Coach Chesswick
Hi Eylon Nakar!
Congratulations on your recent run of strong games. Below is a structured report that highlights what you are doing well, what can be sharpened, and how to direct your training for the next few weeks.
Your peak so far: 2418 (2021-03-02).
When do you play best? →
What’s working well
- Flexible opening repertoire. With White you alternate smoothly between 1.e4 (Ruy López, Sicilian) and 1.d4 (QGD & Catalan-like structures). This keeps opponents guessing.
- Piece activity over material. In the win against thenewfiredragon you sacrificed a pawn (21.a4!) to seize open files and later converted with razor-sharp rook play.
- Converting advantages. Once a technical endgame is reached you generally show good technique—e.g. the French-Steiner game where you nursed an outside passed a-pawn all the way.
- Resilience in dynamic positions. You rarely tilt after a misstep; instead you keep complicating the game, forcing the opponent to solve problems.
Biggest improvement levers
- Clock management. Four of the last six losses were decided by flag or by blundering in <10 s. Incorporate increment drills (15 + 10 or 10 + 5) to ingrain “move-then-think” habits once under 20 s.
- Transition to endgames when worse. In the Caro-Kann loss vs michael124667 you entered a queenless middlegame where his knight dominated your bishop. Look for counter-trades (…Qd7-f5!) earlier to keep queens and tactical chances on the board.
- Dark-square awareness in French structures. Several defeats feature …e6-e5 breaks that leave the d5-square weak (e.g. loss to jspaniel89). Train thematic puzzles on the pattern “knight lands on d6/f5 vs French”.
- Critical moment calculation depth. You see the first tactic but sometimes skip the follow-up (e.g. vs trumpisreal 25…Qe7? allowed 26.Bd4!). Add one full ply to every forcing line during review: “I see a fork—what happens after my opponent’s best defensive move?”
Opening map & homework
| Colour | Current main line | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| White | Ruy López (8.Re1), English 4 Knights | Prepare anti-Marshall (8.a4) and a solid English line (e.g. Botvinnik set-up) for match play. |
| Black | Sicilian Kan / French Classical | Add a surprise weapon vs 1.e4—consider the Nimzowitsch Sicilian (1…Nc6) for rapid games; vs 1.d4 tighten your Semi-Tarrasch move-order (…c5 before …e6). |
4-week training ladder
- Week 1: 50 thematic puzzles on “Knight vs bad bishop” & play two 15 + 10 games focusing on staying above 2 min entering endgames.
- Week 2: Analyse three of your time-trouble losses; annotate where you dipped below 30 s and what auto-pilot move was available.
- Week 3: Build a 10-move “memory file” for the anti-Marshall and the Semi-Tarrasch—test it vs friends or bots.
- Week 4: Endgame mini-matches (rook + pawn vs rook) starting from equal positions—goal: convert/hold 70 %.
Illustrative victory
Revisit the critical phase of your latest Ruy López win—note how Nd5! set the tone:
Next check-in
After four weeks, send me two annotated wins and two annotated losses (max 20 moves each) so we can measure progress and set new goals.
Keep the passion burning, and remember: Good moves are born from good questions. Ask them at every turn!