Coach Chesswick
Hi Felix, great streak today!
At-a-Glance
- Personal best (blitz): 2880 (2023-10-25)
- When you win most:
- Best days of the week:
What Already Works
- Tactical alertness. Your 43.Bc3# in the Jaenisch game finished a messy position with one clean shot. You routinely spot forcing sequences, even under 20 s.
- Dynamic opening choice. Mixing the Jaenisch Gambit, Queen’s Indian, Caro-Kann and the Dragon keeps opponents guessing while still fitting your active style.
- End-game resourcefulness. The win as Black against Zachary Saine (…Qxf4+ 45th move) shows you can squeeze full points from reduced material.
High-Impact Fixes
-
Clock management.
Your only May loss was an on-time flag in a trivially drawn R+F vs R ending. Convert your tactical speed into time banking:- Aim to reach move 20 with ≥60 % of the initial time. If below 45 %, take the very next quiet move to breathe.
- Adopt a
no think
policy for book moves you know cold—save the tanking for the first unfamiliar branch.
-
Exchange-sac calculation depth.
Recent losses (e.g. 33.Qxe4?? in the Grand-Prix game vs tactic) stemmed from optimistic Rxc/…Rxf sacrifices. Add a quick blunder-check:What if my opponent’s worst defender disappears? Do they have a zwischenzug?
Force yourself to answer it before playing any exchange sac. -
Structural decisions in closed centres.
In the French Tarrasch loss to Aslanov_Umid you met …c4 with g4?! and lost the light-square war. Spend one study session on the theme “Tension before pawn breaks”. Annotate three model games where prophylaxis out-values direct attack.
Opening Road-Map (next two weeks)
| You play | Keep | Polish |
|---|---|---|
| 1.e4 e5 3.Bb5 f5!? (Jaenisch) | ✔ | Have an answer to 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O |
| Caro-Kann Advance as Black | ✔ | Drill the 4…Bf5 5.Ne2 line; use Lichess studies to handle 11.Bf4 ideas |
| Dragon with early …h5 | ✔ | Memorise the 12.Bxf6 lines to avoid time burn |
Micro-Exercise Pack
- Every session start with 10 “mate-in-2 but hidden” puzzles—compounds tactical sharpness and clock discipline.
- Once per day play a 10-minute end-game vs engine @ 2200 starting from R+4 pawns each. Focus purely on clock usage & opposition concepts.
Annotated Snapshot
The final flurry from today’s best game—notice how each move gains time on the clock once the tactic is recognised:
Next Opponent Scouting
If pairing repeats with Zachary Saine, expect a shift to quieter d4 lines—review your Queen’s Gambit declines.
Final Word
Your ceiling is clearly GM-level blitz strength. Smooth the clock usage and refine a handful of structural decisions, and you’ll convert more of those almost-won
positions into rating gains.