Coach Chesswick
Hi Elena, here’s your personalised post-match review!
Quick Stats
- Peak blitz rating so far:
- Typical winning hours:
- Best day of the week:
Your Recent Highlight
You defeated dragunito with Black in an English/Anglo-Indian structure. You gradually neutralised White’s pressure, then converted the opposite-side pawn majority with instructive rook activity.
What You’re Doing Well
- Piece activity. In both wins and losses you consistently seek activity (…Rc8, …Re8, pawn breaks like …f6/…f5). That’s a big plus at blitz time-controls.
- Practical endgame decisions. Your wins vs Burak Ozalp and Ruben Akhayan show you aren’t afraid to simplify when ahead. Good instinct!
- Time usage. You rarely dip below 15 seconds while still keeping complexity on the board. This balance wins many games on the clock.
Main Growth Areas
- Catalan / English structures as Black.
In the loss to imlittinsane you mixed plans: …c5 without having king-side development finished, then delayed …a6/…b6 breaks. Study the classical plan: …dxc4 → …a6 → …c5 only after completing …Bb7/…Be7. - Pawn-break calculation.
Several defeats (e.g. vs Maxim Omariev) came after premature …b5 or …e4 pushes that weakened squares. Before launching a pawn, force yourself to verbalise: “What is my worst-placed piece and does this break help that piece?” - Handling the zwischenzug.
In the Caro-Kann Two Knights (vs Maurizio Brancaleoni) 22 …Nxd5? missed White’s Nc4! intermediate leading to pressure. Spend 10 minutes daily on tactic sets filtered for “between move” themes. - Conversion vs strong resistance.
Your winning positions sometimes drift (see 35…Bb6? in the Old-Indian loss). Practice technique drills: rook + minor piece vs rook, rook endgames with an extra pawn, etc.
Three-Week Action Plan
| Week | Focus | Daily Micro-Drill (10-15 min) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catalan/English repertoire tune-up | Replay 3 model games by Kramnik (as Black) and note pawn lever timing. |
| 2 | Zwischenzug & deflection tactics | 20 puzzles on Chess.com theme filter “in-between move”. |
| 3 | Rook-and-pawn technique | Play out 5 Lichess table-base drills vs engine set to 2500. |
Opening File Suggestion
Create a mini-file with:
- Vs Catalan: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 d5 4 Bg2 dxc4 5 Nf3 Nc6!?
- Vs Caro Two Knights: After 5 Ng3 ‑ choose 5…h4 (sharp) or the calmer 5…c5, but avoid early …Nc6/…Be7 combinations.
Next Coaching Call Preparation
Bring two positions where you felt strategy wasn’t clear. We’ll build plan-recognition checklists.
Keep the energy and creativity, Elena. Small tweaks in structure understanding will push you through the 2400 blitz barrier soon!