Coach Chesswick
Hi mbdida – personalized performance review
Current peak: 2201 (2021-09-29)
Typical openings: English/Catalan set-ups with c4 g3 Bg2 as White; Modern, Grünfeld and QGA structures as Black.
What you are already doing well
- Opening familiarity – You steer games into English/Catalan territory almost by reflex, reaching comfortable middlegames quickly. Notice how smoothly you reached a favourable structure in your last win:
- Pawn breaks & space grabbing – Repeated
a4-a5/b4thrusts demonstrate good board awareness and willingness to seize space on the queenside. - Tactical alertness – Shots such as 17.Nxc5! (above) and 21.Rxf8+! show that you are actively looking for forcing continuations.
- Converting advantages – Many wins end before move 30; once you seize the initiative you rarely let go.
Key improvement areas
- King safety vs. pawn storms
Recent losses feature opponents opening lines against your king (…g5-g4 vs you, or your owng4/f4over-extensions). Strengthen your defensive technique:- Do a quick “pawn-shield” checklist each move: how many files are about to open in front of my king?
- Study model games on the fianchetto bishop exchange – understand when to keep / trade your dark-squared bishop.
- Time management
You have several results decided by flag or abandonment while the position was playable. Adopt a “move-every-5-seconds” rule during quiet positions to bank increment, and use premoves in forced recaptures. - Handling counter-punches
After successful pawn grabs (e.g. 24.Rxc6 in the win vs chessmaximumkrop) you sometimes leave pieces loose and allow Zwischenzug tactics in return. Insert prophylactic moves – especially rook lifts or king steps – before cashing in material. - Endgame conversion
In the loss to efraimmmmmm you resigned an equal rook-and-pawn ending a pawn down with obvious drawing chances. Review fundamental rook endings (Philidor, Lucena) to improve confidence.
Targeted study plan (4-week micro-cycle)
| Week | Main focus | Daily task (≈30 min) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catalan middlegames as Black | Replay 2 GM games + annotate your loss to klassiker1. |
| 2 | King safety & pawn storms | Solve 20 “attack vs defence” puzzles; practice vs computer set to 2000 playing the Modern. |
| 3 | Clock discipline | Play 10 games at 3 + 2 focusing on staying >60 s after move 20; review time usage graph afterwards. |
| 4 | Rook endings | Watch one video chapter, then test with 10 composed endgame studies. |
Quick reference checklist before each game
- Opening plan? (If English: where will my c4-pawn break? If Modern: where do I place the c8-bishop?)
- King safety – pawn shield intact?
- Loose pieces? (Both sides!)
- Time left > opponent’s?
Keep up the dynamic play, patch the defensive holes, and breaking 2100 will be a matter of weeks. Good luck!