Coach Chesswick
Hi Grolica – Coaching Feedback After Your Recent Sessions
Your Competitive Snapshot
• Current form: impressive attacking wins (e.g. the Caro-Kann Accelerated Panov game)
• Consistency:
• Peak performance: 2411 (2021-03-12) 2400 (2022-03-21)
What You’re Doing Extremely Well
- Opening Ambition. As White you seize space early (e4 – c4 setups, 9.Nxf7! in the Alekhine) and force your opponents to defend from move one.
- Tactical Alertness. You spot loose pieces & king-safety lapses quickly. The following miniature shows both calculation speed and harmony of your pieces:
- Piece Activity Over Material. In several wins you preferred rapid development (♖d1/♖fe1) to pawn grabbing—an excellent practical choice in 3 + 2.
Main Growth Areas
- Black Repertoire versus 1.d4.
The Horwitz-style setup (…e6, …c5, …b6) led to passive pieces and structural weaknesses in the loss to ratingelopower. Consider adopting a more systematic defence (Slav, Semi-Tarrasch or even a sound QGD with …d5) so your plans are clearer. - Pawn-Storm Discipline.
Many games feature early …b5-b4 or h-pawn thrusts. When these pushes don’t create concrete threats they become self-weakening targets. Ask “After I push, can my opponent attack the square I just abandoned?” – a classic prophylaxis check. - Time Management.
Two losses (e.g. vs zzzouzz) were simply flag-outs in holdable positions. • Use the increment for a quick CCT scan each move. • When ahead on the board but low on the clock, simplify—trade queens or enter a straightforward endgame. - Conversion Technique.
In your 2022 French Advance game you reached a winning rook & pawn endgame but allowed counterplay and later resigned. Regularly practice technical endings (4-rooks, RB vs R, queen vs pawns) on a drill site or with a friend to turn such positions into routine wins.
Action Plan for the Next Two Weeks
| Theme | Daily Micro-Task |
|---|---|
| Opening Upgrade (Black vs 1.d4) | Review 2 master games & add one new line to your file. |
| Prophylactic Thinking | Annotate one of your own wins, writing down “opponent’s threat?” after each of your candidate moves. |
| Endgame Drills | 15 minutes of rook-and-pawn endings; aim for 80 % accuracy. |
| Clock Discipline | Play 3 blitz games focused solely on finishing with ≥10 s remaining. |
Quick Motivation
“Good positions don’t win games—good moves do.” Your attacking flair already supplies many good moves; adding a layer of control will push you to the next rating band.
Keep the momentum going, and feel free to send me any critical positions for deeper analysis.