Michele Leonardi

Recent form and what’s going well

You’ve shown steady progress in rapid play, with a blend of tactical sharpness and solid opening knowledge. You appear comfortable applying active plans in the Caro-Kann and Ruy Lopez family lines, and you often create pressure early in the middlegame. Your ability to fight in complex, tactical positions is a real strength and has helped you convert several challenging middlegame chances into wins.

• You're treating your favorable opening choices with purpose, especially in solid structures where you can press the opponent’s position.
• You find forcing ideas and keep the initiative when the position becomes dynamic.
• You demonstrate resilience in defense and you can turn rough positions into practical chances.

Key areas to improve (with practical ideas)

• Endgame conversion: Work on turning advantages into clear, simplified endings. Practice rook endings and pawn endgames to improve your conversion rate when material balance shifts.
• Time management: In rapid, keep a steady pace and avoid getting in time trouble. Build a simple routine to allocate thinking time for critical moments and fall back to a safe plan if the clock becomes tight.
• Opening plan consistency: Deepen your understanding of a compact two-openings repertoire. In each, aim for a specific middlegame plan (e.g., Caro-Kann typical pawn structure and piece placement) rather than exploring numerous side ideas.
• Calculation discipline: Develop a reliable check-down method during calculations (verify captures, recapture, and key threats) to reduce oversights in sharp lines.
• Pattern recognition: strengthen recognition of common tactical motifs that arise in your preferred openings so you can spot them quickly under time pressure.

Practical training plan for the coming weeks

• Week 1 — Revisit two main openings: Caro-Kann Defense and Ruy Lopez Old Steinitz variation. For each, write down 2-3 typical middlegame plans and common responses from opponents. Do 4 short practice games focusing on sticking to the plan and avoiding unnecessary pawn pushes.
• Week 2 — Endgame focus: rook endings and basic king activity endgames. Practice 10-minute drill games and then annotate a few endgame transitions to see where decisions change the outcome.
• Week 3 — Tactics and pattern training: 15–20 minutes of daily puzzles, emphasizing motifs that occur in your openings. After puzzles, review missed patterns and identify the usual telltale setups.
• Week 4 — Post-game review routine: after each rapid game, write down one thing you did well and one concrete timing or plan improvement for the next game. If possible, share two recent games for a quick annotated break-down and feedback.

Suggested next steps (ready-to-use ideas)

• Choose a two-opening focus: Caro-Kann and Ruy Lopez (Old Steinitz/Sem-Duras ideas). Build a small reference sheet outlining typical middlegame plans and common challenges you’ve faced.
• Implement a 2-2-2 clock plan: aim to have a solid 2–3 minutes on the clock for critical middlegame decisions, with a goal of keeping at least 1–2 minutes by move 25 in most games.
• After each win or loss, pick one moment where a different plan might have yielded a clearer advantage. Try drafting a quick alternative line and compare the results with a coach or via computer analysis.
• Integrate short endgame drills into your routine (rook endings, opposite-side pawn endings) to improve practical conversion in late middlegames.

Want a targeted post-game review?

If you’d like, I can pick 2–3 recent games (one win, one loss, one draw) and provide a concise, move-by-move annotated recap focused on the moments that defined the outcome and concrete improvements you can apply next time.