Maksim Ermakov NM

Quick overview

Nice block of games — you’re creating chances, converting complicated endgames and still showing a healthy win rate against strong opposition. Recent rating trends show small gains over 1–3 months and a positive strength-adjusted win rate (~52%), so your practical play is working. Below are concrete takeaways from your most recent win and most recent loss plus a short training plan.

Win — highlights (vs nataikuai)

Key strengths shown in the win:

• You play actively: rooks and queen penetrated the enemy position, creating perpetual threats and forcing concessions.
• Good use of passed pawns and king activity in the long endgame — you turned activity into concrete threats and kept the opponent short on time.
• When tension rose you chose simplifying trades that increased your practical chances (exchanging into a favorable queen + pawn/rook ending).

Concrete moments to remember:

• Advance the kingside pawns to open lines (the g- and f-pawn play) and then use rooks on the open files — this paid off.
• A sequence of checks and queen maneuvers kept the opponent tied down and eventually won on time — good practical play under blitz clock pressure.

Replay the game (key moments):

Loss — what went wrong (vs Bartlomiej Heberla)

The decisive game ended with a mating net. The loss highlights a few recurring issues worth fixing:

• Tactical oversights near move 41–43: after Rxa2 you allowed White a decisive infiltration (Qxd5+ and Rf8#). Watch for back-rank and mating patterns when your queen/major pieces are off the back rank.
• Pawn pushes and structure: early pawn advances on the queenside left holes and gave White targets (the a-file invasion and subsequent tactics).
• Timing of exchanges: several exchanges opened lines to your king — be cautious when simplifying if the opponent gets open files toward your monarch.

Replay the decisive sequence:

Recurring patterns I see

• Strengths: You create imbalances and are comfortable converting in long queen/rook endgames. Good at translating activity into practical chances (flag wins or time-pressure wins).
• Weaknesses: Occasional tactical lapses when under time pressure and sometimes lax king safety after pawn advances on the flank.
• Opening profile: Your best results are in the London Poisoned Pawn and Australian Defense lines — lean into the ideas there rather than memorizing move orders. Your Alapin/Sicilian results suggest mixed handling of dynamic pawn-structure positions.

Concrete training plan (4-week cycle)

Focus on high-impact, time-efficient work for blitz improvement.

• Daily (20–30 min): Tactics — 200 problems/week, emphasize pattern recognition for pins, skewers, back-rank mates and queen forks. Time each set to simulate blitz pressure.
• 3×/week (30–45 min): Rapidly review 2–3 opening lines you play most (London Poisoned Pawn, Australian Defense). Learn the typical middlegame plans and pawn breaks — aim for plans, not move memorization.
• 2×/week (20 min): Short endgame drills — basic rook + pawn vs rook, king + pawn endgames and queen vs rook basics. You convert activity into wins often — make it reliable in low time.
• Weekly (post-session): Review 3 lost games (including the loss vs Bartlomiej Heberla). Identify the single tactical miss and one strategic error per game; add a one-line note to fix it.
• Blitz-specific habit: in the last 10 seconds avoid speculative moves — ask yourself: “Is my king safe? Am I hanging material? Any direct mate?”

Practical checklist — apply every game

• Before each move: check for checks, captures and threats (3-second scan).
• Avoid speeding when your opponent has active heavy pieces — spend a few extra seconds securing the back rank and escape squares.
• When simplifying into an endgame, evaluate piece activity and pawn structure first — don’t trade into a passive king position.

Next steps & quick drills

• Drill 1: 10 back-rank puzzles under a 5–6 second average per puzzle (improves awareness vs mates like the one you suffered).
• Drill 2: Play 8 rapid games (10+3) focusing only on two openings — don’t change the repertoire during the set.
• Post-game: save one loss and one win and annotate three moments: best move, mistake, alternative plan.
• Want me to annotate the loss vs Bartlomiej Heberla move-by-move? I can create a short annotated replay of the critical sequence.

Motivation & closing

Your rating history shows sustained elite-level play and the ability to bounce back. Small targeted work on tactics, back-rank awareness and opening plans will convert many of those close losses into wins. Keep the training focused and measurable — a few minutes a day adds up quickly.

If you want, I can:

• Annotate the two full games move-by-move with alternative plans.
• Build a 2-week tactics set tailored to the patterns that cost you (back-rank, forks, discovered checks).
• Produce a short opening cheat-sheet for your top three lines (London Poisoned Pawn, Australian Defense, Alapin).