Coach Chesswick
Feedback report for Tamas Fodor (fodorpoti)
Quick stats
Peak blitz rating: 2893 (2024-01-29)
Current win-rate patterns:
• by hour –
• by day –
What you are doing very well
- Early initiative. In several wins (see the Nimzo-Indian miniature below) you seize space with h- and g-pawn storms, forcing your opponents to react instead of developing.
- Calculation in messy middlegames. When the position opens you usually find the forcing resource first, e.g. 23.Rxd4! in the latest victory against Impossibleforu.
- Conversion technique. End-games such as the long rook ending versus Ya_Coco_Jamboo show patience and accurate “cut-off” moves (e.g. 70…Ra1).
Recurring problems that cost you points
- Over-committing pawn storms before your king is safe. …g5/f6 in the French Exchange (loss to IlanSchnaider) and 7.g4?! against the QGA (loss to PracticeMakesOK) both weakened the dark squares and invited tactical punishment.
- Under-estimating opponent counter-play on the long diagonals. In the defeat versus reyenigma you answered 14.Nxd5 with the natural 14…Nxd5? overlooking the crushing Bc4 and Qxd5+ follow-up.
- “Hope chess” exchanges. Several losses began with an optimistic capture (e.g. 6…Qxd4 in the D31 Marshall Gambit) that conceded the initiative for short-term material.
Actionable recommendations
- King-safety filter. Before pushing a wing pawn or trading queens, ask “Will my king have ≥2 safe escape squares afterwards?” Build the habit in short tactical puzzles by scoring the king’s flight squares first.
- French repertoire tune-up. Replace the risky …f6/…g5 setup with one of these sound systems:
• Classical 7…0-0 8…f6 only after castling.
• Rubinstein 3…Nf6 (→ fewer early crises).
Analyse 10 model games where Black wins without pawn storms and copy the move-order logic. - Drill quiet positions. Once a week play a 15|10 game starting from move 15 of an equal queenless middlegame. Aim for +0.50 in the engine’s eyes after 20 further moves. This curbs the instinct to “force things” prematurely.
- Post-mortem checklist. After every session log one position where you felt you had to guess. Recreate it the next day, spend 10 minutes calculating and compare with the engine. Your “blind spots” will appear quickly.
Model game highlight
The following PGN illustrates your strengths: quick kingside pressure, tactical alertness and crisp end-game conversion.
Good luck!
Small, steady adjustments to your decision-making framework will convert many of those sharp losses into smooth wins. Keep the attacking flair—just anchor it with one extra dose of king safety and solidity.