Coach Chesswick
Hi nazbrok! Here’s some tailored feedback to help you keep climbing.
What you’re doing well
- Quick piece activity: In several wins against cruz29 you rapidly mobilised your bishops and rooks, seizing the initiative and finishing the game before move 35. Great job converting development leads into direct attacks.
- Tactical alertness: Your 20.Nxc6!! in the first PGN below exploited a pin and netted material that never came back. Keep sharpening those tactics!
- Confidence in dynamic positions: Lines like 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.b4!? show you’re comfortable playing for imbalances rather than passive equality.
Main improvement areas
- King safety in the opening
The recent loss to Ivan Georgiev (1.f3 Kf2 Ke3 …) highlights the danger of early king walks. Try anchoring your repertoire around sound structures (e.g. the Italian or Queen’s Gambit) so you can reserve creativity for later.
Drill: Play 20 practice games where you castle by move 8; annotate any where you don’t. - Handling opposite-side chances
In the Philidor loss you allowed White to open the centre while your king was still there. When playing the Pirc/Philidor set-ups, remember the rule of thumb:Break in the centre after castling, not before.
- Time management
You’ve dropped at least two winning positions on the clock (e.g., vs cruz29 0-1 on time). Aim to be below 1 minute only after move 30 in 3 | 0 games.
Tip: Verbally count candidate moves (Checks, Captures, Threats
) to speed up your decision tree. - End-game conversion
In the long Smith-Morra struggle you reached a winning rook-and-pawn ending but let the passed c-pawn race too far. A quick review of the Lucena and Philidor techniques will pay big dividends. See Lucena position.
Action plan for the next two weeks
- Opening study: build a “safe pair” (one line as White, one as Black) you can rely on when form is shaky. Recommended: London System vs 1…d5 and Caro-Kann vs 1.e4.
- Tactics: 30 puzzles/day limited to 3 minutes each. Focus on double attacks and back-rank motifs—recurring themes in your games.
- Annotated review: pick one win and one loss after every session, annotate without engine first, then compare. Start with the Barns Opening loss below:
- Play two 10 | 5 games each weekend to practise deeper calculation and end-games.
Your progress at a glance
Peak blitz rating: 2313 (2015-03-19)