Coach Chesswick
Hi Kevin!
Your recent games show why you are always a dangerous blitz opponent: you seize the initiative early and convert quickly. Here is some feedback that should help you squeeze out a few extra rating points and climb past your next 3107 (2021-05-11) milestone.
What’s working well
- Crisp calculation in open positions. In the win vs. rase you correctly gave up an exchange with 23…Rc2!! and never let the counter-play breathe.
- Opening choice with White. The Vienna and French-Advance lines you employ (see the PGN snippets) force early imbalances—perfect for 3-minute games.
- “Finish-fast” instinct. When you smell blood, the game is often over before move 30; that keeps the clock in your favour.
Patterns to fix
- King safety in your …e6 Sicilians. Both losses to IMPERAGE and maddeningwaste featured premature …g6 that became a hook for pawn storms. Try the more solid …a6–…b5 ideas or delay …g6 until the centre is closed.
- Dark-square control vs. 1.c4/1.Nf3. In the English loss to xamax2000 you traded your dark-square bishop, then allowed knights to dominate. Insert a prophylactic move such as …h5 or …f5 before the bishop exchange, or keep the bishop on e7 instead of …Bd7/…Bc6.
- End-game conversion & defence. The London-System game against MG_Reyes_23 reached a drawable rook ending, but 32…gxf3 opened a passer. Ten minutes of rook-ending drills per day (Philidor, Vancura, Lucena) will pay immediate dividends.
- Clock management. You often drop under 0 :40 by move 25 even in winning positions. Adopt a “10-second glance”: every five moves pause briefly to ask “What can my opponent threaten next?”
Two-week training plan
- Engine-check the critical positions listed below; find one stronger alternative for each.
- Solve 30 defensive tactics per day focused on zwischenzug and clearance themes.
- Play four 10 | 0 games this week where the only goal is to keep your clock equal or ahead until move 25.
- Add a “Slav-style” back-up (…d5, …c6) against 1.d4 to give yourself a lower-risk option when you feel off-form.
Annotated snippets
Loss vs. xamax2000 – English, move 25
After 25…Nb3? your back rank became overloaded. Prefer 25…Qb7! when 26.Nc3 is met by …Qe7 and the pins disappear.
[[Pgn|1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nc3 d6 6. d3 e5 7. Bg5 Nge7 8. h4 h6 9. Bxe7 Nxe7 10. h5 g5 11. e4 O-O 12. Nd2 Rb8 13. Bf3 a6 14. a4 f5 15. exf5 Nxf5 16. Bg4 Bd7 17. Nde4 Bc6 18. O-O Qe7 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. cxd5 Nd4 21. a5 b5 22. axb6 Rxb6 23. Ra2 Rfb8 24. Qa1 Qb7 25. Nc3?! Nb3? 26. Qd1 Nd4 27. Qa4#]]Win vs. rase – Torre Attack, move 23
Excellent exchange sac: 23…Rc2!! grabbed the c-file and seventh rank, netting two pawns and long-term initiative.
[[Pgn|1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 h6 4.Bh4 c5 5.e3 b6 6.Nbd2 Bb7 7.Bd3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.c3 d5 10.Ne5 Nbd7 11.f4 Ne8 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.Qh5 Nd6 14.g4 Nf6 15.Qh4 Rae8 16.g5 Nfe4 17.Nxe4 dxe4 18.Be2 Nf5 19.Qh3 hxg5 20.Kh1 cxd4 21.cxd4 Rc8 22.Rg1 gxf4 23.exf4 Rc2 … 36...Rxa2 0-1]]Progress tracker
Visualise your momentum over time:
Final thought
“A pawn move is a long-term contract—sign it only after you read the fine print.” Slow down just enough to read that print once per game.
Good luck, and see you at the board!