Coach Chesswick
Hi Hans, here is a tailored post-mortem of your recent games
Quick stats
Peak Blitz rating: 3307 (2025-06-24)
Activity overview:
What you are doing well
- Initiative hunter. Your early f- and g--pawn thrusts grab space and set practical problems, especially in 960 positions where the king’s whereabouts are unclear.
- Tactical alertness. The queen-raid 5.Qxa8!! in your win vs Artin Ashraf shows precise calculation under time pressure.
- Resourcefulness in scrambles. Even with single-digit seconds you kept finding forcing moves (e.g. 40.Rh3!! in the win vs Pranesh M).
Recurring problems
- King safety after flank pawn pushes. In the loss to Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus you advanced both flank pawns yet never completed development; the king was stuck on b8 behind weak dark squares.
- Time management. Flagging in favourable endgames vs Alireza Firouzja, Mitrabha Guha and Daniel Naroditsky cost you 45 rating points—purely practical losses.
- Conversion technique. When up material you sometimes allow counterplay (e.g. 31…Qxc5? vs legendisback1). A “trade-down & centralise” autopilot would net easy points.
Opening hints (Chess960 & Classical)
- If you push both flank pawns, immediately open the centre with …d5/…e5; otherwise your king stays exposed and bishops lack scope.
- After winning an exchange (e.g. 5.Qxa8) shift to a simplify-and-centralise plan—trade queens, seize open files, force endgames.
- Against setups with …g6 or …c5 consider delaying pawn storms by one developing move; well-placed pieces punish those structures more reliably than wing attacks.
Practical recommendations
- Exploit the increment. In 3 + 1 a quick safe move earns a second to think—turn this into habit.
- End-game warm-up. Review five king-and-pawn endings before each session; ironing out basic technique prevents Firouzja-type slips.
- Prophylactic routine. After every move ask “What is the worst my opponent can do?”—it would have revealed 33…b5! in your win vs Jules Moussard and cut off counterplay.
Illustrative sequence
The snippet below shows how quickly an uncastled king became a target in the Bird’s-style loss:
Next steps
Choose one theme per week (e.g. “convert material up” or “play with increment”) and log every game with that focus. Small, deliberate adjustments will compound quickly.
Good luck in your upcoming events—I’m looking forward to seeing you breach 2800 blitz again!