Julia Ryjanova WGM

Coach’s Feedback for Julia Ryjanova

1. Quick Snapshot

• Current focus: 3 + 2 Blitz & Correspondence/Daily.
• Peak blitz rating: 2318 (2022-05-08)
• Tactical sharpness: above-average conversion once a material edge is secured.

2. What You Already Do Well

• Activity-first mindset. In the Catalan win you sacrificed a pawn (7.dxe6) to open files, then brought every piece toward the kingside. The miniature below shows the critical burst of energy:
  
  
• Pressure against f- and c-files. Many wins feature queen or rook lifts to f7/f8 and Rc7/Rc8, exploiting loose dark-square complexes.
• Versatile opening repertoire. As White you play Catalan structures, Samisch King’s Indian, and anti-Dutch lines; as Black you use Caro-Kann and Dutch setups. This flexibility is a long-term asset.

3. Main Improvement Themes

1. Time-management (largest single factor).
   • 6/6 recent losses were on the clock, not the board.
   • In 3 + 2 blitz you average ~15 s per move in the opening, leaving <20 s for complicated endings.
   Action: play a streak of 3 | 0 games where you force yourself to move under 5 s for the first 15 moves. This trains quick, practical decisions.
2. Caro-Kann early queen excursions.
   In the loss vs berserkgutz you played …Qd5–Qf5–Qd8 in six moves and fell behind in development.
   Action: review the main line Two-Knights (5…Nf6 6.Qe2) and add the simple 6…e6 7.Nf3 c5 plan; avoid premature queen hopping.
3. Converting pawn races.
   Several games (e.g. vs svilson23) reached positions with passed pawns for both sides where you pushed without calculating defensive resources. Study 20 end-game fragments that feature mutual passed pawns and the concept of the shoulder pawn shoulder pawn.
4. Over-reliance on the g-pawn thrust.
   g4/g5 is often your go-to lever, but in sandwiches like …g5?! (Caro-Kann Panov) it weakened dark squares and cost tempi.
   Action: add the word “Why push?” to your physical score sheet or mental checklist before advancing wing pawns.

4. Opening Road-map (next 30 days)

5. Tactical & Calculation Drill

• Daily: 20 puzzles rated 2300-2600; stop when you miss two in a row.
• Weekly: one 15-minute exercise on defensive resources (look for hidden zwischenzugs).
• Review with the “critical moment” method: pause, write three candidate moves, compare to engine.

6. Suggested Training Schedule

• Mon/Wed/Fri: 30′ openings + 30′ tactics + 5 blitz games.
• Tue/Thu: 45′ annotated end-game studies.
• Weekend: one 15|10 rapid to practise time balance.

7. Progress Tracker

Use the charts below to visualise improvement:

Final Word

Your attacking flair is clear; sharpening clock discipline and a few theoretical holes will unlock the next rating bracket. Enjoy the journey, and let me know whenever a position leaves you puzzled — we’ll dissect it together!