Sergey Shipov GM

Hi Sergey!

You remain one of the most entertaining blitz streamers around, but even veterans benefit from an outside look at their recent trends. Below are a few observations and concrete training ideas based on the games you played on 07 Feb 2023.

What’s working well

• Dynamic piece play in symmetrical positions. The Black win against Kumi29 displayed excellent knight manoeuvres (…Nf6-g4-e5) and a ruthless conversion once the a-pawn started running.
• Keeping opening choice flexible. You switched between the French, Dutch, Slav and Grünfeld without visible hesitation—an approach that keeps opponents guessing.
• Confidence in tactical complications. Your victory versus BirdMaster3000 showed that you’re happy to enter razor-sharp French Winawer lines and trust calculation—still a trademark strength.

Recurring problems to address

• Chronic time pressure. Three of the five recent losses ended on the clock.
  – In the endgame versus Zhigalko_Sergei you had an extra pawn but dropped below ten seconds while searching for a winning plan.
  – Against tandaleo you invested 40 s on moves 17-20 (c4–c5 break) and never recovered the tempo deficit.
  Exercise: play 1-minute “hand-and-brain” sessions with a partner, forcing yourself to move instantly on command. 15 minutes a day is enough to retrain the instinct to move first, calculate on the opponent’s time.
• Black French vs 3.Nd2 & 3.Nf3. Both recent French losses followed the same pattern: …Be7/…Nf6 setups left the light-squared bishop passive and the queenside undeveloped. Diagram after 15…Qb6 against Варвара Полякова illustrates the structural problems.
  
  
  Training task: analyse this position with an engine for 15 minutes, then build a 10-move forcing line that equalises. Repeat weekly and store solutions in your notebook.
• Loose pawn pushes in equal middlegames. In the loss to Macho_2006 the early …h5 + …g5 weakened kingside dark squares and cost the f-pawn. Adopt the “three-question rule” (Why here? Why now? What changes?) before advancing flank pawns.

Opening checklist for the next training block

1. French Defence—prepare a French Rubinstein sideline (4…dxe4) against both 3.Nd2 and 3.Nf3 for blitz. Cuts memorisation and frees the light-squared bishop.
2. Dutch—add the modern manoeuvre …Na6-c7-e6 vs London-style set-ups to avoid the cramped positions you got versus shanemelaughcm.
3. Slav—review the 5.a4 sideline; your quick queen exchange versus ljuks68 worked, but theory has improved for White.

Macro stats snapshot

Blitz peak: 2850 (2021-10-12)
Bullet peak: 2873 (2020-12-18)

Homework (next 7 days)

• Play ten 5 | 2 games, forcing yourself to spend max 30 s on any single move until move 20.
• Build a flash-card deck of twenty critical French-Nd2 positions with best replies (Spaced-repetition works even for GMs!).
• Analyse one loss daily without an engine for 15 min, then with an engine for 5 min—note every missed Zwischenzug.

Keep entertaining us with the live commentary, but give yourself the same disciplined structure you recommend to your pupils. Small daily habits will translate into large rating gains.

Good luck, and see you at the next Titled Tuesday!