Arman Pashikian GM

Hi Arman!

Great job maintaining GM-level consistency online. Your recent games show sharp tactical vision and the courage to enter dynamic positions. Below is a distilled review to help you squeeze a few extra Elo points out of your play.

Your current headline stats

• Peak blitz rating: 2871 (2022-02-21)
• Peak rapid rating: 2000 (2024-12-14)

Strengths I keep seeing

1. Piece activity out of the opening. You repeatedly steer the game toward positions where your pieces spring to life (e.g. 18…Nb4 → 10…Bxc3+ against ashotasho).
2. Killer instinct with the initiative. When the opponent’s king is stuck, you switch to attack mode quickly (see the mating net in your last win, move 23 Rd7+ ▲).
3. End-game conversion. Once up material you rarely let the point slip—your technique vs. 2500+ opponents is clean.

Recurrent issues holding you back

1. Early pawn pushes that loosen your own king. Two of the recent losses (vs. Gevorg Harutjunyan and Georg Meier) started with …a5/a4 or …h6 before castling. Against well-prepared IM/GMs that hook is getting exploited.
2. Time-management in critical positions. The time-forfeits vs. chessonado show that you sometimes burn the clock when a simple practical choice would do. Allocate a hard cap of 45-60 s for “nothing-special” decisions.
3. Under-estimating opponent counter-play on the long diagonal. In the Dyadya81 game, 13…Bg4 looked tempting but left c5/e6 holes and let White force exf6 with initiative.

Concrete examples

Recent win – model play

• All pieces joined the attack; no single-piece heroics.
• You kept central tension (…d5) until it opened lines for your rooks.

Recent loss – critical moment

Instead of 13…Bg4? consider 13…Be7 retaining the extra pawn and preventing Rd2 ideas. Black castles queenside later and the a-pawn march is justified.

Targeted training plan (2-week micro-cycle)

• Opening audit: Refresh the Petroff & French sidelines that give opponents an early e5/e4 thrust → 30 min/day.
• Tactics sprint: 50 high-rated puzzles focusing on double attacks & intermediate moves (zwischenzug) → 20 min/day.
• Practical end-games: Play out 10 rook-and-pawn end-games vs. engine set to 2600 aiming for +0.50 conversion → 15 min/day.
• Clock discipline drill: Blitz 3 + 2 with a self-rule: move 10 must be played with ≥2:30 on the clock → 4 games/day.

Progress dashboard

Track your improvement with the two interactive charts below:

Hourly performance:

Day-to-day trend:

Final encouragement

You’re already converting chances at an elite level. Tighten move-order discipline and time use, and you’ll push beyond 2850 blitz soon. Keep attacking, keep refining, and remember: sound structure + active pieces = durable initiative.

Good luck at the board!