …d5 & queen sorties” approach scored 0-3 this month and invited nasty tactics.

Your Strengths to Build On

• Excellent conversion skills when you do leave yourself enough time – your rook & pawn endgame vs alfyatom was textbook.
• You are comfortable in materially imbalanced positions (two queens promotions vs binky99!)
• You spot forcing continuations quickly; keep sharpening with 10 daily puzzles + one rated puzzle rush.

Progress Dashboard

2368 (2023-12-30)

Next Week’s Training Plan

1. 90 min opening cleanup
   • 30 min: Modern Defence with …d6 structures
   • 30 min: Caro-Kann Two Knights – engine check of Nxf7 sacs
   • 30 min: Play three 10 min games to test lines
2. 15 tactical puzzles every day (5 easy, 5 medium, 5 hard) → focus on queen traps and back-rank motifs.
3. Endgame Sunday: one hour of rook + pawn endings; aim to convert with >30 s on the clock.

Keep the creativity, tighten the safety nets, and your next rating plateau is well within reach. Good luck and enjoy the grind!