Coach Chesswick
Hi makhiiiiii! 🏆 Let’s level-up your chess together.
1. What you’re already doing well
- You’re not afraid to play active, forcing moves. In several wins you punished early queen blunders (e.g. 7…Bxd1 vs Rajesh Kumar).
- You often castle before move 10, so your king is usually safe when things go well.
- You’re comfortable grabbing material and converting it when the opponent resigns early.
2. Biggest improvement zones
2.1 Opening discipline
- Knights on the edge (Na3 / Nh6) look creative but usually slow your development. Aim for the classical squares c3/f3 (as White) or c6/f6 (as Black).
- Try not to move the same piece more than twice in the first 10 moves. In your loss to ngotuanthanhan you spent five tempi with the same bishop/queen while falling behind in development.
- Follow the simple rule: “Develop, develop, castle, connect rooks.” Doing this will already win games at the 800-level.
2.2 Tactical awareness
- You win when tactics favour you, but you also lose to basic motifs such as the fork (…Nf3⁺ in your 25-move loss) and the back-rank mate pattern (…Qg2#).
- Daily dose: solve 10–15 puzzles focusing on forks, pins and skewers. Keep the rating range 300–900 so puzzles mirror your game situations.
2.3 King safety & pawn shields
- Several defeats happened after you weakened your king with pawn pushes (g-pawn in the loss to rajeshkinf). Before advancing pawns in front of your king ask, “Can my opponent’s queen or bishop enter the position?”
- When you castle short, try to keep pawns on f2-g2-h2 (or f7-g7-h7) unmoved unless you have a concrete gain.
2.4 Endgame basics
- When you are up material, simplify: trade pieces (not pawns) and head to a winning endgame.
- Learn the “rule of the square” and king-and-pawn opposition; these come up frequently once queens leave the board.
3. Illustrative moment
From your most recent loss (moves 24–30):
Key lessons:
- After 24.Rxf5? you opened the f-file for Black’s rook while your own king lacked defender pieces.
- Before capturing, ask “What will my opponent recapture with and what squares become weak?”
- Instead, 24.Qxd2 would have traded queens and removed all immediate mating threats.
4. Concrete training plan (4 weeks)
- Puzzles: 15 tactical puzzles daily → aim for 80 % accuracy.
- Opening notebook: Pick one opening as White (London System: 1.d4 2.Nf3 3.Bf4) and one as Black against 1.e4 (Scandinavian 1…d5) and against 1.d4 (Queen’s Gambit Accepted 1…dxc4). Limit study to first 6–8 moves.
- Play & review: 3 rapid games (10|5 or 15|10) every session. Immediately after each game:
- Mark one “good move” 👍 and one “blunder” ❌.
- Endgames: Watch one short video or read one page on basic king-and-pawn endings twice a week.
5. Motivation corner
Your current best rating: 1171 (2023-01-30). With consistent practice it is realistic to reach 950–1000 in the next two months. Keep the habit of reviewing every game and the improvement will follow. 💪
6. Progress trackers
Use these built-in graphs to see when you score best:
Good luck, have fun, and remember:
“The winner is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake.” — Tartakower
Minimize your last mistake and victories will come. I’m rooting for you!