Coach Chesswick
Hi Kimmo (“kgarde”) 👋
You are hovering very close to your personal best of 2490 (2024-01-06) and your recent games show both creativity and fighting spirit. After reviewing your latest win against drr_mad (2024-01-06) and your most recent loss to Fedor_Afanasiev (2023-01-07) I have distilled the following feedback.
What you already do well
- Dynamic openings. The consistent use of the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack (1.b3) gives you middlegames you know better than most opponents. In the win vs Drr_Mad your queenside expansion (20.a3 21.b4 24.b5) illustrated a clear, easy-to-play plan.
- Piece activity over material. Exchanges such as 4.Bxf6 and sacrifices like 41.g5!! (vs Fedor, 2023) show healthy initiative-first thinking.
- Survival in time trouble. Even with only a handful of seconds you keep finding tactical resources, a sign of solid pattern recognition.
Opportunities for improvement
- Time management.
Many critical positions arise with <20 s on your clock. Adopt a simple rule set:- During moves 5-10 invest at least 10 s to create a plan, allowing faster play for the next cluster of moves.
- With a 2-second increment, force yourself to keep ≥10 s at all times. This prevents flagging in won positions.
- Handling flank pawn storms.
In the loss to Fedor, the h-file attack (27.h4-h5-h6) succeeded because ...g5 weakened the dark squares. Remember the defensive concept of blockade before contact: meet h4 with ...h5, keep ...g6-g7 pawns intact and relocate a knight to f6/h7. - Re-balancing your opening menu.
- White: Add 1.Nf3 or 1.c4 to sidestep setups where ...e5/…c6 neutralises the b2-bishop.
- Black: 1…Nc6 is fun but sometimes passive after 2.d5 Ne5 3.f4. Studying the main-line Chigorin or sticking to the Modern/Pirc you already use against 1.e4 will give you more central counter-thrusts.
- End-game conversion.
Several winning rook endings (e.g. vs djuskaj, 2022-09-02) were spoiled on time. A 30-minute refresher on Philidor, Lucena and Vancura positions will pay immediate dividends. - Calculate before pawn breaks.
Moves like ...f5 (Black) or f4/f5 (White) are your trademark. Before pushing, ask: “Who benefits from the newly opened lines on the next two moves?” If the answer is unclear, improve a piece first.
Action plan (next two weeks)
| Focus area | Mini-task | Time budget |
|---|---|---|
| Clock discipline | Play 10 blitz games applying the 10 s reserve rule | 1 h |
| Anti h-file defence | Solve 20 puzzles featuring pawn storms vs fianchetto | 30 min |
| Rook endings | Drill Philidor & Lucena until you can recite them blindfold | 30 min |
| New first move | Create a 15-move 1.Nf3 repertoire file and test it in 5 games | 2 h |
Motivation corner
Your win-rate on weekday mornings is ≈12 % higher than in late-night sessions (see
). A small change in playing schedule could be the final push past the 2500-blitz milestone.Keep up the creative play and enjoy the climb, Kimmo!