Coach Chesswick
Hi JustAnything! đź‘‹ Here is some focused feedback on your recent games.
Your current profile at a glance
- Peak blitz rating: 2810 (2025-10-18)
- Preferred time-control: 3 | 2 (most games in the sample)
- Opening battlegrounds: 1.c4 | 1.b3 | Reti set-ups with early b-pawn pushes
Strengths I’m seeing
- Confident initiative-play. In your win vs Tran Khanh Phuong Vo, 11 years old you sacrificed structure (…cxd4 early) but seized the central files and kept Black’s king under pressure all the way to the Q+P endgame.
- End-game conversion. The marathon vs MarioBayatov shows patient technique—once you were two pawns up you calmly eliminated counter-play and mated on move 74.
- Tactical alertness in time trouble. Both sides were under 10 s in the win vs Prefe1966 and you still spotted …Rd2! followed by …Bd3+—nice use of x-ray motifs.
Recurring improvement themes
-
Early piece placement in the Nimzo-Larsen (1.b3).
In both PGNs with 1.b3 you dropped the dark-squared bishop back to d6 on move 4–5. That square blocks your own d-pawn and invites tempo-gaining pushes like c4/d4 by White. Consider switching to the modern plan 4…d5 5…Bf5 or the double-fianchetto set-up 4…g6 5…Bg7 where your bishop is healthier. -
Avoiding “slow knight tours” in the Reti with queenside b-pawn pushes.
Critical fragment (loss vs Prefe1966):
18.e4 looks natural but after 18…Nf4! your knights and rooks were suddenly overloaded. A quieter 18.d4 or even 18.Nc4 would have covered f2 and dodged the …Ne2+ fork. Principal takeaway: before expanding with pawns check how many “loose” squares (f2, d3, c3) are left behind. -
Game discipline in Daily chess.
Three recent losses vs ~1600 opponents were simply timeouts. If Daily isn’t a focus right now, consider lowering the number of concurrent games or turning on vacation time so rating points don’t leak for non-chess reasons. -
Resilience after queen trades.
When the queens come off early (e.g., French-KIA daily game) the positions become structure-driven. Create a checklist: king safety → pawn islands → rook activity. You often grab material but allow counter-play square (…e4! in that game). Slow down and apply the list.
Opening tweaks worth testing this week
| Current line | Suggestion | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| 1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 …Bd6 | …d5 or …Bb4+ followed by …d5 | Frees the dark-square bishop, fights for the centre, and avoids blocking your own d-pawn. |
| Reti + early b4, Na3-Nb5 ideas | Delay b4 until c4/d4 are fixed; test 3.g3 systems instead | Keeps the queenside compact and reduces tactical targets on a5/c5. |
| Benko Gambit as Black (A57) | Study the modern 8…e6 sidelines | You already score well in standard Benko; knowing sidelines prevents forced simplifications. |
Time-management snapshot
Action plan (next 10 rated blitz games)
- Enter each game with an opening goal (e.g., “play 4…g6 against 1.b3”).
- Use the first 15 s of any “quiet” move to run the loose square check before advancing a pawn.
- After move 20, verbalise the endgame plan: file to double rooks on, passer to create, king path.
- Record critical moments and add them to a spaced-repetition deck once a week.
Keep up the dynamic play—tightening those few structural screws will push you well past the next rating milestone. Good luck at the board!