Alain Prieto Aranguren FM

Constructive Feedback for Alain Prieto Aranguren

What you already do well

• Tactical alertness: Your recent win against chepf shows sharp calculation—e.g. 20.Nd6+! exploited loose dark squares and forced the king into the open.
• Initiative-first mindset: Early pawn storms (h-pawn pushes, wing pawns in the Sicilian) often knock opponents out of book and give you practical chances.
• Conversion when ahead: When the position simplifies into a technical win, you normally steer the game home, even under one minute (see 31…Rc7 → 46.Kc3 in your latest victory).

Most urgent areas to address

1. Time Management
   Three of your last five losses were on time in playable or even winning positions. Adopt a “bronze-speed” rule: aim to be above 50 % of your starting clock after move 15, and never drop below 10 seconds with queens on the board.
2. Pawn-structure discipline
   Flank pawn grabs (…h5/…g5 or early …c5 + …c4 in the Caro-Kann) often leave holes you later have to plug with pieces. Before advancing a wing pawn ask, “Can it still retreat? Which squares become weak?”—a basic prophylaxis habit.
3. End-game technique vs. counterplay
   In the loss to mathnerd55 you allowed connected passers because you chased pawns instead of activating the king. Remember the power trio: King activity, passed pawn control, piece coordination.

Opening guidance

• With White: Your Closed Sicilian set-up (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 3.h4/4.e5) scores well, but have a clean back-up line for opponents who copy your pawn pushes with …h6/…h5. Study model games by Milos Pavlovic.
• With Black: Mixing Caro-Kann, Modern and early …Qf6 lines is flexible but hurts muscle memory. Pick one solid main defence to 1.e4—either the Caro (learn the Short system) or the Sicilian (Najdorf/Dragon)—and give it five hours of prep this month.
• Against 1.d4 you scored 4-0 recently; keep your Queen’s Gambit structures but memorise one critical tabiya each week.

Micro-skills to train this week

• Calculate forcing lines for 3 ply deeper than comfort zone—use “blitz pause”: stop the clock after each game and spend 60 seconds reconstructing one missed tactic.
• Play 10 puzzle-rush rushes focusing on defensive motifs (back-rank, zwischenzug, perpetual).
• End-game mini-sets: R+P vs. R rook-checks; B+N mate drill; “rook vs. connected passers” (recreate position from loss vs. mathnerd).

Quick stats & visual motivators

Peak blitz rating: 2455 (2024-04-30)
Your body-clock hot-zone:

Illustrative Victory (play through it once a week)

Glossary boosters

• candidate move – list before you calculate.
• zugzwang – when having the move is the problem; often appears in your rook endings.

Next steps

1. Fix the clock first—build a pre-move repertoire for forced recaptures.
2. Consolidate one main defence with Black and review 20 model games.
3. Weekly self-review: export PGN, mark “!” for good decisions and “?” for stumbles.

Stay curious, keep the initiative, and good luck in your climb to 2400+!