Jake Darmanin CM

What you’re doing well in blitz

You’ve shown moments of sharp tactical awareness and the ability to press when your opponent overextends. In quick games, you’ve also demonstrated good piece activity and a readiness to seize open lines and attack chances when they appear.

• You identify forcing sequences that create concrete chances to win material or momentum.
• Your pieces frequently coordinate on active squares and you look to challenge the opponent’s king safety in dynamic positions.
• You remain resilient in the middlegame, keeping practical chances alive even when positions become complex.
• You have some solid endgame feel in situations where you’ve exchanged into favorable simplifications.

Key areas to improve for the next blitz sessions

• Time management under pressure: aim to form a clear plan within the first six to eight moves, then execute it consistently. When the clock is tight, prefer safe, straightforward moves that improve your position rather than risky complications.
• Endgame conversion: practice common rook endings and simple pawn endings so you can convert advantages cleanly rather than letting tiny errors slip in late.
• Opening consistency: pick a small, reliable blitz repertoire and learn the typical middlegame plans for those lines. This helps you reach playable positions faster and reduces the chance of getting tangled in early chaos.
• Positional awareness: focus on identifying targets (weak pawns, open files, king safety) in the early and middle stages to guide your plan rather than chasing every tactical possibility.
• Post-game review habit: after each game, spend a few minutes reviewing critical moments and note one concrete improvement to apply in the next game.

Opening ideas to explore

Opening choices appear to give you dynamic play, with some lines yielding favorable middlegame chances. Consider reinforcing a compact, practical repertoire for blitz and focusing on the core plans rather than delving into overly theoretical lines.

Explore these options to build confidence in blitz contexts: Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation and Center Game: Berger Variation

To study a compact practice sequence, you can use this starter line:

Practice plan for the coming weeks

• Daily: spend 15 minutes on tactics puzzles to sharpen pattern recognition and calculated risk-taking in short time controls.
• Weekly: dedicate 2 sessions to focused opening study from your chosen blitz repertoire and review at least one game to identify a key moment for improvement.
• Endgames: include 2 focused endgame drills per week, emphasizing rook endings and king activity in simplified positions.
• Post-game reviews: after each blitz game, note one concrete adjustment you’ll apply in the next game (plan, time management, or a specific tactic idea).