Jean Marco Cruz Mendez FM

Hi Jean Marco!

Congratulations on maintaining a 2783 (2025-06-15) in the mid-2700s. The games you sent show energetic, creative chess with plenty of initiative-seeking pawn breaks. Below is a blend of praise and targeted recommendations that should help you nudge your level even higher.

What you already do very well

• Dynamic breaks. In several wins you seized space with pawn levers (f4 vs the Kan, c5 vs the King’s Indian, b5 in Reti structures) and forced the opponent to play your game.
• Piece activity & pressure on the clock. Even when you don’t find the absolute best continuation, your quick, forcing style causes practical problems—many opponents collapsed or lost on time.
• Tactical alertness. The exchange sac 31.Nxh4 vs Dmitry Zilberstein and the mating net against crazychess2800 show sharp calculation under 3-minute pressure.

Key growth areas

1. Risk-management in the opening.
   • In the loss to Emilio Profili you grabbed a pawn with 16…Nxb4? and suddenly every piece pointed at your king.
   • In the A46 vs Jose Avelino Alvarez Calzadilla, 14.f3 ?! created dark-square holes that Black exploited immediately.
   Action plan: when you consider an early pawn grab or loosening move, add a quick blunder-check: “What does my opponent get if I’m wrong?” If the answer is tempo + king exposure, be ready to refuse the bait.

   Critical snapshot

   After 15…Rac8 you played 16.b4? allowing …Nxb4! which broke the Maroczy bind wide open:

   
   

2. Conversion in long endgames.
   You flagged against Melikset Khachiyan despite an equal rook endgame because you nursed a 100-move plan when 1–2 forcing checks could repeat and save time.
   Action plan: practise premove-safe techniques in dead-draw rook endings (e.g. cutting the king, building a bridge) so you can play instantly when the increment is tiny.
3. Pawn-storm coordination.
   Games such as the English loss to Andrej Ljepic show that pushing queenside pawns (b4–c5) before finishing development left your pieces split and the centre collapsing.
   Action plan: follow the rule “two pieces developed for every pawn you throw forward.” Revisit modern examples of the Maroczy Bind to see how top GMs prepare pawn breaks with every piece guarding the centre first.

Training menu for the next two weeks

• 15-minute daily tactics (theme: over-extended king). This sharpens punishment skills when opponents mimic your own aggressive style.
• Endgame speed drills. Load a rook-and-pawn vs rook table-base and race the clock for 15 perfect defences / conversions.
• One slow session per day (at least 15|10) where you annotate your own thoughts. Focus on “should I risk this pawn break?” decisions.

Progress tracker

Use the charts below to spot when you tilt or shine. If you notice a dip in the red zones, schedule a short break or switch to analysis mode.

Final encouragement

Your creative, fearless style is already overwhelming titled opponents. Polish the decision-making around when to unbalance the position and tighten late-game clock management; those incremental gains could push you through the 2800 blitz barrier soon.

Good luck, and keep enjoying the grind!