Roberto Rojas

Quick summary for Roberto Rojas

Nice run in recent blitz — your games show clear attacking instinct and a willingness to sacrifice for the initiative. You win a lot by creating mating nets and piling pressure on the enemy king, but you still give opponents counterplay in a few key moments and sometimes lose on the clock. Below are concrete, actionable points to keep what works and fix the recurring leaks.

Example game to review (teaching moment)

Here’s a recent mate finish you played — great pattern recognition and finishing touch. Replay it slowly and look for the turning points (piece trades, forcing checks and the final coordination):

• Viewer:
• Why it’s instructive: you convert a kingside initiative into decisive material/space advantage and finish with coordinated queen and rook threats.

What you do well (keep this)

• Direct attacking play: you willingly open lines and hunt the king — this creates a lot of practical chances in blitz.
• Pattern recognition: you find tactical shots (knight forks, sacrifices for mating nets) quickly — that’s a big blitz advantage.
• Opening familiarity: your play in the Closed Sicilian and related setups is comfortable — you reach aggressive middlegames where you feel at home. (See Sicilian Defense: Closed).
• Finishing: when the opponent’s king is exposed you generally finish accurately — your mates and mating nets are reliable.

Recurring issues to fix

• Time management: several games show big time swings and at least one win/loss tied to clocks. Aim to keep 30–60 seconds after move 10 in 5‑min games. (Avoid “Flagging” chaos).
• Accepting material vs safety: you sometimes grab material (pawns/rook) while the opponent gets counterplay or a safe perpetual. Before taking, ask “does this cost me development or safety?”
• Loose pieces & tactics after trades: there are moments where pieces become undefended. A quick last-second check for hanging pieces (think “Loose Piece”) will cut blunders.
• Endgame technique under clock: when the middlegame simplifies you sometimes let small advantages slip. Practice simple rook and queen endgames to convert under time pressure.

Concrete drills & mini‑plan (next 4 weeks)

• Daily 10–15 minute tactics: focus on blind‑spot motifs (knight forks, removal of the guard, back‑rank mates). Use mixed difficulty and track accuracy.
• Two 30‑minute sessions per week: slow (10+5) games where you pause and ask 3 questions at each move — “Is my king safe?”, “Are any pieces loose?”, “What does my opponent threaten?”
• Endgame sprint (3×/week, 20 minutes): basic king & pawn, rook vs rook, and lucena/lucena‑adjacent positions. Aim to convert simple advantages while flag‑safe.
• One post‑game review per day: pick your worst loss and find the single critical mistake. If unsure, run it at low engine depth and write down the blunder and why it happened.

Opening adjustments

• Stick to systems that lead to the types of middlegames you like — Closed Sicilian and similar setups are working for you (your win rate in those lines is solid). Continue to deepen one or two sidelines rather than learning many shallow lines.
• When you choose sharp sacrificial ideas (knight to f7, entering the opponent’s back rank), make a quick force-check: are there forcing replies by the opponent that defuse the attack? If yes, recalculate or avoid until you have more time.
• Before pocketing material in the opening, ask whether it costs you development or gives your opponent a chance to activate rooks along open files.

Psychology & blitz habits

• Don’t rush premoves in complex situations — premoves are great for trivial recaptures but ruin tactics when the board is sharp.
• If you feel tilt after a loss, take one short walk or a 5‑minute break. Your recent trend shows strong recovery ability — protect it.
• Use the first 10 seconds of every game to set a plan (e.g., “I want to castle kingside quickly and play for g4/g5”); a tiny pregame routine reduces mouse errors and bad impulses.

Specific homework from your recent loss

Review the game versus alannew1 where the attack turned against you. Key checks:

• Where did you allow their queen/rook infiltration? Rewind three moves before the moment and look for prophylactic moves.
• Could you trade a key attacker earlier to remove mating threats? Practise the “trade to reduce attack” habit in puzzles and annotated games.

Make this a 15‑minute post‑mortem and write down one takeaway you will apply in the next 5 blitz games.

Practical checklist to use during your next blitz session

• Before capturing: “Does this open lines for opponent?”
• Every 5 moves: quick 5‑second safety scan for hanging pieces.
• If below 30 seconds: simplify and avoid double‑edged complications unless forced.
• After each game: note one tactical motif you missed or executed well.

Opponent reviews & useful followups

• Study critical moments from games with bobbysilu and oneilln16 — they gave you instructive reactions to your attacking tries.
• When you see recurring ideas from an opponent, add one short anti‑plan to your opening notes so you reach favorable middlegames faster.

Motivation & final notes

Your trend and recent rating increases show this approach is working — more disciplined time management and a few targeted endgame drills will convert many of those close losses into wins. Keep the aggressive style, but add a safety checklist and one calm, slow game per day as training. You’ll see the 1‑month trend keep climbing.

Want a focused 2‑week training plan I can write for you (tactics sets, endgame list, and three annotated model games)? Reply “Yes — 2‑week plan” and I’ll prepare it.