Joost Michielsen IM

Hi Joost (Helpmat) – tailored feedback on your recent blitz sessions

Quick snapshot

• Current form: solid 2500+ blitz, tactical and fearless.
• Personal best so far: 2654 (2024-12-27).
• Activity trends:  

What you already do well

• Sharp tactical alertness. Your wins against Mihai-Lucian Grunberg and magnuscarlsen43210 show clean calculation and confidence in complicated positions (e.g. 28.Nf6⁺!! followed by 39.Qb4#).
• Initiative-first mindset. You often seize space with early pawn breaks (…c5 in Slav structures, d5 in the Alapin) and convert momentum before the clock becomes critical.
• Resourceful defensive finds. In the Slav Triangle win you coolly navigated a heavy-piece melee with 21…Nc5!, neutralising White’s rook battery.

Recurrent pain points

• Early queen adventures. In the loss to Jaza Jamal Ahmed the sortie …Qh5 allowed B_e2/B_g3 with tempo. Moves 13–18 illustrate the risk of drifting behind in development while the queen chases cheap threats.
• Back-rank & king safety. Against Maxim Omariev your 17…Qxf4 grabbed a pawn but left a loose back rank – 23…Rc1⁺ won material yet your king remained on g8 with no luft. Cultivate one quiet “safety” move before launching tactics.
• Pawn-structure judgement. In several Queen’s Pawn games you push …f5/…e5 prematurely, giving White durable outposts (see move 19 of the loss to gorisela4). Ask “What squares will I weaken?” before advancing flank pawns.
• Conversion technique under increment. The SarkhanOktay game finished in a flag rather than a clean win; you were two pawns up yet still swapping inaccurately (32.Ne2, 37.Nb4). Practise smooth, risk-free endgame conversions.

Action plan for the next 2–3 weeks

1. Opening hygiene.
   • With Black vs 1.d4 commit to one main line (Slav Triangle is fine) and prepare a low-maintenance plan after 7.Bf4 & London setups – the early …Qb6 idea has cost points.
   • Rehearse 15-move “flashcards” to avoid consuming thinking time on familiar structures.
2. Daily micro-training.
   • 10–15 prophylactic puzzles focusing on “opponent’s threat first” thinking.
   • 5-minute blindfold exercise: visualise winners from yesterday’s games; name checks & captures without a board.
3. Study two key themes.
   • Prophylaxis: review a short collection of Karpov games; pause before each of his quiet moves and guess the idea.
   • Typical Slav endgames – bishop vs knight, minority attack. Keep a mini-database of reference positions.
4. Self-review discipline.
   After every session, pick one critical moment and annotate: “What did I miss? Which Zwischenzug existed?” Small but consistent reflections beat marathon engine marathons.

Concrete examples to revisit

Theme	Move No.	Game
Unsafe queen sortie	13…Qh5?	vs Jaza Jamal Ahmed (loss)
Finishing tactics	28.Nf6+!!	vs magnuscarlsen43210 (win)
Back-rank oversight	20…Qxf4?	vs Maxim Omariev (loss)
Model central break	21.d5!	vs magnuscarlsen43210 (win)

Mindset cue

Before each blitz game repeat: “King safe, pieces active, pawns healthy. Only then do I calculate fireworks.”

Keep enjoying the game, Joost. You already have the tactical firepower to beat anyone in your rating range – rounding out the preventive side of the game will push you toward 2600+.