Michael Kopylov IM

Hi Michael (“Malysch”)

Your recent blitz games show an impressive fighting spirit and a solid technical base. With a peak blitz rating of 2612 (2023-10-03), you already compete at a very high level. Below you’ll find a brief overview of what you’re doing well and, even more importantly, where a few targeted adjustments could unlock the next rating band.

What’s working well

• Opening depth. Your handling of both sides of the Queens Gambit and the Alekhine Defence is advanced. In fact, in several wins you left titled opponents out of book by move 15.
• Dynamic piece play. Long manoeuvres such as 19.c5! (vs. Pasmendjambvirgulptipon98) show you grasp space-gaining pawn breaks and minor-piece route planning.
• Psychological resilience. You often bounce back after a loss with an immediate win—the hallmark of a strong competitive mindset.
  can be used to track this trend across sessions.

Biggest improvement levers

1. Clock management
   Two of the last five losses (vs. Arteler and FLamps8) were on time with roughly +2 (computer) evaluation. Try these quick fixes:
   • Aim to reach move 25 with ≥60 s. If below 45 s, “switch gears” to safe forcing moves first.
   • Adopt a 3-phase routine: (1) 0:03-0:02 use for opening recall, (2) 0:02-0:01.10 evaluate tactics, (3) sub-1:10 rely on intuition + increment.
   can reveal which sessions suffer most from low energy/time pressure.
2. Converting initiative into material
   In the loss to ArchibaldCerveza29 you obtained a pleasant structure but let the …a5-a4 counterplay dissolve your edge. A recurring pattern is pushing wing pawns (a4/b4) without first eliminating counterplay. Add the following exercise to your prep:
   • Play out the position after 20.Nb5! (Archibald game) vs. an engine and focus on zwischenzug spotting.
   Critical fragment:
   
3. King safety in double-edged structures
   Against Tibmat (2654) the move 24…Rc8? ignored 25.Rxc8+! and allowed the white h-pawn to pry open dark squares. Training idea:
   • Solve 15 “king-hunt” puzzles daily. Focus on dark-square tactics out of the English/Retí where you often castle kingside early and delay …d6/d5.
4. Dry endgame technique
   Even in wins you sometimes need 50-60 moves to convert a +5 endgame. Consider:
   • Weekly endgame spars starting from R+P vs R or minor-piece endings—we want muscle memory, not calculation.
   • Refresh the “cut-off king” method in rook endings and the Lucena/Philidor templates.

Opening-room tweaks (optional)

Next-step training menu

• 30-min tactics each morning (Theme: clearance, deflection, discovered checks).
• 2 rapid (15|10) games per week with strict post-game annotation—highlight every missed zwischenzug and unused winning plan.
• End of week: review your own “Game of the Week” to reinforce strengths.

Keep up the great work, Michael—tightening just these few screws should push you well beyond your current 2612 (2023-10-03). Good luck at the next Titled Tuesday!