Coach Chesswick
Gudmundur Kjartansson – Blitz Coaching Feedback
Quick Snapshot
- Current format: Blitz (3 + 1)
- Highest recorded blitz rating: 2681 (2023-09-07)
- Typical style: Dynamic, pawn-storms on the wings, enjoys open tactical fights.
What You’re Doing Well
- Opening Initiative
Consistently seizing space with g-pawn thrusts (e.g. 7.g5 in your Philidor win). You understand when a pawn storm will drive the opponent’s pieces back. - Piece Activity
Games show early Qg4/Qg5 ideas, rapid long-castle, and rook lifts (Rg1, Rh1, etc.). You rarely leave pieces undeveloped. - Tactical Awareness
Attractive combinations such as 22.Bxf7+ Kd8 23.Qc7# against Raul Adrian Habiaga demonstrate sharp calculation.
Key Areas to Improve
- Clock Management (5 of your last 6 losses were on time)
• Enter critical middlegame positions with >40 s whenever possible.
• Practise “move-now-think-on-opponent’s-time” drills; aim for ½ second pre-move decisions in familiar structures. - King Safety While Attacking
• Loss vs Yidong Chen shows queenside castling followed by a5/b5 pawn breaks left your king exposed.
• When you castle long, do a quick “pawn shield audit” before pushing flank pawns. - Conversion Technique in Simplified Positions
• Timeout vs Viktor Neustroev after reaching a pleasant position proves you spend too long finding “best” moves.
• Rehearse basic rook endgames and two-result positions; play the first safe winning line, not the prettiest.
Training Plan (2-Week Cycle)
| Focus | Tool / Drill | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Time-Pressure Habits | 1-minute “Blitz Finish” sparring from move 25 | Average decision time < 2 s |
| King Safety | Annotate 10 own games where you castled long | Create a castle-long checklist |
| Endgame Conversion | 30 rook-v-rook puzzles (Lichess Drill IDs 1900-2200) | 90 % success rate in <30 s each |
Illustrative Game (annotated)
Performance Rhythm
Review when you score best:
Action-Item Checklist
- ⏱️ Start every blitz session with a 3-minute bullet warm-up to switch on fast calculation.
- 🛡️ Before aggressive pawn pushes, ask: “How many moves until my king has zero cover?”
- 🏁 Practise forcing sequences in won endgames; avoid “paralysis by analysis.”
- 📒 Keep a one-page “blitz heuristics” sheet (critical squares, safe pre-moves, endgame motifs).
Glossary
You may hear me reference Zugzwang, triangulation, and prophylaxis in future notes—feel free to ask for deeper dives.