Justin Tan GM

Hi Justin!

Congratulations on your continued progress – your recent streak of decisive wins shows that you are on the right track. Below is a concise review of your current strengths, the main themes that are costing you points, and a practical training plan you can begin this week.

What you’re already doing well

• Tactical Alertness. You frequently spot tactical resources in complicated positions. Examples: 18…Qa5!! followed by 19…Qxd2+ in your win vs. over18, and the zwischenzug 22…Rxb4!! in the idaidada game.
• Piece Activity over Material. You willingly sacrifice pawns for rapid development or open lines. This suits the dynamic nature of Chess960.
• Opening Flexibility. Bird-like setups with f-pawn thrusts, and Petroff / Dutch structures, are giving you comfortable middlegames. Opponents are often forced to spend time untangling.

Key issues to fix next

1. Time Management (highest priority).
   • Three of your last five losses were on time (e.g. vs. lnk366).
   • You reach critical endings with under 10 seconds – even when a draw or win is still possible.
   • Action item: adopt a “Stop-Think” checkpoint on moves 15, 25 and 35 – spend at least 5 seconds deliberately checking for tactics and flag danger.
2. Endgame Conversion.
   • In the loss to lnk366 you were equal at move 37, but inaccurate pawn play and a failure to centralise the king let the game slip.
   • Spend 15 minutes a day on practical rook-and-pawn endings. Recommended drill: “Rook Activity vs. Passer” (Lichess training set #47 or similar).
3. King Safety in Early Chess960 Positions.
   • Several quick losses (e.g. vs. RogerFarrell10) started with slow king evacuation (10…Ka8?!, 12…Qe5?!).
   • Rule of thumb: castle (or manually tuck the king away) by move 8 – 10 if the centre is fluid.

Targeted training plan (2-week block)

Day	Focus	Micro-goal
Mon / Thu	Endgame drills	15 rook-vs-pawn puzzles
Tue / Fri	Time-control simulation	3×3-min + 2-sec games; finish with ≥20 sec on clock
Wed / Sat	Opening rehearsal	Play 10 blitz starts from random 960 positions and castle by move 8
Sunday	Review	Annotate one win and one loss (use the template below)

Your recent peak rating snapshots

Rapid: 2515 (2020-01-27)
Blitz / Live-960: 3003 (2025-06-26)

Game of the week – tactical highlight

Below is the critical sequence from your win vs. over18. Replay it once, then explain (in your own words) why 16…Nf7!! works – teaching is the fastest way to internalise tactics.

[[Pgn| 1 d4 f5 2 Ng3 g6 3 e4 fxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6 5 Nxf6 exf6 6 h3 Bd6 7 c4 c5 8 d5 Qc7 9 Nd3 g5 10 f3 Bf7 11 Qe3 Re8 12 Qf2 Bg6 13 Re1 O-O-O 14 Rxe8 Rxe8 15 O-O-O Nf7 16 Nxc5 Bf4+ 17 Rd2 Qa5 18 a3 Qxd2+ 19 Qxd2 Re1#|]]

Progress dashboards

Use these to verify that the training plan is working:

• When do you score best?
• Is your Sunday review habit sticking?

Quick reference checklist (pin to your monitor)

  ▢ King safe by move 10
  ▢ All pieces developed / connected
  ▢ Opponent’s forcing moves checked
  ▢ 30-second buffer maintained
  ▢ Convert extra material with exchanges
  

Stay disciplined with the clock, polish those rook endings, and your rating should climb above 1800 in the next 40 games. Good luck and enjoy the journey!

– Your Chess Coach