Joz L

Quick summary

Nice work — your blitz play shows strong attacking instincts and a clear upward trend. You’re creating and converting tactical chances, winning sharp king hunts, and your recent +29 rating month and steady slope over longer windows shows real improvement. Below are concrete, focused suggestions to keep that momentum going.

Games to review (pick 1–2 after each session)

Study one win and one loss shortly after you finish a session while the ideas are fresh. Here are two recent games you should review move-by-move:

• Win (sharp attack vs Sicilian):

• Loss (Pirc, traded into a risky endgame):

Open the two games, try to find the turning point by yourself, then check with an engine only to verify lines and missed tactics.

What you're doing well

• Strong attacking sense — you spot king hunts and sacrificial motifs (examples: the Bxf8/Bxg6 sequences) and follow up accurately with queen and knight activity.
• Good opening variety and surprise value — you get practical positions from less-common lines (e.g., Sicilian Defense sidelines and Pirc Defense structures) and your opponents often face unfamiliar middlegames.
• Transition from opening to middlegame — you mobilize pieces quickly and look for active plans rather than passivity (active rooks and bishops early).
• Resilience under pressure — when the position gets complicated you find forcing continuations and conversions instead of panicking.

Where to focus (high ROI for blitz)

• Time management: You win on the board but have games decided by the clock. Practice using your increment: make safe, useful waiting moves earlier so you don’t burn time later. In blitz, keep a simple “plan + 1 candidate move” so you move faster.
• Blunder checks: Before a capture or a forcing tactic, do a quick 3-second checklist: “Is my piece hanging? Any checks, forks, or pins for the opponent on the next move?” This reduces loss-by-tactic blunders in chaotic positions.
• Endgame basics: A few endgame conversions and basic rook endgame rules will turn more of your advantages into full points. When ahead in material, trade down to a clearly winning king+rook vs king+rook/minor when possible.
• King safety vs material greed: In several games you accepted material that opened lines to your king (or allowed the opponent counterplay). If you can’t consolidate the extra pawn immediately, prefer safe consolidation or active piece play over grabbing material.
• Opening follow-up: You get good positions from your openings — now standardize 2–3 move-order plans for the first 8–12 moves so you spend less time in the opening and get the middlegame you know how to play.

Concrete practice plan (weekly)

• Daily (15–30 minutes)
  • 10–15 minutes tactics puzzles (focus: forks, pins, skewers, back-rank mates).
  • 5–10 minutes endgame drills (king and pawn vs king, basic rook endings, opposition).
• Three times per week
  • Play 5+3 or 10|0 rapid games and practice converting small advantages with more time.
  • Analyze one loss and one win from those games (5–10 minutes each): identify the turning point and write down the single lesson.
• Weekly
  • 30–45 minute focused session on one theme: e.g., “back rank defense and attack”, “knight forks in the middlegame”, or “how to use the extra pawn in rook endgames.”
  • Review two opening lines in your repertoire and memorize standard plans for each. Use the openings you play often (you have strong results in the Bird Opening and Alekhine\u0027s Defense families) — reinforce typical pawn breaks and ideal squares.

Drills & mini-goals for the next 2 weeks

• Reduce time forfeits: goal — no more losses on time in the next 10 blitz games. Use increment-friendly moves early.
• Tactics streak: solve 20 mixed tactics/day for 7 days and track accuracy. Focus on forks and pins (your games show these decide many outcomes).
• Endgame checkpoint: practice 10 rook+king vs rook+king positions and learn the winning/lossy setups over the week.
• Post-game habit: immediately tag one turning move in each game and note whether it was tactical, positional, or time-related. This builds pattern recognition fast.

Short checklist to use during each blitz game

• Before capturing: 3-second tactical check for forks/pins/skewers.
• When ahead: trade down if the resulting endgame is clearly winning, otherwise consolidate pieces and improve king safety.
• At move 10: ask “do I have a plan?” If not, pick a simple plan (improve a piece, create a weakness, or open a file).
• If low on time: switch to pre-move-safe mode — only pre-move captures that are forced/obvious.

Final note — momentum & confidence

Your trend and strength-adjusted win rate show you’re doing a lot of things right. Keep the focused drills short and consistent, and emphasize time control technique. You’ll see those small improvements compound quickly in blitz.

Want a 2-week micro-plan I can generate with daily tasks and exact puzzles to do? Say “yes” and I’ll produce it tailored to your schedule.