Coach Chesswick
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
- 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. - 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. - 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
| Colour | Repertoire note | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| White | English / KIA / 1.e4 sidelines | Against 1…c5 Najdorf you choose the early a4&Be2 plan; score −2 in last 5. Consider switching to the fashionable 9.g4 “modern English attack”. |
| Black | Caro–Kann & King’s Indian | You meet Exchange-KID with …a5/…b5 ideas nicely (win vs sokidze) but in Caro–Kann Advance 4.dxc5 you allowed the forcing line 5.Qg4 h5 6.Qg3 h4 leaving c5 and h4 weak. Review the quieter 5…Ne7!? systems. |
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:
(hint: your tactical vision seems sharper after 14:00 UTC).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