Coach Chesswick
Constructive Feedback for Michael Cole
Quick Snapshot
- Favourite first move: 1 Nf3 (Rétí set-ups).
- Typical time control: 10 | 0 live rapid.
- Best recorded peak so far: .
- Activity patterns:
What You’re Already Doing Well
- Tactical alertness. In your win against crownroyale you spotted a nice double attack with 6 Nxe6 and 7 Nxc7+, winning material early: .
- Willingness to exchange off the opponent’s strong pieces. You are not afraid to capture bishops/knights that guard key squares, which is a good instinct.
- Active pawn breaks. Moves such as …f5 or c4 demonstrate that you know you must open lines to use your pieces.
Main Growth Areas
- Opening discipline. You often repeat early knight moves (Nf3–Ne5–Ng6, etc.), losing tempo. Aim for the basic setup:
- Develop each minor piece once.
- Occupy or influence the centre with pawns (e4/d4 or …e5/…d5).
- Castle before move 10 to safeguard the king.
- King safety. In several games you kept the king in the centre (e.g. 6 Kxd2 vs wilderflat). Even if you win material, an exposed king invites counter-play. Prioritise castling over pawn grabbing.
- Time management. Many losses were on time in daily chess. Build a habit of checking the site/app at a fixed moment each day or reduce the number of concurrent games.
- Resilience. Quick resignations appear in several rapid games after only a few moves. Unless you are losing both material and position, keep playing—many games at this level swing back.
Action Plan for the Next 4 Weeks
- Opening repertoire. Choose one line with White (Rétí → d4 & c4) and one with Black (…e5 vs 1 e4, …d5 vs 1 d4). Play at least 20 games using only these lines to ingrain the ideas.
- Castle commitment drill. For your next 15 live games, set yourself the rule “I will castle by move 8 unless it is impossible.” Review afterwards to see how this changed results.
- Puzzle sprint. 10 tactics puzzles a day focusing on basic motifs: fork, pin, discovered attack, back-rank mate. Use the stopwatch and give yourself 2 minutes per puzzle to simulate game pressure.
- Post-game review ritual. After each game, replay it quickly and ask:
- Where did my plan begin?
- What was the critical blunder for either side?
- Could I have improved king safety?
Suggested Study Resources (all free within Chess.com)
- Lesson “Opening Principles” – reinforces the one-move-each-piece rule.
- Puzzle themes “Pins” and “Forks” (look under the tactics trainer filters).
- Analyse a Master Game feature: load a Rétí game and compare the first 15 moves with yours.
Final Encouragement
Your tactical eye is already leading to nice victories—now pair that talent with solid structure and clock control. Stick to the simple plan above, and you should comfortably break the next rating milestone by the end of the month. Good luck, and enjoy the journey!