Ali Hakan VURAN

Feedback for Ali Hakan VURAN (GM_AHV)

Your current profile

• Current playing strength: mid-1500s.
• Personal best so far: 1000 (2014-01-21).
• Main openings employed:
  – As White: Queen’s Pawn systems (d4/c4/ Nc3) and occasional 1.e4 games.
  – As Black: Sicilian (…c5) and Modern/Pirc setups (…g6, …Bg7).
• Typical game schedule:

What you already do well

• Tactical alertness. In your recent win against rico_borromeo301969 you punished 4…Nxd4 with 5.Nge2 and later converted with 12.Nxd8, winning material early.
• Dynamic play. You are not afraid to castle long and launch pawn storms (e.g. h-pawn thrusts in both Sicilian and Modern positions).
• Practical fighting spirit. Even in slightly worse positions you keep posing problems and often out-calculate opponents of equal rating.

Key areas for improvement

1. Opening discipline

• Several losses start with premature flank attacks that neglect development.
• Example: the quick loss after 2.Qh5 in the Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Qh5?!) shows how early queen sorties can backfire.
• Recommendation: build a lean, reliable repertoire: one main line with 1.d4 and one with 1.e4; as Black stick to one Sicilian line and one solid reply to 1.d4. Spend 15 minutes a day revising the first 10 moves with a board (no engine) until they feel automatic.

2. King safety & piece coordination

• In the loss versus srebril you allowed …Ba3 to land because your rooks were split and dark squares around the king were weak.
• Rule of thumb: after castling, ask “Which pieces still need to join the king’s defense?” before starting pawn advances.
• Work on typical motifs such as the exchange sacrifice on c3 in the Sicilian Dragon – knowing when it is sound helps both sides of the board.

3. Time management

• You lost on time in an equal end-game (vs FMU). Your move-to-time ratio shows a dip around move 25–35.
• Technique: adopt a simple “stop-think plan” every 5 moves: 30-second overview, update plan, then move. It prevents drifting into blitz mode mid-game.

4. End-game conversion

• Good examples exist (see win with …Qa5#), yet some games slip due to unnecessary pawn moves or missed zugzwang ideas.
• Weekly drill: play 10 end-game sparring positions vs engine set at 1800 – especially king-and-pawn and bishop-vs-knight endings.

Annotated snapshot – recent win

Study the critical phase (moves 8-16) from your best game this week:

Key take-aways:
• 8.Nd4! exploited the pin on d4.
• 11.Nc6!! & 12.Nxd8 grabbed two pieces because you calculated one move deeper than Black.
• After emerging material up you simplified; this is exemplary – aim to replicate that in every material advantage.

Training plan (4-week)

1. Tactics: 30 puzzles/day on intermediate difficulty; tag each missed theme (fork, pin, Zwischenzug, etc.).
2. Opening review: create a one-page “cheat sheet” per side; rehearse before each playing session.
3. Model games: watch two annotated GMs who use the Modern as Black and the Queen’s Gambit as White – imitate their move orders.
4. Practical play: 3 rapid (15 | 10) games on alternate days; analyse immediately afterwards for 10 minutes, focusing on the first mistake for both sides.

Final encouragement

You have a creative, tactical style that already wins many games. By adding a layer of structure – solid first 10 moves, consistent king safety, and better clock control – breaking 1700 is realistic within a few months. Keep the fighting spirit and enjoy the journey!