Hi Pawel, here’s a focused review of your recent games and some ideas for steady progress.
1. What’s already working well
- Kingside attacks ♞ – Your win against Chen shows clean calculation: the ...g-pawn storm, exchange sacrifice on f3 and the final mating net all came with good tempo awareness.
- Piece activity in middlegames – You routinely place rooks on open files (…Rc8, …Rad8), and knights jump to outposts such as …Nc6/e5 in your London-System counterplay.
- Conversion technique (daily games) – In longer time controls you maintain accuracy deep into endgames, as seen in the 85-move win versus Kronyboy.
2. Key improvement themes
a) Early king safety in fast formats
Your Chess960 loss to Jumbo shows a recurring pattern: castling late while expanding pawns (e4, f-pawns) leaves your king exposed to queen checks (…Qh5–e5–h4). In 180 +1 time controls this risk is magnified by the clock.
Action drill: In the first 10 moves ask: “Can I castle this turn?” – if yes, you must have a concrete reason not to.
b) Over-ambitious pawn thrusts
In several Bird/From gambit blitz games you push d5 and g4 simultaneously. When these pawns over-extend, opponents hit back with …Nd4 or …Ne4 forks. Train restraint:
- Play 10 practice games of Bird’s Opening but forbid yourself from advancing the g-pawn before move 8.
- Review each game with an engine to see if your positions improved.
c) Tactical vigilance vs. intermediate moves
In the Chess960 defeat your move 26.Nd8? overlooked …Rc7 keeping material parity; later 42…Rc1+ happened on the same file. Add three weekly sessions of “Intermediate-move puzzles” on any tactics trainer.
d) Endgame precision under time pressure
The live loss to MyGoodBestFriend featured a winning rook ending that slipped after 62.Rd7?. Practical tip: when pawns race, apply the “Always check the checks” rule before pushing.
3. Opening table-stakes for your repertoire
- With White – Your flexible 1.Nf3/f4 approach is fine, but keep a low-theory backup such as the Colle-Zukertort for rapid events.
- With Black – Versus 1.d4 you mix setups (Benoni c5, Indian …Nf6, …b6). Consider a unified plan: e.g., the Nimzo/Queen’s Indian pair so you can reuse themes.
4. Concrete study plan (next 4 weeks)
| Day | Focus | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Mon / Thu | 30 min tactics; emphasise zwischenzugs | Any trainer, rating ≥ 2400 |
| Tue | Annotate one of your blitz losses | + engine |
| Wed | Play two 15 | 10 games, apply “castle by move 10” rule | Chess.com rapid |
| Fri | Endgame drill: rook vs. passed pawns | “100 Endgames You Must Know”, ch. 6 |
| Weekend | Opening refresh & create one flash-card for each new idea | Personal notebook |
5. Quick stats & graphs
Peak ratings: Rapid 2488 (2024-06-05), Blitz 2843 (2024-12-03)
Win-rate patterns:
6. Motivational checkpoint
Progress isn’t linear; expect rating plateaus. Keep logs of critical positions where you felt “unsure” – later you’ll see those themes solved instinctively.
Good luck, Pawel! I’m confident that with disciplined practice you’ll convert your imaginative play into even more consistent results.