Adrien Demuth GM

Quick note for Adrien

Nice string of rapid wins — you show clean tactical vision and practical finishing in these games. Below I highlight the concrete strengths to keep exploiting and the targeted, actionable improvements that will raise your rapid consistency.

What you did well

• Active, decisive piece play — you repeatedly create forcing sequences (examples: the kingside tactics in your recent
  viewer).
• Finishing in the complications — you converted a mating net and finished tactics cleanly (see the decisive queen mates from the Ruy Lopez game).
• Repertoire variety — you handle both flank systems (King's Indian Defense) and open-game play (Ruy Lopez, Sicilian Defense) comfortably; your opening choices get you playable middlegames.
• Practical endgames and technique — several wins show good understanding of simplified positions and active rook/minor piece play.
• Psychological edge — you press the opponent when they are uncomfortable: checks, repeated threats and simplifications that favor your plans.

Most useful patterns to keep

• Look for tactical repeats that force a king walk (knight forks and sacrifices that open files for rooks/queen).
• When you gain a space/piece activity advantage, swap into a position where your active pieces stay more useful than the opponent's (trade when it reduces their counterplay).
• Use the increment: when you have forcing lines, spend an extra 5–10 seconds to check for defensive resources — this avoids missed finishing moves under time pressure.

Key areas to improve (actionable)

• Handle the Sicilian Classical better — your Openings Performance shows a specific weakness vs the Classical. Pick two anti-Classical plans (one positional, one tactical) and rehearse them until you know the typical pawn breaks and piece placements by sight. Example study targets: typical c5–c4 breaks and how to prevent them; piece redeployments after ...Nc6 and ...d6.
• Pawn breaks and central closures — in a few games you allowed early c- or d-pawn breaks that unlocked counterplay. Against systems that aim for ...c5/c4 or ...d4, prioritize prophylaxis: fix the central tension on your terms or exchange to remove the break square.
• Time management in complicated positions — practice keeping 1.5–2 minutes in reserve for the late middlegame. With 10+5 rapid, keeping an extra minute prevents tactical misses in the finish.
• Post-mistake recovery — after an inaccuracy, check for practical swindles before simplifying. You do this well often, but a consistent “first check” routine after an opponent’s move will catch resources earlier.
• Opening nuance vs the Classical Sicilian and specific Nimzo lines — your Nimzo record is mixed; review the key move orders where opponents transpose and prepare a short, reliable plan for move 10–16 in those lines.

Concrete 4-week training plan

• Daily (30–45 min): 20 min tactics (mixed motifs, emphasize forks/pins/discovered attacks), 10 min endgames (basic rook + pawn, minor piece endings), 10–15 min opening drills.
• Weekly (1–2 sessions): 2 rapid games + 15–20 min post-mortem. Focus the post-mortem on one question: "What break or reorder did I allow that changed the evaluation?" Use engine only to check, not to replace your thinking.
• Opening work: pick the two problematic lines — here start with Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation and the tricky Nimzo transpositions. Make a 6–8 move "no-surprise" book line for both sides and memorize typical plans and one tactical trap to use as a weapon.
• Tactical deepening: once per week, do an hour of curated puzzles that replicate motifs you missed in your games (discovered attacks, knight forks, back-rank ideas).
• Endgame mini-camp: 3 sessions devoted to rook + pawn vs rook, and king activity in opposite-color bishop endings — these are high-value for rapid conversion.

How to analyse your two recent wins/losses

• Pick one win and one loss from this week. Replay each game until the first move you feel uncertain about, then ask: “What was my plan?” and “What plan did my opponent get?”
• Mark the turning move and test alternative candidate moves for both sides (at least 2 tries). If a candidate changes the evaluation, add it to your opening notes.
• Use the PGN viewer I included above to step through the Lapitch vs crash2025 game — isolate the knight forks and the decision to liquidate the center; these were decisive and repeatable motifs.

Practical checklist for your next rapid session

• Before the first move: 3–5 minutes warming tactics to get pattern recognition sharp.
• In the opening: follow your prepared plan for moves 1–10; if opponent deviates, pick the structure you understand best (avoid getting into unfamiliar sidelines early).
• Middlegame: when you see a pawn break forming (c5–c4, d5–d4, f5–f4) decide immediately whether to prevent, accept and simplify, or counterbreak elsewhere.
• Time control: with increment, try to keep 45–90 seconds at move 20 in sharp games; spend time calculating only on forcing lines.

Games to review next (placeholders)

• Review the recent decisive wins vs crash2025 (both sides) — look for the point where you seized the initiative and the defensive resource the opponent missed.
• Pick one loss in the Sicilian Classical pair from your opening stats and run a focused line-by-line analysis (you can tag it in your study board as "repair Classical").

Final encouragement

Your Strength Adjusted Win Rate shows you're converting practical chances — with streamlined opening fixes and a small time-management tweak you'll increase consistency quickly. Keep exploiting forcing patterns and make the Sicilian Classical a priority for repair work this month.