Coach Chesswick
Hi Shahzeb (“mistry786”) — coach’s review
What you are already doing well
- Tactical alertness. In your most recent win you spotted the intermediate move 12…Re8+, forcing White’s king off the e-file before winning the queen with 13…Qxd4. A nice Zwischenzug!
- Willingness to play actively as both colours. Your Smith-Morra win shows healthy piece activity and the courage to sacrifice pawns for initiative.
- Opening variety. You have tested the English, Sicilian, Caro-Kann and Danish Gambit lines. This broad base will pay dividends once the underlying plans become clearer.
Recurring pain-points
- Clock management. Two of the last five losses (e.g. vs architf99) were on time in drawable or even better end-games. You often reach move 30 with <20 seconds.
- End-game conversion. In the Scandinavian loss to mohassanzadeh you entered a rook-and-pawn ending two pawns up, but inaccurate king activity and passed-pawn handling flipped the result.
- Loose central squares in the early middlegame. Several defeats show pieces jumping into d4/d5/e5 (e.g. 17…Bg7–e5 in your Alapin loss) because your minor pieces were undeveloped or misplaced.
- Over-pressing. Good attacking intentions sometimes become material over-extensions (grabbing the a-rook on move 20 of the Scandinavian, ignoring Black’s counterplay).
Targeted training plan
- Time-management drill. Keep a practice board and play 3 + 2 games where you must have ≥60 seconds by move 20. If the clock dips below, force yourself to make the next move instantly.
- End-game basics, one per week:
- King & pawn fundamentals (opposition, outside passed pawn).
- Lucena & Philidor rook endings.
- Minor-piece vs pawns endings, focusing on knight vs outside passer.
- Structure before tactics. Add the question “What is my opponent’s plan?” to your thinking routine on moves 8-15. This simple dose of Prophylaxis will reduce early-middlegame blunders.
- Specialise in one main opening system for a month. Recommendation:
- As White: Continue the Smith-Morra, but study only the main line through move 10. Know the typical “c3-d4 pawn chain” ideas, not just tricks.
- As Black vs 1.e4: Adopt the Caro-Kann Classical (…d5, …Bf5) to practise solid piece placement rather than early tactics.
- Weekly self-review. After every 20 games, export two wins and two losses. Annotate them briefly, focusing on critical decision ↠ time left ↠ move quality.
Quick stats & visuals
Peak rapid rating: 1740 (2023-03-05)
When you tend to score best:
Your most productive days:
Next session goals
- Play 10 rapid games (10 + 5) applying the move-20/60-seconds rule.
- Send me one annotated end-game where you felt “lost in the fog.”
- Prepare the Caro-Kann Classical tabiya up to move 8 and be ready to explain Black’s plan in your own words.
Keep the energy and creativity you already have, Shahzeb. With tighter clock habits and a touch of end-game technique, you will break the 1400 barrier soon. Good luck!