Harikesh

Quick summary

Nice work — you’re winning lots of short games and your rating trend is headed up. Your recent games show two patterns: solid opening familiarity in many lines (you win a lot from standard queen-pawn structures) and recurring time/king-safety issues in quick games. Below I highlight what you do well, the biggest leaks, and a focused improvement plan for bullet.

Recent game highlights

• Fast win vs plentn — opponent resigned after you played quick development (you opened with d-pawn and Nc3). Useful win to show you can get comfortable setups very quickly:
• Loss vs bos-ton — a classic short tactical finish where White used a bishop sac/queen infiltration to checkmate on the h-file. This game is a great teaching example about king safety and weakening your kingside with moves like an early f3 followed by missed defense on back-rank/h-file threats:
• Several wins were on time (opponent flagged) — your speed is good but you also get flagged sometimes. Aim to convert more with the position rather than relying on time only.

What you’re doing well

• Fast, consistent opening development in many games — you reach playable middlegames quickly.
• Good results in queen-pawn systems: your Opening Performance shows strong win rates in QGD lines (3.Nc3 etc.). Use those as “go-to” systems in bullet.
• Practical speed: you pressure opponents and win on time sometimes, which is an important bullet skill.

Biggest leaks to fix (priority)

• King safety on the kingside — moves like an early f3 and allowing Bxh7+ ideas created direct mating nets in the loss vs bos-ton. Keep the pawn shield and avoid weakening squares (g2/h2) unless it gains concrete benefit.
• Tactical oversight around queen/h-file infiltration — when the opponent swings the queen and rooks to your back rank or h-file you need a routine defensive pattern (trade queens, give a flight square, or step the king to a safe square earlier).
• Time management / flagging — some wins and losses are decided by the clock. Reduce dependence on flagging by simplifying winning positions and building fast, repeatable opening setups so you can spend less time in the opening.
• Occasional loose pieces and missed captures when under time pressure — pre-move safely and avoid speculative captures when your clock is low. Look for simple tactics training to tighten this up.

Concrete 2-week practice plan (bullet-focused)

• Daily (10–15 min): Tactics trainer — focus on short mates, forks, pins and back-rank motifs to stop mating ideas. Set a target: 25+ correct puzzles in one session without mistakes.
• Every other day (10 min): Opening drills — pick 2–3 compact systems you know well (example: the QGD lines you already do well). Practice the first 7–8 moves until you can play them without thinking. Use the moves as your “speed repertoire.”
• 3× per week (5–10 min): Clock practice — play 10 bullet games where you force yourself to keep 3–8 seconds on the clock by using pre-moves and small simplifications. Focus on not blundering under 10 seconds.
• Post-game (5 min): Review only decisive losses — open the game, find the first mistake that led to trouble (don’t try to deep-analyze everything). For the mate game vs bos-ton identify the exact move where king safety was compromised and write a short note: “Avoid f3 here; instead play ...”
• Weekly (30 min): One slow game (10+0 or 15+10) — this helps your calculation and reduces reflex-only play in bullet.

Quick bullet checklist (during games)

• Before you move: count checks and captures — ask “is my king safe?”
• If opponent threatens h-file/back-rank tactics, either trade queens quickly or give the king a flight square (step to h1/g1, or create luft).
• Use pre-moves for safe recaptures only — don’t auto-premove into tactical shots.
• When ahead on time: simplify and swap pieces to force a win; avoid creating new tactical complications unless calculated.
• Label frequent opponent usernames to specific lines — e.g., if bos-ton often uses an early bishop sac motif, be ready with the defense.

Study resources & drills

• Tactics: short motif packs — back-rank mates, discovered checks, pins. Do 5–10 motifs daily.
• Endgame basics: rook + pawn versus rook patterns — convert advantages quicker when low on time.
• Opening: fix a 2–3 move order repertoire for White and Black so you can reach a comfortable middlegame in 10–12 seconds reliably.

Follow-up homework (for your next 20 bullet games)

• Track each loss and tag it with one cause: “time”, “king safety”, “tactical miss”, or “opening.” After 20 games you’ll see the true distribution.
• If >30% of losses are “time”, shift practice to clock drills and safe pre-moves for a week.
• Pick one illustrative loss (like the Qh7 mate) and re-play it at slow time control to reinforce the defensive patterns you missed.

Motivation & final note

Your long-term trend is strong — recent slopes and a +50 rating this month show progress. Keep the opening habits that work (use your QGD strengths) and attack the two big leaks: kingside safety and time control. Small, focused changes will move many game results in your favor quickly. If you want, send one loss that felt avoidable and I’ll give move-by-move corrective suggestions.

Terms you might find useful while reviewing: Flagging, Loose pieces, Back rank.