Coach Chesswick
Julien, here is some constructive feedback based on your recent games:
- Opening Play: Your choice of openings such as the King's Fianchetto and French Defense show a solid understanding of positional concepts. However, in several games, your opponents capitalized on inaccuracies in the opening phase – for example, allowing easy exchanges or losing tempo early on. Focus on developing pieces efficiently and controlling the center during the opening. Studying common plans in your chosen openings can help sharpen this.
- Tactical Awareness: You’ve shown good tactical vision, notably in games where you successfully executed checkmates or forced wins. However, a couple of losses involved missed tactical opportunities or falling victim to pins and forks. Try to incorporate regular tactical training — spotting threats, pins, forks, skewers, and discovered attacks — to improve calculation under time pressure.
- Time Management: Several games ended on time losses even in winning or better positions. Improving your clock management will allow you to convert advantages more reliably. Practice allocating time to critical moments and try to maintain a steady pace, avoiding rushed moves especially in the opening and early middlegame.
- Endgame Technique: You had some strong endings, including precise mating nets and promotions. Keep studying basic endgames—king and pawn, rook endings—to boost your confidence in close matches and enhance your conversion skills.
- Positional Understanding: A few games show opportunities to improve your evaluation of positions. For example, recognizing when to exchange pieces, when to push pawns, and how to create imbalances in the position. Consider reviewing annotated master games in your openings to better grasp these ideas.
Keep playing regularly and reviewing your games, especially focusing on moments where you lost the initiative or missed tactics. Consistent study and practice will bring your chess to the next level!