Coach Chesswick
Hi Štěpán, constructive feedback after your latest games
At-a-glance
- Peak bullet rating: 2741 (2025-03-12)
- Favourite pawn thrusts: h-pawn (played in 4 of the last 6 wins) and early …f6 as Black
- Live-game rhythm:
What you are already doing well
- Tactical alertness. In the win vs max6021905 you exploited pins (…Rg6+!) and mating nets even with little time.
- Practical time handling. Many victories come from creating difficult positions quickly and then letting the clock do the rest.
- Psychological edge. Off-beat openings (Nimzowitsch, early king walks, h-pawn storms) often unsettle lower-rated opponents and yield fast material gains.
Growth opportunities
- King safety in serious games.
• In your most recent win your king visited d7-c6-c5 before move 8. Against 2000+ players that path is rarely forgiven.
• In the Chess960 loss to Dangerzone214 you castled then weakened g7/h7 with …f6, …Ng6, …Nh4, giving White time to open files around your monarch.
Action: Re-examine the principle of “castle, connect rooks, then expand”. Try a 10-game streak of mainstream setups (e.g. Modern without …f6, or Caro-Kann without king walks) and annotate how often your king comes under fire. - Central tension & pawn discipline.
• In multiple losses you advanced flank pawns (…b5, …h5) while the centre was still fluid (e.g. vs nikita2504 and volvo333).
• Moving the f-pawn early (…f6 / f3) repeatedly weakened e-squares and light-square complexes.
Drill: Play 15-min games where you forbid yourself to push the a-, h- or f-pawn before move 8 unless it is a clear Zwischenzug. - Conversion technique.
• A few opponents resigned in lost positions, masking end-game practice.
• The Chess960 resignation on move 19 occurred even though the material deficit was only an exchange & pawn; fighting on would sharpen your technique.
Task: Load five winning positions from your database and replay them against the computer at 2300 strength until you convert smoothly. - Opening structure portfolio.
• You master “chaos” lines; balancing them with at least one solid main-line system will make you harder to prepare against.
Suggestion: Add a classical reply to 1.e4 (e.g. Petroff or Berlin) and a calm White system (London / Catalan) and adopt them for 20 games each.
Illustrative moments
Recent loss – loose dark squares (move 9-17)
Comment: …f5 and …b5 simultaneously opened both king flanks; instead 18…Rd7 → 19…Rfd8 would consolidate.
Recent win – converting the exchange up (move 35-47)
Good technique: you restricted White’s king, fixed the passed pawn, and only then pushed your own. Keep practising such clean conversions.
Next-week training menu
- 3 x 30-min sessions of tactics (theme: defensive resources)
- 2 rapid games (15 + 10) with post-game self-annotation focusing on pawn pushes you did not play – could they have been better?
- Review one GM game in the Petroff; note how the king rarely needs to think about safety before move 20.
Stay curious and keep the pieces coordinated. Good luck in your upcoming matches!