Alfonso Hernández

Strengths and what you’re doing well

You show strong practical sense in blitz, especially in dynamic, complex positions. The most recent win demonstrates your ability to keep the initiative in the middlegame and convert pressure into a decisive endgame, including a timely pawn promotion. You also handle time pressure reasonably well and can generate practical chances even when the position is unclear.

• Good tactical awareness: you often find forcing moves that create concrete problems for your opponent.
• Endgame resourcefulness: you convert advantages in the late phase, turning activity into material gains and winning chances.
• Resilience under time pressure: you stay focused and keep generating threats when the clock becomes tight.

Key areas to improve

• Time management in blitz: aim to pace yourself so you don’t end up with large time deficits in the middlegame. Consider setting small time budgets per phase (opening, middlegame, endgame) and sticking to them.
• Opening consistency: develop a compact, personally chosen repertoire for both colors. Rely on solid plans rather than long theoretical lines in every game to save thinking time.
• Tactical pattern recognition: dedicate a short daily puzzle routine (10–15 minutes) to reinforce common motifs (forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks) so you spot them faster in games.
• Endgame practice: strengthen rook-and-pawn endings and simple king activity patterns so you can convert small advantages cleanly when fewer pieces remain.
• Defensive resilience: when you’re ahead, be mindful of overextending or trades that simplify into drawing chances for your opponent. Look for solid cleanup moves that keep your material edge.

Openings strategy for blitz

Your openings show solid results with a mix of lines. In blitz, a focused repertoire helps reduce decision time and keeps you in familiar middlegame plans. Consider the following concrete steps:

• Focus on a pair of reliable openings for Black against 1.e4 and 1.d4. The Caro-Kann Defense, in particular, is a solid choice with a respectable win rate in your data, and it often leads to clear, manageable plans in the middlegame.
• For White, select a compact system against common Black setups (for example a solid development scheme after 1.d4 or 1.e4) to limit surprise and maintain consistent middlegame ideas.
• Learn 2–3 critical middlegame plans for each chosen opening so you can move from opening to plan quickly in most games.
• Review a few recent blitz games to identify where opening choice cost you time or left you with unclear plans, and target those gaps in your next practice.

Practical training plan to elevate blitz

• Weekly schedule (repeat for the next 4 weeks):
  • Two blitz practice sessions (30–40 minutes each): pick one opening you want to improve, study 2–3 key lines, and play three quick games focusing on sticking to your plan.
  • Daily tactical puzzle routine (10–15 minutes): aim for pattern recognition and fast calculation in common blitz motifs.
  • Endgame focus (1 session per week, 20–25 minutes): practice rook endings and simple pawn endgames with a timer, focusing on activity and accurate promotion technique.
  • Game review and notes (20–25 minutes): after each session, write down your top 3 mistakes, the correct idea, and one improvement to apply in the next games.
• Time management drill: use a simple timer during practice. Allocate roughly equal thinking time per move in the opening phase, and set a micro-goal to not exceed a threshold (for example, 20–25 seconds per move on average in the first 15 moves). If you find yourself spending more, switch to a simpler plan or a safe, structural move.
• Repertoire refinement: commit to 2–3 core openings for White and 2–3 for Black. Memorize the key ideas, typical pawn structures, and the main middlegame plans so you can play fluently without heavy calculation on every move.

Next steps and quick check-ins

Track your progress with a simple weekly log: note one tactical motif you mastered, one opening improvement, and one endgame pattern you can confidently execute. Reassess in four weeks and adjust the plan if needed. Keep focusing on consistency over flashy tactics—steady improvement in blitz comes from solid fundamentals and disciplined practice.