Mahir Salkic

Quick summary

Nice run — you're playing confidently in your rapid games and converting practical chances. Your recent results show strong opening familiarity (especially the Scandinavian Defense) and a clear ability to punish opponents' inaccuracies. Below are concrete observations and a short plan to keep the momentum going.

What you did well

• Openings: You repeatedly reach comfortable middlegames from the Scandinavian Defense and related lines — your win rate there is a real asset. Keep the systems and typical plans you already know.
• Tactical awareness: Several wins came from quick tactical blows and converting material or mating nets (good pattern recognition and finishing instinct).
• Active rook play and passed pawns: In wins you used rook activity and passed pawns effectively (see the game vs nidela99 where a passed b-pawn and active rooks decided the game).
• Practical play under pressure: You get good practical results in complex positions — that’s a strength in rapid time controls.

Recurring weaknesses to fix

• Loose pieces / leaving targets: A few games show pieces becoming vulnerable to simple tactics — double-check hanging pieces and forks before moving. Consider the concept Loose Piece as a checklist item before each move.
• Time management spikes: You have wins on time and also losses where the clock became a factor. Avoid spending too much time early and then scrambling in the critical phase — keep a 20–30 second reserve for the last 5 minutes.
• Back-rank and king safety: In some lines you open files while the king remains exposed. When launching pawn storms or rook lifts, ensure escape squares (luft) or piece cover first.
• Trading into unfavorable endgames: A couple of losses come from exchanging into positions where the opponent’s activity or passed pawns outpaced you. When trading, evaluate the resulting pawn structure and king activity first.

Concrete plan (next 2–4 weeks)

• Daily tactics: 10–15 short tactics a day (focus on forks, discovered attacks, pins, and back-rank motifs).
• Two weekly 30–45 minute endgame sessions: rook and pawn endgames, basic king+rook vs king technique and passed pawn conversion drills.
• Opening refinement (2 sessions/week): 1 hour per week reviewing the key plans and typical pawn breaks in your main lines — concentrate on the Scandinavian Defense and the Gruenfeld: Exchange Variation where you see mixed results.
• Rapid practice with a clock plan: Play 5–10 rapid games (10|5 or 15|10) but consciously keep 20–30 seconds in reserve; if you’re flagging, pause after each game to note where you spent too much time.
• Game reviews: After each loss, do a 5–10 minute post-mortem to identify one recurring theme (tactic oversight, time trouble, opening misunderstanding) and write it down.

Key moments to study from your recent games

Use the viewer below to step through your recent win vs nidela99. Look for moves where you increased piece activity and where you converted a small advantage into a pass-pawn. Pause when you or your opponent make an unexpected capture — that’s often where tactical patterns hide.

[[Pgn|d4|e6|Nf3|Nf6|c4|b6|a3|a5|Nc3|Bb7|Bg5|d5|e3|Be7|cxd5|Nxd5|Bxe7|Qxe7|Be2|O-O|O-O|Nd7|Rc1|c5|Nxd5|Bxd5|Bc4|Bxf3|Qxf3|cxd4|exd4|Nf6|Rfe1|Qd6|Rcd1|Rac8|Bd3|Rfd8|h4|Qd5|Qe2|g6|Bb1|Qd6|Qe5|Ng4|Qxd6|Rxd6|Re2|Rcd8|Red2|Nf6|Kf1|e5|Ke2|exd4|Rc1|R8d7|f3|Nh5|Be4|Ng3+|Kd3|f5|Bc6|Rd8|Bb5|Kg7|Rc7+|Kh6|Rd1|Nh5|g4|Nf4+|Kd2|fxg4|fxg4|g5|Rf1|Nd5|hxg5+|Kxg5|Rg7+|Rg6|Rxh7|Ne3|Rg1|Rh6|Rxh6|Kxh6|g5+|Kg7|Bd3|Rf8|Rh1|Rf2+|Kc1|Rg2|g6|Rg3|Rh7+|Kf6|Rf7+|Ke6|Rb7|Rg1+|Kd2|Rd1+|Ke2|Rg1|Rxb6+|Ke5|Rb5+|Kf4|b4|Rg2+|Ke1|Rg1+|Kd2|Rd1+|Ke2|Ra1|g7|Ra2+|Ke1|Ra1+|Kd2|Ra2+|Kc1|Rg2|Rb7|Nd5|Bh7|Rg1+|Kd2|Rg2+|Kd3|Rg3+|Kxd4|Nf6|g8=Q|Nxg8|Bxg8|Rxg8|Rf7+|Kg5|b5|a4|b6|orientation|white|fen|6r1/5R2/1P6/6k1/p2K4/P7/8/8 b - -|autoplay|false]

Opening-specific advice

• Scandinavian Defense (Scandinavian Defense): You handle typical pawn structures well. Add 2–3 model games (master-level) to your study list — focus on typical knight reroutes and when to exchange queens to simplify into winning endgames.
• Grünfeld Exchange (Gruenfeld: Exchange Variation): You got punished in a recent game where the center dynamics favored your opponent. In this line be careful about premature exchanges that activate the opponent's queen and rooks — keep an eye on central tension and tactical forks.
• General: after you open files, ask “Can my king be checked or my back rank be weak?” — if yes, make a luft or extra guarding move before opening lines.

Time management checklist (for each game)

• First 10 moves: aim to average 10–15 seconds per move and reach move 10 with at least 6–7 minutes left in a 10|0 or 10|5 game.
• Move before critical decisions: if a tactic is non-obvious, spend more time; otherwise use quick practical moves to preserve clock.
• Last 5 minutes: keep 20–30 seconds per move in reserve for calculation-heavy positions.

Short post-game routine

• Immediately after the game: note one thing that went well and one concrete mistake.
• Within 24 hours: review the game and mark 2–3 critical positions to study (use the PGN viewer above for the win and a quick replay of the loss vs shtam_ssehc).
• Weekly: consolidate by solving patterns that caused you trouble (e.g., forks, back-rank mates, queen checks).

Next steps — 30 minute plan for tonight

• 10 min: tactics puzzle set (focus on forks and pins).
• 10 min: replay the win vs nidela99 and one loss (identify the critical error).
• 10 min: practice one rook-and-pawn endgame (basic techniques and converting a passed pawn).

If you want, I can...

• Annotate one of your recent losses move-by-move and highlight exact turning points.
• Create a 4-week training schedule tailored to your openings and time-control preferences.
• Generate 30 tactics selected specifically from motifs you missed in your recent games.

Tell me which option you want and I’ll prepare it.