Coach Chesswick
Quick summary
Nice run in Titled Tuesday — several clean wins, good endgame technique and tactical awareness. The loss was mostly a time management issue in a complex middlegame. Below are what you did well, recurring problems I noticed, and a compact plan to improve your blitz results.
What you did well
- Promotions and passed‑pawn play — you converted advanced pawns decisively in multiple games (patient, accurate calculation in conversion).
- Active piece play in the endgame — rooks and queen were often placed on decisive files/ranks instead of passively waiting.
- Tactical awareness — you found exchanges and forcing moves that opened promotion paths or exposed the enemy king.
- Opening familiarity — you steer games into Caro‑Kann and French structures you know and handle comfortably.
Recurring weaknesses
- Time management in 5|0 blitz — the loss vs Alena Nikulina ended with the opponent winning on time after a complicated sequence. You reached fighting positions but flagged.
- Tunnel vision on pawn pushes — sometimes a pawn advance created counterplay that you didn’t fully assess. Before each pawn storm, ask “What counterplay does my opponent get?”
- Some Winawer branches underperformed — if you play sharp Winawer lines, either deepen your prep or steer to simpler systems you convert reliably.
- Piece coordination lapses midgame — occasional moments where a rook or knight could be redeployed for more activity before trading.
Concrete drills (10–30 minutes)
- Tactics speed: 12 puzzles daily focused on forks, discovered attacks and promotion motifs; aim 10–15 seconds per puzzle.
- Endgame practice: 15 minutes on queen+pawn vs queen and rook endgames — practice technique to convert and to avoid perpetuals.
- Clock training: play 6–8 practice 5|0 mini‑tournaments, forcing yourself to keep ≥30 seconds by move 30. If under 30s, switch to simplification rules.
- Opening warmup: 10 minutes pre‑session reviewing one Caro‑Kann line and one French line so classical responses become automatic (Caro-Kann Defense, French Defense).
One-session plan (45–60 minutes)
- 10 min: Fast tactics warmup (pattern recognition).
- 15 min: Endgame conversion drill — queen/rook endgames and promotion technique.
- 20 min: 3 blitz 5|0 games with strict time‑management rule (stop and simplify if below 30s).
- Optional 10 min: Quick post‑mortem of the toughest loss — find the one move or decision that lost the clock or the position.
Opening-specific tips
- Caro‑Kann: keep your reliable plans and prepare a short trap sheet of key opponent replies so you save time in the opening phase.
- French Winawer: either deepen one sharp line (so tactics are automatic) or avoid the sharpest branches and aim for structures where your endgame technique decides the game.
- Sicilian/Najdorf: continue playing actively — but practice defensive resources to handle kingside counterplay without overextending.
Practical blitz rules to use immediately
- Keep 30s rule: if your clock drops below 30 seconds, aim to simplify — exchange queens or force trades and play the most straightforward winning plan.
- One‑question pawn push checklist: before every major pawn advance ask “What tactics or checks can my opponent use?”
- Micro post‑game: after each session, pick your last loss and last win and note the single turning move (2 minutes). That small habit accelerates improvement.
Games to review (high ROI)
- Win vs Punin Andrii — great promotion and conversion technique; replay for model conversion ideas.
- Win vs Anastasia Avramidou and Adnan Sitnic — examples of consistent piece activity and passed‑pawn plans.
- Loss vs Alena Nikulina — focus on clock decisions and move selection in the last 10 moves; this yields the fastest improvement in blitz.
4‑week target
- Reduce flag losses by 50% — track games lost on time and enforce the 30s rule.
- Complete 5 endgame sessions and 100 fast tactics puzzles.
- Remove one lowest‑yield Winawer subline from your repertoire or replace it with a simpler alternative.
Closing note
You have strong foundations: endgame technique, promotion awareness and the ability to create winning plans. The largest practical gain in blitz will come from better time management and a few targeted drills. Stick with the short drills above for 2–3 weeks and you’ll convert more equal games into wins and stop flagging promising positions.