Lidong Wang NM

Quick summary

Nice session — you converted clean tactical wins, held solid middlegame control in several Sicilian and French structures, and finished one game with a calm mating net. Your recent trend and slope numbers show clear improvement over the last months; keep up the focused practice. Below I break down what you're doing well, recurring problems, and a compact, practical plan to keep your blitz performance rising.

Highlights — what you're doing well

• Strong opening familiarity: your results in the Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation and related Sicilian lines show consistent practical success — you get playable middlegame positions with clear plans.
• Tactical alertness in sharp positions: the win that ended with a knight mate (Ng3#) shows you spot mating patterns and forks quickly under time pressure.
• Good conversion vs passive opponents: multiple games show you squeeze opponents down, trading into favorable endgames and/or winning on time.
• Trend is positive: your 1/3/6 month slopes and recent rating changes indicate learning is sticking — keep the momentum.

Recurring weaknesses to fix

• Tactical oversight around material imbalances. In a recent loss you allowed sustained queen-side/central tactical pressure (queen infiltration and traded into a bad ending). Practice spotting immediate tactics around exchanges and hanging pieces — rook/queen forks and queen checks were decisive.
• Occasional loose piece/overextension in the center and queenside. When you grab a pawn or force a pawn break, always check for immediate counterplay (knight jumps, discovered checks, queens on the 7th rank).
• Time-management in complex phases. A few wins were helped by opponents flagging; avoid relying on that. In critical middlegames keep enough time (30–60s) to calculate the key tactical sequence.
• Endgame technique gaps. You convert some wins but also miss clean winning endgame plans (opposite rook + pawn scenarios, king activity). Routine endgame study will raise your conversion rate from good to excellent.

Concrete takeaways from two recent games

• Win vs snottgoblin — converted kingside pressure, used pawn storm, and spotted a final knight jump to mate. Keep repeating the sequence: push the h-pawn to open lines, coordinate rooks/queen, and use knight forks when the opponent’s back rank is weak. View the game here:
• Loss as White vs snottgoblin — complacency in the center allowed the opponent to exchange into a queen-dominant endgame. Major theme: when you trade into a heavy-piece endgame make sure your king has activity and your pawns aren’t permanently weak. Replay:

Practical blitz tips (apply in the next session)

• Before every move in a critical position, ask yourself three quick questions: Is any piece hanging? Do I have any checks/captures/threats? What is my opponent threatening next?
• When ahead in material, simplify — trade pieces (not pawns) to reduce tactics. When behind, keep the board complicated and look for tactical shots.
• Time allocation: aim to spend 5–10s on most moves, 20–45s on critical decision points (exchanges, sacrifices, pawn breaks). Avoid using >60s early in the game.
• Use pre-moves cautiously — only where forced captures or recaptures are safe.

30‑day focused plan (practical, blitz-focused)

• Daily (30–45 minutes): 12–18 tactic puzzles (focus: forks, pins, discovered attacks), 15 minutes of opening review on your main lines, 10 minutes of endgame practice (king + pawn, rook endgames).
• 3× per week: Play a 10–15 game blitz mini‑session and immediately annotate 2 critical games (5–10 minutes each) to identify recurring errors.
• Weekly goal: study one loss in depth — find the critical moment where advantage shifted and list 3 better continuations.
• End of 30 days: pick a recurring middlegame structure from your opening repertoire (e.g., typical Sicilian Alapin pawn breaks) and prepare 3 tactical motifs and 2 plan templates for those positions.

Targeted training drills

• Tactics: 10 puzzles focusing on knight forks and back-rank mating nets every other day.
• Endgames: 5 positions — king + pawn vs king, basic rook endgames twice per week until conversion is automatic.
• Opening checks: twice-weekly 20-minute sessions on transpositions and common opponent tries in Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation. Build a one-page “if they play X, I play Y” cheat sheet.

Small technical fixes (immediate wins)

• When you see an exchange that wins a pawn or creates activity, verify that the resulting position doesn't allow a tactical reply (checks, forks). Pause an extra 5–10s to visualize the opponent’s forcing moves.
• Improve queen vs rook/queen endgame judgment: if the opponent’s queen can repeatedly check and your king is exposed, trade queens or activate your king.
• Keep rooks on open files and behind passed pawns — a recurring strength for you, but sometimes you leave rooks inactive during the transition to the endgame.

Suggested review: positions & patterns

• Review mating nets that use a knight + rook/queen (example from your win vs snottgoblin).
• Study typical Sicilian/Alapin pawn breaks and the right time to play d5 (or stop it as defender) — create one template page for both attacking and defending plans for your repertoire.
• Compile 10 tactical motifs from your losses (queen infiltration, back-rank issues, discovered checks) and drill them until recognition is instant.

Short checklist for your next 10 blitz games

• Openings: follow your prepared move order for the first 8–10 moves to avoid early mistakes.
• Middlegame: identify one target (weak pawn, weak square, king position) and build a plan around it.
• Tactics: before every move, look for opponent checks/captures and your own forcing moves.
• Time: keep at least 20–30s for move 15 and at least 10–15s for move 30 in sharp games.

Parting note

Your win/loss record and opening stats show a player with excellent practical understanding and a very solid opening base. Fixing a few tactical and time‑management leaks will convert many of your current losses into wins. Keep the steady practice — your trend slopes and recent rating changes are proof the plan works.

If you want, I can:

• Annotate one loss in detail (move-by-move).
• Generate a one-page opening cheat sheet for your Sicilian Alapin lines.
• Create a 7-day blitz micro-plan with concrete puzzles and positions tailored to your losses.