Coach Chesswick
Jamie, here’s a focused improvement plan based on your latest games
1. What’s already working
- Tactical alertness: You frequently spot loose pieces (e.g. 6-Qxe5+, 7-Qxh8 against davidb-84) and aren’t afraid to cash in material.
- Practical fighting spirit: Even in worse positions you search for counter-play and often swindle on the clock or by unexpected checks (see your two back-to-back wins vs. hannaiha).
- Opening variety: You experiment with both 1.e4 and flank systems, which is good for long-term understanding.
2. Three biggest improvement targets
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Opening discipline – develop, then hunt
• In five of the last six decisive games your queen left her home square before you had two minor pieces out.
• Fix: During the first 10 moves aim for (a) two minor pieces developed, (b) king castled, (c) queen moved ≤ 2 times.
• Recommended repertoire starter: as White try the Italian (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4). As Black versus 1.e4 learn the Scandinavian main line 1…d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5; your win rate with early …Qh4 suggests you’ll enjoy this structured queen sortie. -
King safety & pawn shield awareness
• Loss to hzniooo344 featured opposite-side queens still on and neither king fully defended; you were mated after 60 moves of constant exposure.
• Habit drill: before every capture or check ask “Will my last move leave my back rank or diagonal weak?” Ten-second rule saves dozens of rating points. -
Clock management
• Three of the last five losses were on time with playable positions (e.g. vs. burak6120, move 26).
• Practical fixes:- Play one longer game (10 min + 5 sec) daily to rehearse decision-making without blitz panic.
- During critical moments identify candidate moves before calculating – it shortens the search tree.
3. Concrete training menu (next 14 days)
| Day | Task | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mon / Thu | 30 tactics (rated) + review wrong answers | 20 min |
| Tue / Fri | Play 1 rapid (10 + 5) game; annotate key turning points | 35 min |
| Wed | Watch a model game in the Italian & test yourself on “find the next move” | 25 min |
| Weekend | Solve one simple end-game study (king & pawn vs. king, basic Lucena) and replay it blindfold once | 30 min |
4. Quick reference checklist for each game
- Pieces out before the queen (2 minors → castle → connect rooks).
- After every opponent move ask: “What changed? Any new captures, checks, forks?”
- At 50 % of starting time you should be around move 20 in blitz, move 15 in rapid.
5. Motivation corner
Your current personal bests: & . Keep an eye on progress with and . Small daily habits will push those graphs upward.
Let’s touch base in two weeks; bring one annotated win and one annotated loss. Happy hunting!