Hi Richard, here is your personalised feedback
What you are doing well
- Initiative-seeking mindset. In your recent English-Opening win against julix you accepted the pawn on b5 (14…dxe5 15.Bxc5!) and immediately followed with …exf4, seizing the initiative instead of worrying about material.
- Tactical alertness. The Queen sacrifice motif 24.Qf3 Nge6 25.Qxc6! in the same game shows that you spot intermediate moves and aren’t afraid to calculate concrete lines.
- Piece activity in the middlegame. Your typical set-ups feature central pawn breaks (e.g. 16…e4 in your most recent loss) and well-placed minor pieces, keeping pressure on the opponent.
- Opening variety. You already play both 1.e4 and 1.c4, and as Black you handle King’s-Indian structures as well as Sicilians and 1…f5/…f6 systems. This broad base is a strength—keep it!
Primary areas for improvement
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Clock discipline.
Four of the five PGNs provided ended on time, even in clearly winning positions. Good moves made too slowly score zero.
Action plan: Incorporate short, regular practice sessions of 1-minute “move games” (no clock, just make a move every three seconds) to train decision-making speed. In real games:
- Commit to moving by the time your clock shows 70 % of the starting time (e.g. in 3 | 2, be out of the opening by 2:00).
- Use the increment: after every move, breathe once, scan for checks/captures/threats, then start calculating.
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Endgame conversion.
Your win vs. julix reached a technically winning knight endgame, yet you relied on the opponent’s flag. Similarly, the loss to Oopsprey turned from a defensible queen ending into time trouble.
Action plan: Solve 5-10 basic endings per week (♙+♘ vs. ♙, Q+♙ vs. Q, etc.) on a board, with a three-minute limit per exercise. This both improves technique and speed.
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Structural decisions in the early middlegame.
In the loss to Oopsprey you played 1…f6 & 2…e6, locking in your ♗c8 and giving White an easy space edge. Likewise 10…f5 in your Ruy López game weakened the dark squares.
Action plan: Adopt a simple opening guideline: before advancing a flank pawn, ask “What central pawn break does this help or hinder?” Try to keep your worst bishop outside the pawn chain.
Concrete study recommendations
- Review the instructive sequence 19.Nxe6+! Kg8 20.Nxg7 from your English-Opening game; add it to your tactical flash-cards.
- Spend one week focusing on knight-and-pawn endings; they appear often in your games. Search for examples featuring the concept of outside passed pawn outside passed pawn.
- Integrate a universal defence to 1.d4—either the Queen’s Gambit Declined or the King’s Indian. This will reduce time spent in the opening and let you reach familiar pawn structures faster.
- Track your playing habits with the following charts to verify that time-management exercises are working: .
Your key stats
Peak blitz rating: 2079 (2017-03-08)
Peak rapid rating:
Next-week challenge
Play 15 blitz games where you are ahead on the clock after move 15. Annotate two of them, focusing on whether faster decisions hurt or helped the quality of your moves.
Good luck, and feel free to send me one of those annotated games for further feedback!