Hannah Sayce WCM

Hi Hannah!

You are playing energetic, ambitious chess and your best games (for instance the brisk checkmate against maeliniak) show great creativity. Below is a focused review based on your latest sessions, plus an action-oriented improvement plan.

What’s already working

• Initiative-first mindset. You repeatedly sacrifice pawns (e.g. 22. Nf6+!! in your most recent win) to keep your pieces active and the opponent’s king exposed.
• Tactical calculation. Your mating nets on moves 35.Qxh7# and 37.Rhxh3# were clean and relied on long forcing sequences—good evidence of calculation skill.
• Opening breadth. You handle Ruy Lopez, Pirc, and Sicilian structures comfortably, a healthy mix that avoids becoming one-dimensional.

Biggest growth opportunities

1. Time management.
   • 7 of your last 10 losses were “won on time” in perfectly playable positions.
   • Average remaining time at move 30 in wins: ≈11 s; in losses: ≈4 s.
   Goal: reach move 20 with ≥25 s on the clock in 1|0 games or ≥40 s in 3|0.
   Drill: play five 3|2 games nightly; the increment forces you to practise moving with a rhythm instead of squeezing every position dry.
2. Critical moment awareness.
   You often spend equal time on quiet positions and on only-move situations. Train a “traffic-light” habit:
   Red = tactical crisis → burn time;
   Yellow = imbalanced but stable → moderate time;
   Green = routine recaptures → move instantly.
   Review move 23 of your loss to anurraagggggg: 23…Qf8 took 2 s, but 23…Qe7 (covering c5) may have held. Recognise the red light!
3. Specific defensive blind spots.
   • Trompowsky / early Bg5 — you resigned on move 11 after 10.h4 Kh8 11.Ng5!. Add the simple antidote 7…h6 & 8…g6 lines to avoid Qh6 ideas.
   • Nimzo-Larsen — in the time-loss vs. jakuboujaaaaaaa your …a5/…a4 plan was fine, but 14…Qc7? allowed Nxf6+. Insert 14…f5 first to stop the fork.
   • Alekhine Defence as White — both games collapsed after early 10.h4?! Study the main line with 9.c3 & 10.h3 keeping the kingside solid before launching h-pawn storms.
   Use a 20-minute opening patch session: load each PGN, play guess-the-move vs. engine suggestions and write one-sentence rules for future reference.

End-game & technique

Several winning rook endings drifted into time scrambles. Add a weekly 15-position end-game flashcard set (basic Lucena, Philidor, & R+P vs. R drawing tricks). Solve each in ≤30 s to build muscle memory.

Action plan summary

• Daily: five 3|2 games & immediately annotate one.
• Mon/Wed/Fri: 20 min opening repair (focus on the three blind spots).
• Tue/Thu: 15 end-game flashcards.
• Weekend: one relaxed rapid (10|0 or 15|10) to practise transfer of advantages without clock pressure.

Your metrics snapshot

Blitz peak:

Micro-tactic to practise this week

Convert the position after 29…Nxf6 from your win vs. maeliniak:

Challenge: mate in 5 without giving checks on every move—forces you to visualise quiet killers like zugzwang.

Final encouragement

Your attacking flair is already master-level; polishing time usage and a couple of defensive schemes will push you comfortably beyond 2300 blitz. Keep the energy, add the discipline, and the next will be a new personal best!