Coach Chesswick
Hola, Jose!
Quick Snapshot
- Current trend: strong performance against 2500-2600 opposition, but a few costly slips in equal or winning positions.
- Peak blitz rating so far: 2706 (2023-06-21).
- Activity maps: .
What You’re Doing Well
- Dynamic piece play. In your recent Alekhine win against raimon_campeon you punished …e5 with the energetic c4-c5!. Critical sequence: – a textbook minority break that froze Black’s centre.
- Piece coordination vs. the Caro-Kann. You routinely place knights on g5/f4 and bishops on e3/f4, creating multiple threats before Black finishes development.
- Opening breadth. You handle 1.e4, 1.d4 and flank openings comfortably, making you hard to prepare for.
Main Growth Areas
- Clock management. Two recent losses (vs. ukrainer & sbasil) were on time in roughly equal endings.
• Use a “10-20-30” rule: never let your clock drop under 2:30 before move 15, under 1:30 before move 25, or under 0:30 before move 35.
• Practise 3 + 2 once a day to ingrain quick yet accurate move generation. - Over-extension of wing pawns. In the loss to MotuPatluandThelegend you played …b5, …b4 & …f5 without finishing development, leaving d6/e6 weak. Drill the concept of prophylaxis – ask “what does my opponent want if I push this pawn?” before committing.
- Conversion technique. Several games reached R + P endings that you were winning or equal but became messy. • Daily 10-minute end-game session: play Korchnoi vs. Nunn rook-endgame set. • Solve “two-pawn up but tricky” rook puzzles until you convert in <60 seconds consistently.
Opening Fine-Tuning
| Your Side | Positionally sound tweak | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| As Black vs 1.d4 | Add the Cambridge-Springs (…Qb6) to your QGD choices. | Reduces White’s long-term grip & avoids the sharp 9.Bg5 lines that cost you vs. MotuPatlu. |
| As Black vs 1.e4 | Prepare the Najdorf or a solid …e5 Spanish line as a second weapon. | Gives you flexibility; opponents can’t steer you into the Closed Sicilian every game. |
| As White | Memorise the “Two Knights Caro” critical line after 7.Ng5 h6 8.Qh5 g6 9.Qh3 Qe7 10.Ne4!. | You already score well here; a bit more depth converts advantages faster. |
Middlegame Training Menu (4 weeks)
- Pattern spotting: 20 tactics/day focused on interference & deflection motifs (your wins show you spot forks easily; broaden the palette).
- Strategic pauses: Three times per game, explicitly verbalise candidate moves before calculating. This alone cuts the blunders that caused …Qxe5+ in the Always_premove game.
- Game reviews: Self-annotate one win and one loss each weekend without engine, then compare to engine suggestions. Track recurring themes in a notebook.
Endgame Milestones
- R + 4 vs. R + 3 same-side pawns in <45 seconds.
- Minor-piece vs. three pawns practical save (Karsten Müller videos help).
- Queen vs. rook conversion in <30 moves (revisit your finish vs. DynamicPlayer2024 where you nailed …Bb5+ perfectly).
Motivation Corner
Your tactical sharpness already wins brilliancies every session. By tightening up on the clock and smoothing out late-game technique, the leap from 2550 → 2650 blitz is realistic within two months. ¡A por ello!