Tuuli WFM

Hi Tuuli – Personal Game Review & Improvement Plan

You’ve produced some sparkling attacking wins lately (e.g. the Trompowsky crush against basho22), yet a few recurring themes are holding you back from an even higher 2124 (2016-10-01). Here is a concise, actionable report based on your most recent games.

1 | Openings – keep the centre healthy before launching pawn storms

• Early wing-pawn pushes. Games vs. doublebeef and johndnazario show h- and a-pawns racing up the board while your king stayed in the middle. Castle first, finish development, then expand on the wings.
• Tarrasch structure (d4 d5 c4 exd5 cxd5 … c5). In your loss to doublebeef Black froze the centre with …c4, winning space and tempo. Study the standard break
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• Answering …Bb4+. Instead of the passive 5.Bd2, consider 5.Nbd2 or 5.Qd2, keeping the dark-squared bishop ready for activity.

2 | Middlegame – calculation hygiene & exchange discipline

• Loose pieces & tactical replies. In the diagrammed position of your last loss (after 13…c3!) you had three loose pieces and no safe squares. Add a “LPDO” check (“loose pieces drop off”) to every move.
• Good instincts: outposts. The knight hop Ng5-h7-f8 in your win vs. mysystem paralysed Black’s back rank. Keep hunting for these squares, but back them with other pieces rather than with pawn sacrifices only.
• Unfavourable trades. Giving up Bxf6 on move 4 in the Trompowsky granted Black the bishop pair for free. Before exchanging always ask, “Who benefits and why?”

3 | Endgames & clock management

• Lost on time in drawn positions. Three recent defeats were flag-outs. Play a daily 10-move “conversion drill” on a rook-and-pawn vs. rook table-base position to build speed.
• Outside passed pawns. Your Caro-Kann win showcased textbook technique. Keep revising opposition, key squares, and the concept of the outside passer.

4 | Two-week training schedule

1. 20 tactical puzzles/day, no piece dragging; write down candidate moves first.
2. Replay one annotated GM game in each of your main openings, focusing on pawn breaks.
3. Two 10 | 5 games per session; spend ≤30 s on the first 10 moves to conquer time trouble.
4. After each game, pinpoint the moment where evaluation swung using your “LPDO + candidate moves” checklist.

5 | When to play

Your results peak after 18:00 UTC and on Tuesdays – see

Keep the energy, Tuuli! Combine these tweaks with your natural attacking flair and a jump in performance will follow quickly.