Coach Chesswick
Hi Michel!
Great work keeping your rating roughly around 2300-2350 in 3 | 2 games – that already puts you in the top few percent on Chess-com. Below is a blend of praise and practical advice drawn from your last 10 games (5 wins, 5 losses).
What you are already doing well
- Active pawn play. In several victories (e.g. vs kpm_pl) you steered the game with passed pawns (the c-pawn sprint in the diagram). This shows good judgement of when to push and when to support.
- Strong Modern/KID feel as Black. You score well with …g6/…Bg7 set-ups. Your piece placement is harmonious and you rarely mis-handle typical breaks like …c5 or …e5.
- Conversion in winning positions. Once you are clearly ahead your technique is reliable; only one of the five wins drifted slightly before you put it away.
Key growth areas
- Early tactical blunders vs Queens-Indian & Slav structures.
• Loss to Trainingbg81 (move 14) and moonsunlil5 (move 29) both came from overlooking one-move tactics on central squares.
• Add 10-minute daily puzzle rush or custom drills on motifs: double-attacks in semi-closed games, knight forks on e4/e5/c4. - Time management.
• Two recent losses (vs mklighter & Trainingbg81) were on time and another because you resigned in an unclear position.
• Aim for <20 s on move 20 and keep an eye on the increment: quick forced replies gain you “free” seconds. - Opening depth with White.
• Your Queen’s Gambit/Tarrasch repertoire is sound, but you often delay cxd5/dxc5 decisions and allow …c5 & …dxc4 under favourable circumstances for Black.
• Spend one study session on each of these:- Tarrasch Defense 4.e3 Nf6 – test lines after 9…Ne4.
- Slav …c6 + …c5 transpositions – know when dxc5/cxd5 is critical.
Concrete opening tweaks
| Your line | Issue | Suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 g6?! | Pieces block each other; you lost center after 7.d5!. | Play 5…d5 or stay in a pure Queen’s Indian with …Be7 & d5. |
| KID Four-Pawns 5.f4 c5 6.d5 b5 |
Excellent choice! Your score is high here. | Memorise the critical 9…Ba6 idea to avoid heavy prep lines. |
Practical checklist for your next session
- Warm-up: 10 rated puzzles + one 5-min visualization drill.
- During the game: if the opponent’s last move hits a pawn/piece → ask “what changed?” before replying.
- Opening study: play two thematic sparring games starting from move 8 of your Slav loss position.
- Post-game: tag each mistake as calculation, time, or strategy – focus next study on the largest tag.
Stats & Tracking
Your current Blitz peak: 2416 (2020-09-22). Keep an eye on streak patterns here:
Final encouragement
You already demonstrate master-level understanding in many middlegames. Iron out the one-move tactics and clock handling, and 2400+ is well within reach. Enjoy the grind – I’m looking forward to your next leap!