Coach Chesswick
Hi melissa_guez! 👋 – Personalised Post-Game Feedback
Great work climbing to and maintaining a strong win-rate during your favourite playing hours (see
). Your recent streak of four wins – including the instructive Sicilian victory against iamjerry – shows excellent form.What’s already working well
- Dynamic Sicilian handling. You steer the French / Taimanov-style structures confidently, using …d5 breaks and piece activity (e.g. 17…Nd5! vs Maresias) to seize the initiative.
- Tactical alertness in time trouble. The win vs timtheenchanter97 featured multiple accurate resource-finding sequences while both clocks were under 10 s.
- Endgame conversion. Several recent games ended with clean technical play (e.g. rook & pawn endgame vs iamjerry). Your technique is a real asset once material is simplified.
Growth opportunities
- Avoid early pawn loosening as White. In the loss to
repeated_blunder (Alekhine Exchange) the pawn chain
e4-d4-c4advanced before you had enough development. After 12.d5 you locked the centre but allowed …Ne7–c8–b6 ideas. Consider holding the tension and finishing kingside development first. - King safety in gambit-like positions. Against e4_new_york_style you launched g-pawn pushes without castling long or creating flight squares. A simple …Be6! hit your queen and collapsed the structure. Re-check the concept of pawn storms: push them only when your own king is secure.
- Practical calculation ritual. Several losses contained tactics
missed one tempo earlier (e.g. 32…Qxc3 in the Tygra8 game). Before
every forcing move, do a 3-step scan:
- Checks, Captures, Threats for you
- Checks, Captures, Threats for opponent
- Re-evaluate king safety & loose pieces
- Clock management. Many critical decisions (e.g. 18.Nb5!? vs repeated_blunder) consumed > 15 s in a 120 + 1 game. Try the “10-20-70” split: spend ≈10 % of your total time on the opening, 20 % on middlegame transitions, leaving 70 % for the critical late middlegame/endgame.
Opening lab – one targeted tweak per colour
| Colour | Current choice | Suggested micro-goal |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1.e4 Alekhine Exchange (loss) | Add 7.Nf3 instead of 7.Be3 to keep flexible against …f5 set-ups. |
| Black | Sicilian Taimanov / Bastrikov | Study the ♗b4+ sideline vs 6.Be3 to avoid early endgame trades. |
Mini-exercise
Replay the critical phase of your win against iamjerry and look for improvements for both sides:
Action plan for the next two weeks
- Play 10 sparring games starting from the position after 10…f6 in the TimTheEnchanter97 game to polish conversion with an extra pawn.
- Solve 30 mating-net puzzles focusing on decoy themes; this directly addresses missed tactics in the Tygra8 encounter.
- Analyse every loss for <15 min, tagging mistakes as “opening / calculation / endgame / time”. Track progress in .
Keep up the energetic style and refine these small leaks – the 2100+ barrier in Rapid is within reach. Enjoy the grind and good luck at the board!