Marcin Krysztofiak IM

Hi Marcin Krysztofiak!

Below is personalised, constructive feedback drawn from your most recent games. Keep your attacking flair, but let’s polish the rough edges so you can convert it into even more rating gains.

What you are already doing well

• Enterprising opening choices. Whether it’s the Najdorf with ...b5 or the French Exchange as White, you are comfortable steering the game into dynamic positions that suit you.
• Tactical alertness. Your 31.Bf3–g2 idea in the April 2025 win created unstoppable passed pawns and shows good calculation under time pressure.
  Illustrative example:
  
  
• Confidence against higher-rated players. You’ve beaten opponents in the 1800–1900 range by keeping pieces active and pushing for initiative instead of playing timidly.

Recurring issues to address

• King safety when launching pawn storms.
  Your losses on 28 Apr 2025 and 20 Dec 2024 both feature early g4-g5 pushes that left dark squares around your own king weak. Make sure you have completed development and have a clear follow-up before pushing wing pawns.
• Overconfidence in “won” positions.
  Against try_hard_sweat (rating 852) you fell to a 5-move French trap. A brief 10-second blunder check would have avoided …Qxe4+. Treat every opponent seriously.
• Handling opposite-side castling.
  When both kings are castled long (e.g. French Exchange wins) you manage the race well, but with same-side castling you sometimes open files towards your own monarch. Review games where you played h-/g-pawns but still castled short.
• Time management in critical positions.
  Several games show you dropping under 20 seconds just before the tactical climax, forcing you to rely on pre-moves instead of calculation.

Action plan for the next month

1. 60-minute self-review routine each week. Pick one of your own decisive games (win or loss) and annotate it without an engine first; then compare with the engine. Focus on missed quiet defensive resources, not only tactics.
2. Tactics: 20 puzzles/day. Filter for themes you leaked points on (e.g. pin, back-rank, zwischenzug).
3. Opening hygiene. Add a “blunder checklist” before committing to early pawn grabs or queen sorties:
   1. Is my king safe?
   2. Is the move forcing?
   3. What is my opponent’s strongest reply?
4. Endgame basics. Aim to solve at least five rook-and-pawn endgame studies weekly; this will boost your conversion rate when your early attacks trade down.
5. Play longer games (15|10). One slow game per week will help you internalise the checklist without flagging.

Track your progress

• Current peak blitz rating: 2081 (2018-06-29)
• When you score best:

Quick reference library

• “100 Endgames You Must Know” – revise one chapter a week.
• “Pump Up Your Rating” – reinforces disciplined thinking.

Stay sharp, keep enjoying the game, and let me know when you smash through your next rating milestone!