Coach Chesswick
Hi marijus2015 👋 – Coaching Feedback
1. What you already do well
- Killer instinct near the enemy king. Your last win ended with a classic “Scholar-mate” pattern: . Spotting that so quickly shows good tactical vision.
- Comfort with open positions. You like quick, open games (Bishop’s Opening, early queen activity) and you’re not afraid to sacrifice material for initiative.
- Steady rating climb. Your 460 (2025-05-30) keeps inching upward—proof that practice is paying off.
2. Patterns that cost you points
- Early-queen addiction. In the loss vs. KarimovRustem you played 2…Qh4 and never found safety for either queen or king. Several other defeats begin with an early queen sortie that gets chased around.
- King left in the center. You rarely castle; opponents often break through on the diagonal or with a rook check (see TomLeopold game).
- Time trouble. 4 of your last 6 losses were on the clock. Good moves made too late still lose.
- Loose pieces. Hanging minor pieces to simple tactics (…Qxh1#, …Qxd2+, …Nxf2) appears repeatedly. LPDO!
3. Action plan (next four weeks)
- Opening discipline
– As White switch from “Scholar-mate only” to a full Bishop’s/Italian setup: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 3.Bc4 4.d3 5.c3 6.O-O.
– As Black, play the simple setup: 1…e5 → Nf6 → Bc5 → O-O. Delay your queen until move 10.
Tip: Before you move a queen early, ask “Have I developed two other pieces first?” If not, don’t play it. - Casting rule
Make it a habit to castle by move 8–10 unless there is a forced tactic. Track it after each game. - Daily tactics workout
10 puzzles/day at your Chess.com puzzle rating. Focus on themes you often miss: fork, pin, double-attack, back-rank mate. - Time-management drill
Play 10 games of 5|5 or 10|0 using the “20-40-40” rule: 20 % of your time for the first 10 moves, 40 % for the next 10, 40 % for the rest. This habit alone will save you ~100 rating points. - Post-mortems
After every session, pick one win and one loss, replay the critical moment, and ask: “What was the simplest safe alternative?” (Use the Analysis Board, no engine for the first pass.)
4. Example of a recurring problem
You spent five queen moves in the first seven, fell behind in development, and your king never reached safety. Replace those queen moves with …Nc6, …d6, …Nf6, and short-castle – the position plays itself.
5. Progress tracker
Come back in two weeks and compare your stats:
- Average time left when your games end.
- Number of games where you castle.
- Your win rate during the “safe-queen” experiment.