Lalit Babu MR GM

Hi Lalit Babu MR, here’s some focused feedback based on your latest blitz sessions!

What you’re doing well

• Tactical alertness: Your recent wins show sharp combinational play (e.g. the Bg5-h4-h5 Dutch set-up punctured Black’s kingside in several games).
• Conversion in winning positions: When up material you usually keep it simple—trading at every opportunity and steering into easily winning endings.
• End-game technique: The K+P rook ending versus no-masters-no-slaves was played with sound triangulation and shoulder-checks, a sign of solid end-game fundamentals.

Recurring issues to address

• Early opening commitments
  • With Black you enter the Dutch and Sicilian side-lines very quickly. Opponents exploit fixed pawn structures (…f5 in the Dutch, …e6 without …d6 in the Sicilian) by opening files before you finish development.
  • Consider broadening your repertoire so you can toggle between solid and dynamic choices depending on the opponent and clock.
• Loose piece coordination
  In the Caro-Kann Fantasy loss to morra_pirate your 14…Nd7? placed three pieces on the d-file blocking each other and invited tactics (15.Qf7+!). Keeping pieces harmonised will reduce such tactical blows.
• Practical time-management
  Most of your losses feature <10 s on the clock by move 25. Try the following:
  • Play the first 10 moves from a memorised repertoire to save thinking time.
  • Adopt a “touch-move” policy once below 20 s—pick a plan and execute; avoid double-checking.

Critical example

The diagram below shows the key moment from the Caro-Kann loss. Your pieces are cramped and White is ready to invade on f7 and c6.

Instead of 14…Nd7?, consider 14…Rf8 with the simple idea of contesting f7 and retaining harmony.

Opening lab

• With Black versus 1.e4: Add the solid ...e5 repertoire (Petrov / Classical Sicilian) so you’re not forced into sharp Smith-Morra lines every game.
• With Black versus 1.d4: Study the classical setups of the Dutch (…e6, …d6, …Nf6, …Be7) to avoid the locked-in light-squared bishop you experienced in several games.
• With White: Your h-pawn storm approach works, but mix it with positional lines (e.g. London, Catalan) to become less predictable.

Suggested training plan (next two weeks)

1. Daily 15-minute calculation drill (no board) – improves “blind-spot” issues that cost pieces early.
2. Review two master games in the Classical Dutch each day; annotate where Black equalises safely.
3. Play three rapid (15 + 10) games per week focusing on time-management discipline.

Progress trackers

Use these charts to monitor when you’re scoring best and schedule training accordingly:

Your current personal best: 2961 (2023-03-17) – let’s aim to push it 50 points higher this month!

Keep up the fighting spirit, sharpen the openings, and tidy the piece coordination. Reach out any time you’d like a deeper dive into a specific game or concept such as zugzwang.