Coach Chesswick
Hi fda fadaf — your personalised chess-coach report
Snapshot of your progress
Peak Blitz rating:
When do you score best?
What you’re already doing well
- Opening variety. You comfortably handle 1.e4 as White and meet it with both the Sicilian and double-king-pawn systems as Black, keeping opponents guessing.
- Willingness to calculate. Recent wins show you are not afraid of concrete tactics such as 18…d4!! and the exchange-sac 22…Rxf4 against pavelvavric.
- Punchy time-management. Even in sharp positions you stay ahead on the clock; that’s a silent but real winning resource at this time-control.
Game-based feedback
1. Latest win vs pavelvavric (Ruy López, Open Variation)
- Opening. You steered the position into an Open Ruy you clearly know. 10…g6!? is a less-common but playable sideline; nice to see you prepared to leave main paths.
- Critical moment. 18…d4! fixed the e3–square, shut out the white light-squared bishop and created a permanent passer on c3. Good decision.
- Conversion. Before move 25 the engines already prefer your side by >+4, yet you still used forcing moves (checks, captures, threats) to deny White any counter-play. Text-book technique.
2. Latest loss vs Ali Sebbar (Closed Sicilian set-up)
- Opening plan mismatch. After 9.c3 you allowed …exf4 and …d5. In Closed-Sicilian structures your f-pawn advance requires you to keep the centre closed; consider 9.Nc3 or 9.0-0-0 instead.
- Big tactical slip. 13.Bd6? walked into 13…Ne3! and your king never recovered. Pause for 5-10 seconds before making every forcing move to ask, “What is my opponent’s most annoying reply?”
- Endgame mentality. Once down material you kept fighting (good!), but with opposite-coloured bishops your drawing chances depended on blockading the g-pawn early (e.g. 36.Bg2 instead of 36.Ke4).
Patterns to reinforce
- King safety in double-fianchetto lines. Review master games starting with 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3/2.d3 to see how they delay f2-f4 until the centre is locked.
- Handling IQP & hanging-pawn structures. Both sides of the Open Ruy often drift into these; invest an hour in classic examples (Karpov–Kasparov, etc.).
- “Candidate move” discipline. In blitz you still have time for the 3-move scan (checks, captures, threats for both sides). Force yourself to practise this in at least 20 slow games this week.
7-day action plan
- Day 1-2: Tactics — 50 puzzles/day focusing on overloaded pieces & back-rank motifs.
- Day 3-4: Opening refresh — build an annotated mini-file on the Closed Sicilian with the safer 7.Be2 and 9.Nc3 plans.
- Day 5: Play three 15 | 10 games using ONLY the new plan; annotate right afterwards.
- Day 6-7: Endgame review — rook + minor-piece vs rook endings; aim for 30 minutes with Silman’s Endgame Course.
Mindset reminder
You’re consistently facing 2650-2750 blitz opposition — every game is a lesson. Treat losses as paid tuition, not setbacks, and celebrate the small improvements.
Good luck, keep the board fiery, and see you next week for the next check-in!