Alfonso Almeida IM

Hey Alfonso — quick review of your recent blitz stretch

Nice run lately — you’ve been pressing in the opening and converting chances consistently. Below I highlight what’s working, what cost you the loss, and a short training plan to keep the momentum going.

Recent games I looked at

• Big tactical win vs Rasan04 — aggressive play in the Sicilian paid off. See the key moments below.
• Clean finish vs Matías Pérez Gormaz — controlled the center and simplified into a winning material edge.
• Nice technical grind vs koalaibd and Chuong Pham — good endgame sense and king activity.
• Loss vs William Wu — decisive pattern (back‑rank / mating net). We'll fix that with a few focused drills.

Replay one instructive game

Here’s the full moves from your win vs Rasan04 so you can step through the turning points:

What you’re doing well

• Opening aggression: you take the initiative early (especially in Sicilian lines) and punish passive responses — keep using those quick, active plans. See Sicilian Defense.
• Tactical awareness: multiple games show precise tactical shots (knight forks, rook infiltrations, clean captures). That’s a major strength in blitz.
• Transitioning to winning endgames: when you secure material you convert calmly — good technique and king activity.
• Piece activity over materialism: you prioritize active pieces (rook lifts, centralized knights) which often creates decisive threats.

Main weaknesses to fix (fast wins from fixing these)

• Back‑rank and coordination traps — the loss to William Wu ended with a mating idea down the c‑file / rook invasion. Routine: check for back‑rank weaknesses before forcing tactics. See Back rank mate.
• Kingside pawn weaknesses at times — pushing pawns (g/h/f) helps attack but sometimes opens your king; balance pawn storms with extra luft or a rook escape square.
• Occasional tactical oversights under time pressure — you calculate well when calm; in blitz you sometimes miss a defensive resource. Time management drills will fix this.
• Opening tidiness: your ideas are strong, but a couple of games showed small move‑order inaccuracies (allowing counterplay). A short repertoire polish will lower risk vs prepared lines.

Concrete next steps (7‑day plan)

• Daily tactics: 15–25 mixed puzzles focused on pins, forks, and back‑rank mates. Stop the clock after each miss and review the pattern.
• Back‑rank drill (10 minutes): practice positions where a single move creates luft or trades pieces to avoid mate. Use the loss vs William Wu as a study case.
• Opening tidy‑up (20–30 minutes): pick your most played Sicilian line (you score well there) and review 2 common move orders and one typical trap against each. Use Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack if that’s in your folder.
• One slow game (15+10 or 30|0): play one slow game focused on accuracy and apply the exact opening plan — annotate 5 turning points afterward.
• Endgame snapshot (10 minutes): practice king + rook vs king and a few basic pawn endings — you convert, but sharper knowledge speeds wins.

Practice drills (short & effective)

• 5×5 blitz session with the explicit rule: if you get a winning tactic, stop the game and write down why it worked. This forces pattern recognition.
• 10 back‑rank/mate‑net puzzles in a row — do not move on until you can spot the mate in 2 (or the defensive resource) every time.
• Analyze your last loss with engine + 10‑minute manual review: identify the one earlier move that allowed the opponent’s final tactic — fix it in your opening notes.

Small technical tips for blitz

• Before you get into heavy tactics, glance for simple checks/captures/trades for the opponent — that one extra second prevents many mouse/time blunders.
• If you castle long, keep the g‑file closed or be ready to move the king off the back rank early.
• When ahead, trade into a simple winning endgame rather than hunting unnecessary mates that give counterplay.

Closing — momentum & confidence

You’re on a strong upward trend (recent rating bump +101 this month and very healthy long‑term numbers). Focus this week on the back‑rank patterns and one opening cleanup — that will eliminate the losses that feel “sudden” and give your wins more consistency. Keep pushing — your tactical instincts are excellent and with a little polish you’ll convert even faster.

Want a short annotated breakdown of the loss vs William Wu or a focused 30‑minute training plan tailored to one opening? Tell me which and I’ll draft it.