Coach Chesswick
Great progress so far, FQF22!
Congratulations on your recent peak of 824 (2021-03-06) and nice wins against gionafigo and ae_sasmaz. After reviewing your latest games, here is some tailored feedback.
What you already do well
- Mating patterns: You spotted back-rank mates (e.g. 33.Rc8#) and basic king hunts.
- Passed pawns: Excellent d-pawn promotion versus ae_sasmaz shows you understand when to push.
- Active rooks: In most victories your rooks reached the 7th rank or open files quickly.
- Practical fighting spirit: Even after losing material (see win vs. GionaFigo) you activated every piece and turned the game around.
Highest-value improvement areas
- Opening discipline
• Follow the three golden rules: fight for the centre, develop all minor pieces, castle.
• Keep the queen home before move 10 unless there is a concrete tactic; early sorties like 9.Qg5? cost tempi.
• Your Philidor setup (…d6, …e5) is fine, but add natural moves (…Nf6, …Be7, short castle) before pawn storms such as …g6/…h5. - Tactical awareness
• Most losses were single-move blunders (undefended piece or missed fork).
• Do a quick “blunder check” every move: “What changed? What is attacked?”
• 5–10 daily puzzles centred on forks, pins, skewers will sharpen your sight. - Time management
• Four recent defeats were on time in playable positions. Try 5|5 or 10|5 until the blunder check becomes automatic.
• Think during your opponent’s clock – prepare candidate moves and spot threats early. - Endgame basics
• In the loss to dramegifitta a rook endgame slipped away. Review Lucena & Philidor positions.
• When ahead, trade pieces (not pawns); when behind, trade pawns (not pieces).
Suggested weekly routine
- 10 rated tactical puzzles each day.
- Play two 10|5 games; afterwards identify one move you like and one you would change.
- Study one short lesson on a core theme: Fork, Pin, Back-rank mate, or basic rook endings.
- Finish with one thematic bot game focusing only on getting king castled and pieces developed.
Track your progress
See when (and how consistently) you win:
Mini-goal for the next 10 games
Reach move 10 with all four minor pieces developed and your king castled in at least 8 of those games. Note the result in your post-game analysis to build the habit.
Keep enjoying the journey—each game is another chance to improve. Good luck!