Hicham

Quick summary

Nice run — your rating has been trending strongly (recent month +63, 3 months +304). You’re creating chances tactically and converting them when the position opens up. The games you shared show good attacking instinct (successful sacrificial themes and rook infiltration) but also some recurring defensive/endgame issues to clean up.

What you did well (concrete examples)

• Timing of tactical shots: in the Petrov game vs masteroid100 you found a forcing sequence (Bxh2+ followed by Nxf2+) that wins material or collapses the opponent’s king safety — great pattern recognition for this opening (Petrov's Defense).
• Rook activity and exploitation of open files: in your win vs silentknight111 you used rooks to invade and force decisive concessions (Rb7+ in the final phase). You convert activity into concrete targets.
• Willingness to simplify when you're ahead: trading to a winning end or dominating the open file often removes opponent counterplay — you did this well in a couple of games.

Where to improve (patterns to fix)

• King safety and back-rank tactics — in the loss vs philippe_marco the final sequence shows how quickly a material advantage can flip when the enemy king becomes active and a passed pawn promotes. Watch pawn races and your king’s escape squares.
• Passive pieces / letting opponents build counterplay — a few games show you falling behind in piece coordination (knights on the rim, bishops blocked). Prioritize simple developing moves and preserve piece activity in the middlegame.
• Endgame technique under pressure — when the opponent gains a passer or you’re simplifying into rook + pawn or rook vs rook, a couple of precise moves were missed. Practice basic rook endgames and the concept of cutting the king off.
• Occasional tactical oversight in complicated positions — you spot tactics well, but sometimes miss one small defensive resource from the opponent. Slow down for one more candidate move when the position gets sharp.

Concrete drills & next steps

• Daily tactics: 15–25 puzzles focusing on forks, skewers, discovered checks and back-rank motifs (15–20 minutes). Prioritize motifs you saw in your games (Bxh2+/Nxf2+-style and rook infiltrations).
• Endgame mini‑routine: 10 key endgames (king + pawn vs king, rook vs rook, Lucena basics). Spend 10–15 minutes, 3× per week. Convert one practice position to a real game scenario each session.
• One-game postmortem: pick each loss and identify the single critical move where the evaluation swung. Write down the candidate moves you considered and what you missed. Make this a habit after every loss.
• Opening focus: keep 2–3 main lines and learn typical middlegame plans (rather than many sidelines). For your Petrov and Old Benoni lines, study 3 typical plans each and common endgames that arise. See your good results in Petrov's Defense and the Old Benoni-style game you won for ideas.
• Time control practice: in rapid games continue to aim for 10+0 or 10+5 sessions — it reduces blunders from time pressure and helps calculation depth.

Short tactical checklist (use before every critical move)

• Who is attacking my king? Any back-rank or discovered threats?
• Are any of my pieces loose or undefended (Loose Piece / En prise)?
• Does my opponent have a passed pawn or a path to promotion?
• What are my opponent’s counterplay ideas if I grab material?

Opening / repertoire notes (data-driven)

Your opening win rates show clear strengths with some aggressive surprise lines (e.g., Blackburne Shilling Gambit, Australian Defense). You also play the Petrov a fair amount — solid choice but win rate is slightly below 50% which suggests the middlegame plans from the opening can be improved.

• Action: pick 2 petrov/central pawn plans and learn pawn breaks and piece maneuvers for each typical structure (one defensive and one counterattacking line).
• Keep the surprise weapons you enjoy, but practice the resulting middlegames so you don’t rely only on tactical shots that need to work twice.

Example position to review

Re-load the win vs silentknight111 and replay the final phase where the rook invasion decided the game — focus on candidate moves when you played Rb7+

Final coaching note

Your rating slope and recent positive gains show you're learning fast — keep the momentum. Focus this week on tactics + one endgame theme + one opening plan. Small, consistent steps will turn those 300‑point gains into stable strength.

If you want, send one loss you want a full move-by-move annotated review of and I’ll mark the turning points and alternative moves.