Pavel Ponkratov GM

Hi Pavel!

First of all, congratulations on maintaining a 2500-level blitz performance and on the high rate of decisive games you produce. Below is a targeted, practical report based on your latest encounters.

Quick Strength Recap

• Dynamic play: your attacking instincts (e.g. 22.h6! vs vugarrasulov) often create practical pressure.
• Wide opening range: English, King’s Indian Attack, Najdorf, Caro–Kann Advance, QGD etc., making you hard to prepare for.
• Good conversion when you get a stable extra pawn; win vs Ihor Samunenkov is a textbook central breakthrough.

Priority Fixes

1. King safety in “soft” structures
   Twice you entered positions with queens on and a weakened king (losses vs Alexandr Predke and GOGIEFF). In both games you voluntarily played h3/h4 and opened dark-squares while queens were still on the board.
   Action: Before playing pawn moves around your king, run a three-question blunder check: “What changes on the g3/c3 & f-files? Does it leave a hook? Can the opponent sacrifice to open lines?” A 5-second ritual will eliminate many crashes.
2. Critical moment calculation depth
   In your most recent loss you missed 25…Rf5! and the follow-up …Rh4 which turned the game. The engine shows that after 25.Qb7 you had 25…Kf8 26.Rd1 to hold. You spent only 35 seconds on 25.Qb7.
   Action: Each game contains ~2–3 “slow-down positions.” Use an extra 45 seconds there even in 3|2—your clock management statistics show you usually keep >1:30 unused at the end.
3. End-game conversion vs. stubborn defense
   The marathon vs Remontada2017 reached a theoretically won rook+rook-pawn vs rook ending, yet slipped away. The technical win involves the “third-rank cut-off” manoeuvre (Rg3/Rg4 etc.).
   Action: Spend 30 minutes with the drills “R+P vs R — side pawn” and “Lucena with checks” in Chess.com’s end-game trainer.

Opening Radar

Illustrative Snippet

The critical tactical slip vs Predke:

Stopping here for 30 seconds to spot …Rf5 would have changed the result.

Training Block for the Next Two Weeks

• 15 puzzles/day rated 2500–2700; tag every miss (pin, zwischenzug, zugzwang etc.).
• 3 end-game drills/session: rook vs rook+f-/side pawn, and queen vs rook side checks.
• Play two 10|0 games focusing on no early pawn moves in front of your king. Annotate manually, then engine.

Stats & Motivation

Your historical peak: 3005 (2020-07-14) — within 20 points of GM mark!

Here’s a quick visual of when you score best:

Final Word

You are already playing at a strong IM level. Fixing the single issue of pawn pushes around your king and polishing a handful of technical endings can easily yield +40 rating points. Stay disciplined in those critical moments and the results will follow.

Good luck, train hard, and keep the games sharp!

— Your Chess Coach