Daniel Schlecht IM

Hi Daniel!

Great work keeping your Blitz rating in the mid-2500s (2713 (2021-05-15)). Your recent sessions show fighting spirit and a willingness to enter sharp, unbalanced positions. Below is a concise, practical roadmap to gain the next 100–150 Elo.

1. What you already do well

• Opening variety & prep – You handle both 1.d4 (Modern Slav structures) and 1.e4 (Rossolimo / Anti-Sicilian lines) with confidence, often steering play into positions you know.
• Tactical alertness – The win vs wikipedia1288 featured the …h5-h4-g5-g4 pawn storm followed by an instructive …Nf6-h5-f4 manoeuvre. You constantly create concrete problems for the opponent.
• Speed management – In most victories you kept >40 s on the clock, giving you time to convert advantages.

2. Key improvement themes

1. Don’t self-weaken the king side too early
   Loss vs A-R-27 (Nimzo-Larsen) began with …g5-h5-g4 while the centre was still tense. White’s Ng6+ on move 38 decided the game.
   Rule of thumb: Push the g/h-pawns only after you are castled on the opposite wing or the centre is closed.
2. Convert won endgames efficiently
   Several wins were decided on time, not the board. Try to finish games sooner by:
   • Trading into simpler winning endings (e.g. up a pawn → same-coloured bishop ending).
   • Learning basic conversion drill (two connected passers vs bishop, Lucena etc.). Five minutes with a table-base per day is plenty.
3. Improve pawn-break recognition
   In the loss to BurningIcarus you allowed …c4-c3-c2 because the d4/e5 break was delayed. Ask yourself each move: “Which pawn break changes the evaluation most?” This habit saves time and prevents passive piece play.
4. Mid-game prophylaxis
   Twice you let an opponent double rooks on the c-file without contest. Spend one tempo on Rc1/Qc2 or a minor-piece exchange before launching your own attack.

3. Opening checkpoints

4. Time-usage drill

Attach one simple ritual to each move:

1. 5-second scan – Checks, captures, threats.
2. Prophylaxis – “What does my opponent want next?”

This costs ≤10 s but prevents 80 % of one-move oversights that currently decide many Blitz games.

5. Micro-study plan (2 h/week)

• 30 min ⚡ – Tactical puzzles filtered for 2000-2500 motif difficulty.
• 30 min 📚 – Replay GM games in your favourite Slav structures; pause every 5 moves and guess the next one.
• 20 min ♟ – Endgame drill (rook & pawn, B vs knight). Use downloadable table-base.
• 20 min 🎯 – Annotate one of your own losses in depth each week (pick from list below).
• 20 min 📈 – Quick review of your performance chart
  to spot tired-hour patterns.

6. Instructive snapshot

The critical moment vs A-R-27 – black to move, but the king side is already collapsing:

Notice how every pawn push (…a-, …g-, …h-) opened new files and diagonals around your own king, letting White’s knights jump in. Use this as a reference position when deciding whether to advance flank pawns again.

7. Final encouragement

You’re already outperforming most Blitz specialists; polishing these few structural and endgame details will give you a substantial edge. Keep the fighting spirit, review one loss per day, and you’ll soon break the next rating milestone.

Good luck, and enjoy the journey!