Erling Mortensen

Quick recap for Erling Mortensen

Nice work — you are playing actively and creating real imbalances, especially in the Modern and English systems. Below I highlight what you do well, the recurring leaks I see, and practical steps you can take over the next two weeks to tighten up your blitz results.

What you are doing well

• Active piece play: you consistently bring rooks and bishops into the fight and look for open files instead of passive waiting moves.
• Comfort in unbalanced positions: you handle asymmetry — pawn storms and opposite-side castling — with confidence, turning small advantages into concrete threats.
• Practical defense and counterplay: in several recent games you absorbed pressure and counterattacked at the right moment rather than trading into a passive position.
• Good use of the clock in most games: you win on time sometimes by keeping the opponent under pressure, showing good practical awareness of blitz dynamics.

Where to improve (highest impact)

Focus on the following areas — they will move your blitz score the fastest.

• Transitioning from attack to simplification: when you get a clear advantage, make concrete plans to simplify into a winning endgame or force material gain rather than repeating checks or shuffling pieces.
• Pawn-race and king safety calculation: in sharp middlegames with pawn storms, double-check pawn breaks and king routes before simplifying. A single overlooked pawn push can flip the evaluation.
• Endgame technique under time pressure: some games become long endgames where precise opposition, rook activation and pawn promotion tactics matter. Drill basic rook and pawn endings and key king-and-pawn motifs.
• Avoid temptation to over-attack in the face of counterplay: when the opponent offers material or complications, ask if you can safely convert. If uncertain, improve your position first.

Concrete drills and routines (apply immediately)

• Daily tactics: 20 mixed tactics (focus on forks, pins, discovered attacks). Track accuracy and repeat motif errors.
• Endgame micro-session: 3 times per week, 20 minutes practising king+pawn vs king, Lucena and Philidor rook positions, and basic knight vs pawn endings.
• Opening plan drills: pick your top two systems (for you those are the Modern Defense and the English Opening). For each, write one page of typical pawn breaks and a 5-move plan for both sides.
• Post-game review ritual: after each loss or close draw, annotate the critical 10-move window where evaluation changed. Do this for at least 3 games a week.
• Blitz time-control habit: practice using the increment — aim to keep a 10–20 second buffer on non-critical moves and spend 30–60 seconds on true critical positions.

Game-specific notes (review these positions)

• Recent win vs giorgi kordzaxia — study link: Review this win
  • Good job converting active piece play into pressure. When you get the initiative, look for a safe way to trade into a winning endgame or win material rather than pushing more pawn storms that give the opponent counterplay.
• Win vs Stanoje Jovic — study link: Review this game
  • Nice use of open files and the rook lift. Notice how the rooks on the open file decided the game — practice creating those files earlier so you can overwhelm the opponent before they regroup.
• Win vs Euphonics2 — study link: Review this win
  • You outplayed the opponent in the middlegame and kept pressure in a complex endgame. Still, there were moments where a simpler conversion path was available — mark those moves and prefer concreteness in future similar games.
• Loss vs Euphonics2 — study link: Review this loss
  • This long endgame slipped away. Key takeaways: activate your king earlier, be ruthless about creating or stopping passed pawns, and calculate pawn races carefully. Also check whether a simplification or a different king route would have improved your chances.
• Draw vs ianina — study link: Review this draw
  • Game drawn by repetition. When you already have space or a lasting advantage, try to add a second threat (pawn push, improve a piece, or create a target) instead of letting the opponent force a repeat.

Next 2-week plan (simple and measurable)

• Week 1: 20 tactics/day, three 20-minute endgame sessions, annotate 3 games (including the loss and one win).
• Week 2: 2 focused opening-review sessions (Modern Defense and English), play 10 rated blitz games aiming to use 10–20 seconds reserve per move.
• Goal: reduce avoidable endgame errors and convert two extra winning positions per week into wins.

Final note

You're strong at creating imbalances and practical play. With focused endgame work and disciplined conversion plans, you can turn more of your advantages into wins. If you want, I can prepare a 2-week training plan with specific puzzles and three annotated game examples from your recent games.