Gastón Martin FM

Quick recap (recent session)

Nice session — you scored a sharp win where you converted a passed pawn to a queen and finished with a precise mating net, and you also played several complex middlegames where you were active and created threats. Your loss to Aadit Bhatia shows a concrete tactical oversight that turned the game quickly. Below I’ll highlight what you did well, the recurring problems, and a compact improvement plan tailored for blitz.

What you did well

• Creating and running a passed pawn: in your win you pushed the queenside pawn to promotion — excellent awareness of passed-pawn potential and tempo to escort it to queening.
• Active piece play and pressure: you keep pieces on active squares (Rook lifts, rook on the 7th/8th ideas, timely queen checks) which generates practical chances in blitz.
• Converting in complex endgames: you handled a multi-piece ending and turned activity into a winning pawn race and promotion rather than blundering it away.
• Opening repertoire variety: your results across sharp lines (Sicilian, Diemer, Slav Bonet Gambit) show you like imbalanced, tactical positions — that plays to your strengths.

Main weaknesses to fix

• Tactical calculation under pressure — examples: the loss vs Aadit Bhatia where a sequence of captures and checks flipped the position. Double-check forced sequences that include forks, discovered attacks and captures on the edge (knight forks / back-rank motifs).
• King safety & back-rank awareness — in several games both kings were exposed to checks from queens/rooks. Little prophylactic moves (air for the king, rook lifts, or trading a piece) would stop repeated checks.
• Occasional imprecise simplification — after winning material or gaining an edge, simplify into clear winning endgames sooner. Don’t play on with risky tactics when a simple trade wins the technical game.
• Time allocation in critical moments — you usually have enough clock but can still rush key calculations. Spend an extra 10–15 seconds on any branching tactical line (2–3 candidate moves).

Concrete drills (15–30 minutes each)

• Tactics mix (15 min): 30 puzzles focusing on forks, discovered checks, and promotion themes. Prioritize puzzles that end with a win by queening or mate-in-3.
• Endgame routine (15–20 min, 3× week): queen vs pawn promotion races, king-and-pawn vs king, and rook+king vs rook basics. Practice converting a passed pawn when the opponent has activity.
• Blitz calculation habit (10 min): pick 10 positions from your own lost games and force yourself to write down (or think through) candidate moves and the opponent’s best replies — verify with an engine after.
• Opening tune-up (15 min): pick 2 critical variations you play (French-type lines you recently used). Learn 3 concrete move orders/ideas and one typical tactical trap to watch for.

Simple checklist to use during blitz

• Before every capture ask: “Is there a fork, discovered attack, or back-rank tactic for my opponent?”
• If the opponent offers a trade that simplifies to a clear win — accept it. Don’t hunt glory when the path to victory is safe.
• When creating a passed pawn, calculate: can I escort it safely (king/rook support) or is there counterplay that wins the pawn back?
• Use an extra 10–15 seconds before moves that change the material balance (sacs, promotions, simplifications).

Next session plan (60 minutes)

• 10 min warm-up: 10 easy tactics (forks/discovered checks)
• 20 min focused tactics: puzzles that finish with promotion or mate (train the theme you used in the win)
• 15 min endgames: queen vs pawn and rook endings conversion drills
• 15 min review: annotate one win and one loss (your win vs thenicolasgambit and loss vs Aadit Bhatia). Identify the decision points and write one improvement for each.

Micro tips you can apply immediately in blitz

• When your pawn is close to queening, simplify material and exchange off opposing pieces that can blockade the pawn — fewer pieces means fewer tactical resources for the opponent.
• Keep an eye on knights near your king — many of your losses come from a knight jumping to a tactical square (Nxf7 type themes).
• If you see forced checks from the opponent’s queen/rook, try to remove the checking unit or give your king an escape square before creating weaknesses.

Review resources & game viewer

Use these to re-check lines and train the exact positions we discussed:

• Win game (review promotion and final sequence): thenicolasgambit — open the game and replay the final 20 moves carefully.
• Loss for tactical post-mortem: Aadit Bhatia — focus on move 20–22 and the fork/back-rank tactics.
• Replay the full win below in an embedded viewer to practice spotting the decisive pawn push and the mate net.

Short encouragement

Your recent rating trend is upward and your opening win-rates in sharp lines are a big asset. Keep sharpening calculation for tactical turns and practice a couple of endgame templates — that combination will convert more of your advantages into wins quickly. If you want, I can generate a 10–day blitz training plan with daily puzzles and two annotated games per week.