Quick summary
Mykhaylo — solid recent blitz run: your openings give you consistent chances, your piece activity and tactical sense are strong, and you pressure opponents into mistakes. The weakest points are endgame technique and occasional time-management slips. Below are targeted observations and a practical improvement plan.
What you're doing well
- Opening play — your handling of the Caro-Kann Defense and many Sicilian/Kan positions is reliable and creates imbalances you can play for.
- Active piece coordination — you use rooks and queen to seize open files and create threats, often forcing errors.
- Tactical vision — you find forks, discoveries and mating ideas quickly in blitz and convert them into wins.
- Practicality — you choose imbalanced, fighting positions where your opponents are more likely to crack under pressure or time trouble.
Recurring issues to fix
- Endgame technique — several losses trace to giving the opponent a decisive passed pawn or failing to activate your king in rook / pawn endings. This is a high-return area to improve.
- Unnecessary simplifications — avoid trading into endgames where your king is passive or where the opponent gains a fast pawn advance.
- Time management — you sometimes flag opponents but more often you make small inaccuracies under time pressure. Add a small time cushion for critical decisions (moves ~10–20 and tactical puzzles).
- Prophylaxis — a few games showed missed preventive moves that would have shut down opponent counterplay (pawn breaks, piece infiltration).
Concrete example: replay a recent win
Replay this game to study the decisive tactical transition and how you converted activity into material and a mating net.
Opponent: Gor Asatryan
Game-specific notes (from recent losses)
- vs Rustam Rustamov — long rook/king endgame: the turning idea was king activation and creating a passed pawn. Try to activate the king earlier and prevent the opponent's king from outflanking you.
- vs Artem Galaktionov — a queen/rook exchange led to tactical liabilities. Before trading queens, check for opponent tactical shots and pawn breaks that leave your pieces passive.
Practical training plan (short-term)
- Endgame drills (3×/week, 20–30 minutes)
- Rook endgames: Lucena and Philidor patterns until automatic.
- King activity and pawn races: practice basic opposition and distant opposition exercises.
- Tactics (daily, 15–20 minutes)
- Focus on pins, skewers, discovered attacks and mating motifs.
- Time management (practice)
- Play 10 rapid (10+5) games where you force yourself to spend an extra 3–5 seconds on critical moves.
- Post-game routine
- After each session, pick one loss and one win. Find the single turning move and write down the motif — do this before checking an engine.
30/60/90 day roadmap
- 30 days: Reduce elementary endgame losses; fewer giveaway blunders under time pressure.
- 60 days: Improved conversion rate in simplified positions and steadier decision-making in critical moments.
- 90 days: Plug opening holes exposed during the period and keep building on endgame stability.
Short checklist for your next session
- Warm up: 10 minutes tactics + 5 minutes rook endgames.
- During games: before every exchange ask, “Does this trade activate the opponent’s king or create a passed pawn?”
- After a loss: identify the one move that changed the evaluation and the motif behind it.
- Weekly: review 4 losses and 4 wins focusing on recurring themes, not only move accuracy.
Want a focused post‑mortem?
Tell me which game (link or opponent) or which move number you want analyzed. I can produce a concise 10‑point post‑mortem with candidate moves, missed tactics and concrete takeaways to avoid the same mistake next time.
Suggestions: review the endgame vs Rustam Rustamov or the middlegame vs Artem Galaktionov.