Léo Guiheneuc

Quick summary

Léo — good session. Your recent blitz shows clear strengths: tactical awareness, willingness to simplify into winning endgames, and very strong results in the Scotch Game. You also have a good success rate with sharp gambit lines (Elephant, Barnes variations). Main weaknesses to target: king safety and some tactical oversights when you push pawns too quickly or let the opponent’s queen get active. Below are actionable points from your most recent games.

Highlights — what you did well

• Active piece play and tempo: you routinely bring knights and rooks into the attack quickly (see the win vs millerwhite1 where knights infiltrated and created decisive targets).
• Good at converting material + pushing passed pawns: you smoothly converted extra pawns and used passed pawns as winning assets in both wins shown.
• Opening strengths: your Scotch Game work is paying off — 66% win rate is excellent. Keep using it as a weapon. (Scotch)
• Practical blitz instincts: you find forcing moves and checks that create immediate problems for opponents (see tactical finish in the win vs daniel_davids).

Recurring problems to fix

• King safety: in several games your king wandered early (e.g., taking on d1 and later stepping around) or stayed exposed after castling decisions — this allowed opponent tactics and checks. Prioritize safe king placement in the opening and early middlegame.
• Allowing the opponent’s queen too much space: in your recent loss vs insanescripting the queen got active and collected pawns on the queenside (Qxa3). When the opponent’s queen is entering, look for trade or consolidate with tempo.
• Pawn pushes that create holes: quick c- and e-pawn advances often gave you targets (isolated or backward pawns). Before pushing, ask: who benefits from the resulting square weaknesses or open files?
• Back-rank / mating threats: you lost a game to a decisive back-rank tactic (Qxf8# sequence). Keep luft and be mindful of major piece alignments on the back rank.
• Time management in tactical complications: blitz rewards quick, accurate calculation. Slow down for 2–3 seconds on complex captures or checks to spot forks, skewers and discovered checks.

Concrete next-step drills (blitz-friendly)

• Tactics warm‑ups (10 minutes before session): 10–15 tactics puzzles focused on forks, pins and skewers. Prioritize puzzles that force you to consider opponent checks first.
• King safety checklist: for the first 8 moves of every game use a mental checklist — have I developed 2 minors? Is my king safe? Any immediate checks? If not, avoid risky pawn moves.
• Rook & back‑rank practice (15–20 minutes weekly): play short rook vs rook endgames and study basic luft patterns. Drill simple back‑rank mates and defenses.
• Opening refresher (Scotch + Scandinavian): review your typical early plan for move 6–12 in each opening — identify one transposition you like and one trap to avoid. Use quick 5‑10 minute review sessions before blitz.
• Postgame engine + human review (5 losses per week): for each loss, find the turning point (one move) and ask “what did I miss?” — then practice a short tactic or endgame motif from that position.

Game-specific notes

Below are short, actionable observations from the three recent games you shared.

• Win vs millerwhite1 (Scandinavian Defense) — final position showed excellent knight activity and a well-timed exchange into a winning rook/pawn endgame. Takeaway: capitalize on opponent king exposure. Keep practicing converting small material edges.
• Win vs daniel_davids — you punished opening inaccuracies and turned king-side tactics into a decisive material gain and eventual promotion. Takeaway: aggressive play against uncastled kings and opening traps are in your toolkit; keep refining pattern recognition.
• Loss vs insanescripting (as White) — main issues: overextension and queen activity from opponent (Qxa3). You also allowed c‑file infiltration. Takeaway: when you have center pawns that advance early, watch the long diagonals and open files for counterplay. When an opponent’s queen is running to the queenside, prioritize simplification or active defense, not more pawn grabs.
• Loss vs pierrobin — tactical shot Qxf8# came after piece coordination errors. Defensive priority: count checks and guard f8/f1 squares when queens/rooks line up. A simple luft or king step earlier could have avoided mate patterns.

Short training plan for the next 2 weeks

• Daily (15 min): 8–12 tactics, mixed themes (forks, pins, discovered checks).
• Every other day (20 min): one opening review (alternate Scotch and Scandinavian). Memorize typical plans for moves 6–12, plus one trap to watch for.
• Weekly (30–45 min): review 5 recent losses with engine + self‑explain method (write short note: "I missed X because...").
• One blitz session per day (5–10 games): apply the king-safety checklist before move 8. After each game, mark the one thing you did well and one mistake to fix.

Last notes & encouragement

Your adjusted win rate (0.518) and steady upward rating trend over 6–12 months show real improvement. Focus on the small, repeatable habits above — especially king safety and counting checks — and you’ll see the same growth translate to higher blitz consistency. Keep the Scotch in your rep — it’s working.

Want a short annotated review of one of these games (5–10 key moments) or a mini puzzle set drawn from your actual positions? Tell me which game and I’ll prepare it.