Thanh Trang Hoang GM

Hi Thanh Trang!

Great work climbing towards 2425 (2020-04-21) and already displaying a well-rounded positional style. Below is a quick summary of what you are doing well and a few concrete suggestions for the next training phase.

What you already do very well

• Solid opening framework. Your Colle/London set-ups as White and Dutch/French structures as Black give you comfortable middlegames with clear plans.
• Piece activity. You rarely keep pieces passive for long; the win against Agent_Bishopp is a nice illustration (see the first PGN below).
• Tactical alertness. You are not afraid to calculate concrete lines and grab material when the position justifies it.
• Practical fighting spirit. Even in slightly worse positions you keep posing problems and score many wins on the clock – a good competitive habit.

Targeted improvement plan

1. Opposite-side castling awareness.
   Your recent loss to Alexandra Kosteniuk showed how dangerous it is to follow “normal” Colle moves after the opponent castles long.
   • When kings go to different wings, tempo becomes the most valuable resource. Delay pawn moves like a3/h3 that don’t hit the enemy king directly.
   • Create threats first (c4–c5 or e3-e4) and keep your own king flexible; sometimes 0-0-0 is safer.
   • Add a “traffic-light” check to every move: “Does this slow my own attack?” If the answer is yes, look for something sharper.
2. Handling pawn storms against your Dutch.
   Games in the loss set show problems on the dark squares after …f5–g6.
   • Re-study typical Leningrad manoeuvres: …e6–e5 breaks, the …Qe8–f7 transfer, and when to insert …h6/h5.
   • Practice with thematic positions vs engine set to “defend” so you learn typical defensive resources.
   • Consider adding one “quieter” reply to 1.d4 (e.g. Queen’s Gambit Declined) to broaden your repertoire and avoid becoming predictable.
3. Prophylactic thinking in quieter structures.
   Even in strategic positions, ask “What does my opponent want next?” before executing your own idea.
   • Populate your notebook with one example per week where a single preventive move (Kh1, a4, etc.) would have changed the result.
   • Review the concept of prophylaxis using annotated master games (Petrosian is ideal).
4. End-game conversion.
   In the defeat by ChessQueen the transition from a tough defence to a lost pawn ending happened quickly.
   • Whenever queens are exchanged, force yourself to spend 30‒40 seconds evaluating the pawn structure and king activity.
   • Play at least five rook-and-pawn endings per week against an engine; start from equal positions and win/draw with the 30-second per-move limit to mimic time pressure.
5. Time management.
   Your incremental games still see occasional blunders under 2-minute marks.
   • Add a self-imposed “soft” time cap: try to have ≥5 minutes left by move 20. Use it as a red flag rather than a rigid rule.
   • Train the “30-second drill”: set up a tactic, give yourself half a minute to identify candidate moves (link: candidate moves) before calculating.

Illustrative games

Model win – efficient coordination and piece activity:

Model loss – opposite-side castling & missed counter-play:

Progress tracker

Use these charts to monitor when you score best and schedule training accordingly:

Next steps in your training week

• Play 5 slow games focusing on faster, direct play when kings are castled on opposite wings.
• Analyse each game for 15 minutes with the engine, then annotate in your own words the critical moments.
• Solve 25 intermediate-level tactics that start with a pawn break (see pawn break).
• Review one GM Dutch Defence game, paying special attention to move orders in the Leningrad.

Stay curious and keep enjoying the journey – the 2300 barrier is well within reach!