Coach Chesswick
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 Be2/Bg3 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
- 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. - 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. - 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. - 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+.