Miguel Lázaro Azcutia CM

Quick summary

Nice stretch — your rating trend and recent results show clear progress. Six‑month gain of +172, a 1‑month climb of +35 and a Strength‑Adjusted Win Rate ≈55% mean you're doing many things right. This feedback focuses on what to keep doing, what to fix, and concrete practice steps you can start today.

What you're doing well

• Conversion and simplification: in your wins you simplify at the right time and force favorable endgames (example: the long win where you traded into a winning queen/rook ending).
• Openings that score: your Najdorf Opocensky games are a real strength — continue expanding those lines (Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation).
• Initiative in blitz: you often seize the initiative early with pawn pushes and active piece play, which is perfect for 3+2 time control.
• Mental resilience: the rating slopes show you recover quickly from rough patches — a strong habit to keep.

High‑impact weaknesses to fix

• Scotch Game preparation: your Scotch results are weak (low win rate). You’re often trading into positions where the opponent gets active queenside play — study typical plans and central pawn‑breaks to avoid early equalizing simplifications.
• Tactical slips in the early middlegame: several losses stem from small tactical oversights (missed forks/pins or a queen trade that drops tempo). Add targeted tactics aiming at forks, pins and discovered attacks.
• Time management: clocks dip very low around critical moments. Keep a 30–45s reserve for the tactical middlegame so you can calculate without flag danger.
• King safety when attacking: aggressive pawn storms sometimes open your own king (diagonal/back‑rank issues). Balance attack with a flight square or a defensive exchange when needed.

Concrete 4‑week training plan

• Daily tactics (15–25 min): focus on forks, pins and discovered attacks — high ROI for blitz.
• Opening tune‑up (3×/week, 20–30 min): shore up the Scotch and the Ruy Lopez closed lines you play most. Keep adding one novelty to your Najdorf Opocensky lines.
• Annotated replays (1 rapid game/week): pick a recent loss and a recent win, replay them slowly and write 3 improvements for each critical position.
• Endgame drills (2×/week, 15 min): basic rook endgames and king+pawn endings — your simplifications will convert more reliably.
• Blitz practice rule: during blitz sessions, enforce a 30s reserve after move 20 to avoid flagging in complex positions.

Game highlights to study

• Win vs papaifael — great example of forcing simplifications and then invading with the queen/rook. Replay slowly and note where you traded to remove counterplay.
• Loss vs Ancient-Of-Days — typical Scotch trap: an early exchange sequence left you with coordination problems. Work the specific line where the central queen shot and the c6/c5 pawn structure appears.
• Keep a short file with 5 recurring tactical motifs you miss (e.g., back‑rank tactics, knight forks on e5/d6, discovered checks). Review that file before blitz sessions.

Opening checklist (practical)

• Scotch: have one safe mainline and one sideline you know well. If the opponent surprises you, default to the safe line rather than guessing.
• Ruy Lopez (closed): practice typical pawn breaks (c3/d4) and maneuvers to exchange the bad bishop or create a kingside plan.
• Najdorf Opocensky: add two move‑order tricks so opponents can’t easily equalize early.

Mental & clock tips

• When a capture is available, ask: “What changes? Any checks or forks created?” If unsure, spend an extra 8–12 seconds — that often saves a tactical oversight.
• Before liquidating, look for hidden tactical resources for both sides and a safe escape square for your king.
• Use increment: make a habit of taking the increment on every move past move 20 in complicated positions so your clock never collapses.

30‑day goal

• Reduce tactical blunders by 30% (track by reviewing losses each week).
• Improve your Scotch Game score: learn one reliable change and one active plan to raise practical results.
• Keep the momentum: follow the 4‑week plan and replay 8 games (4 wins, 4 losses) with notes.

You're trending upward — keep the opening strengths, plug the tactical holes and you'll convert more of those close games into wins. If you want, I can produce a 2‑page Scotch cheat‑sheet and 7 daily tactics tailored to your recent mistakes.