Rui Wang GM

Hi Rui!

You are already playing at an impressive level (≈2684 (2025-02-25)) and your recent games show excellent creativity and fighting spirit. Below is a focused review of your play over the last few sessions, with practical ways to squeeze out the next rating jump.

Quick pulse-check

• Activity:

1. Opening trends

• As White you often steer toward Queen’s-Pawn systems and Catalan-style setups. Your score is excellent when you keep early tension (e.g. the win against huwilliams).
• As Black you rotate between the King’s Indian, Symmetrical English and Sicilian. Versatility is a plus, but the freshest loss (English A30) suggests the …Nc6/…Nc7 → …e5 plan can leave the c8–bishop passive. Consider studying the Rubinstein-type structures with an eye on improving the light-square bishop and timing …b5 more confidently.
• Tip: Spend one session per week on targeted opening maintenance: load the critical positions that gave you trouble into an engine, let it run for 3-5 minutes, and store the key lines in a spaced-repetition file.

2. Middlegame decisions

• Strength: You seize space and aren’t afraid of pawn breaks (h-pawn storms vs fianchetto kings). Your tactical conversion against 23…dxe4?! in the win below is exemplary.
• Growth area: Occasionally you rush a pawn thrust without a follow-up (e.g. 27…g5 in the A30 loss). Try adding one move of prophylaxis before the lunge; it often forces your opponent into passivity at no time cost.
• Drill: Take three recent positions where you played a pawn break. For each, find one quiet move that would have made the break even stronger. This neuralises the “auto-pilot” habit.

3. Endgame technique

• You generally convert extra pawns cleanly (see 60.Re4–66.g4 in the featured win).
• Still, two of the recent losses slid from equal R+R endings into defensive chaos once the clock dipped under 30 s. A little extra endgame pattern work—particularly rook + minor-piece vs rook endings—will save half-points.

4. Time management

In Blitz you average ~7 s per move in the first 15 moves and only 2 s thereafter. Aim for a flatter curve: allocate +2 s per critical decision between moves 15-25, then play the technical phase faster when the plan is fixed. A simple mental cue (“breathe on move 20”) helps.

5. Psychological edge

Your bounce-back win immediately after losing to the same opponent shows resilience—keep that! To reduce tilt after a bad game, perform a one-minute reset: stand up, two deep breaths, and mentally label the mistake (“blunder”, “time scramble”, etc.). Labelling prevents the error from bleeding into the next game.

Annotated examples

Clean conversion (your win):

Critical slip (latest loss):

Action plan (next 4 weeks)

1. Week 1: Deep-dive into A30 Symmetrical English …Nc7 lines; build a 10-move “emergency” repertoire.
2. Week 2: 30-minute daily endgame drill: rook + minor vs rook; pawn races with outside passer.
3. Week 3: Annotate five of your own games focusing solely on quiet moves before pawn breaks.
4. Week 4: Two themed blitz sessions where you start from move 15 with 60 s on the clock—train practical defense under time pressure.

Keep enjoying the journey, Rui. Your tactical eye is already elite; polishing the micro-strategic choices and time distribution will push you toward 2700 blitz. Happy studying!