Magnus Carlsen GM

Magnus, here is a concise review of your latest blitz session

Snapshot
• Strength–adjusted win-rate: 50.7 %
• Rating change last month: +103 (steady upward trend)
• Most common openings: Nimzo-Indian, Najdorf, King’s Indian, QGD Modern.
• Biggest score gaps: +66 % with the Nimzo structure, –35 % with the off-beat Najdorf “Freak Attack” (6.Rg1).

What is working

• Early space grabs in d4 games. The rapid pawn storms (games 1, 5, 7) regularly forced your opponents into cramped positions.
• Piece activity in semi-open positions. The double-rook lifts in the Nimzo win (…Re7–e8 & …Rae8) and King’s Indian wins exploited open files very efficiently.
• Psychological pressure. Several opponents flagged in inferior but not lost positions – evidence that your constant threats and time usage are paying off.

Recurring trouble spots

• Time management. Four of the recent losses were on the clock although the positions were defendable (e.g. move 69 vs Alireza Firouzja).
• Over-extension on the kingside in the Najdorf “Freak Attack”. In your loss vs Aleksandar Indjic you pushed g- and h-pawns early, then allowed …d5 and your structure collapsed.
  
  
  
• Conversion in technical endings. Two winning rook-and-pawn endings slipped (games vs Srinavasan & Firouzja). The common theme: hurried king walks while pawns were still loose.
• Loose queen sorties in QGD-type structures. Loss after 9.Qa4+ was triggered by an early queen adventure that cost coordination.

Action plan for the next week

1. Revisit your Najdorf repertoire. Either drop 6.Rg1 for the main 6.Bg5 / 6.Be3 lines or prepare a concrete antidote vs …d5 break.
2. 5-minute “clock discipline” drill. Play ten games where you must have ≥60 seconds after move 20. Abort the game if you fail – it trains pacing.
3. End-game refresher. Spend 15 minutes/day on simple rook-pawn endings. Key motif to drill: cutting the opposing king off before pushing passed pawns.
4. Opening quick-checks. Before every session glance at a one-line reminder: “King safety first; no early queen raids”.

Training menu (30-min block)

• 10′ Tactics burst (Chess-able style spaced repetition).
• 10′ End-game drill (rook vs pawns & “Lucena / Philidor”).
• 10′ Replay one of your wins slowly, annotating why each opponent’s move felt uncomfortable.
  Example:
  
  

Final thoughts

Your overall form is clearly trending upward (slope ≈ +9 points/week). By shoring up clock management and cutting out one or two risky opening deviations, a 60 %+ strength-adjusted win rate is realistic within the month.
Keep the pressure, but remember: fast moves are good, but good moves are faster in the long run.