housdav IM

Hi housdav! 👋 Let’s build on your 2500-level momentum

You are a dynamic attacker who steers many games into rich, unbalanced middlegames.  Your last 30-move miniature vs. Khachikyan-Hayko is a perfect example — you sacrificed space, invaded on the dark squares and finished with a picturesque knight mate:

Below is a quick look at your typical session rhythm.

What you’re already doing well

• Opening repertoire consistency. 1.d4 followed by c4, Nc3 and early g3 gives you positions you clearly understand.
• Piece activity over material. Tactical shots like 26.Nc4! and 36.Nxe6+ show good calculation depth.
• Switching fronts. You’re comfortable shifting the attack from one wing to the other — e.g. Bd3–h7 ideas in several Catalans.

Bottlenecks holding you back

1. Clock management. Five of your last seven losses were won positions lost on time. The pattern is entering critical positions with <15 s then flagging.
   Advice:
   • Adopt a “10-second rule” — if your clock dips below 0:10, make a safe move and rebuild.
   • Use the opening phase to bank time: play your first 10 moves inside one minute.
2. Over-pushing flank pawns as Black. Losses vs. Magic_KDB and CM_Haruka started with …g6/h5 or …a6/…c5 before you completed development. Opponents exploited the dark-square holes and your king in the centre.
   Advice:
   • After …g6, delay …h5 until the king is castled or the centre is closed.
   • Add one solid line against 1.d4 — e.g. a straightforward Queen’s Gambit Declined setup — to diversify.
3. Converting technical endgames. In the loss to atamek you were two passed pawns up but allowed counter-play and flagged.
   Advice:
   • Drill pawn-up rook endings vs. engine on Chess.com’s “Practice” for 15 minutes each day.
   • Remember the principle “passer on the 6th = rook behind”.
4. Missing defensive resources. Games vs. seductiveprincess and burns1 featured sudden back-rank or literal mating nets. Strengthen your prophylaxis radar:
   • Ask “What does my opponent want?” every move, especially when you are attacking.

Action plan for the next two weeks

Quick reference

• Your peak blitz rating: 2702 (2024-09-23) 🎉
• Win rate by weekday:
• Key term recap: zwischenzug, back-rank mate, opposition

Final encouragement

You’re already scoring consistent wins vs. 2400+ opposition.  Sharpen the four areas above and 2500+ will become your new floor, not ceiling.  Good luck, and enjoy the journey!