Coach Chesswick
Hi Nlalic_02, here is some personalized feedback based on your recent blitz sessions.
What you’re already doing well
- Fast initiative in the opening. In many of your wins you seize space with 1.e4 / d4 followed by quick central breaks (e.g. d4–d5 in your Caro–Kann game). This puts immediate pressure on opponents who aren’t booked-up.
- Tactical alertness. The combination 19.Nxh7! and 22.Nxd7+ (vs. KartiksPrabhu) showed good calculation of forcing lines. Tactic spotting is clearly a strength.
- Piece activity over material. You happily gave back pawns to keep rooks on open files and bishops active. That dynamic style is suited to short time controls.
Key areas to focus on next
-
Time management – the biggest single leak.
• You lost four completely winning positions on time within the last set, including a position up a full rook (see diagram at move 40…Kg5).
• Practical rule: aim to have >10 s when entering any endgame. If you’re below that, simplify into a pre-move friendly ending (e.g. trade queens early).
→ Drill 1-minute games where the goal is not to win, but to finish with 5 s on your clock. This trains you to move on instinct. -
Blunder-checking before committal moves.
• In your loss to josephmanofsteel the move 13.Rb6?? overlooked …Qxb6, dropping the queen.
• Develop a “two-question” routine: (a) What are all the checks or captures my opponent can reply with? (b) After each, do I have at least one safe continuation?
Practise this with daily puzzles on “Defensive Moves Only” mode. -
King safety in the early middlegame.
• Several games featured you leaving your king on e1/e2 while launching pawns (8.Kf1!? vs KartiksPrabhu). In blitz this invites tactics you don’t have time to calculate.
• Simple fix: castle by move 10 in 90 % of games unless you have a concrete reason not to. -
Conversion technique.
• When ahead, prefer forcing endgames over continuing attacks. Example: in your win with 26.Re7+ you could have traded into a trivial rook-and-two vs king ending, saving 15 moves.
• Study “rook endgames 101” (Philidor & Lucena) so you can finish games quickly and avoid time trouble.
Opening snapshot
• As White: You score well with the Réti/Kingside-fianchetto and the Anti-Pirc (e4 g6 2.Nf3 3.d4).
• As Black: You alternate between the French-set-up (…e6 …d5) and Modern/Pirc systems. Results are solid, so no urgent overhaul is needed—just add one mainline you know deeply for longer games.
Your stats at a glance
2173 (2021-11-29)
Suggested study plan for the next two weeks
- Day 1–3: 15 minutes of tactics, 3 x 3-minute games focusing on finishing with >10 s.
- Day 4–6: Watch one short video on rook endgames, then replay the ending of your win vs KartiksPrabhu starting from move 24 with a physical board until you can mate in <30 s.
- Day 7: Rest / light puzzle rush.
- Day 8–10: Play 5 longer (10|0) games, using your two-question blunder check each move.
- Day 11–14: Merge: 10-minute game → self-analysis → engine check → pick one takeaway and add to opening notes.
Motivational snapshot
“Good positions don’t win games—good moves under time pressure do.”
Keep the energy and creativity, Nlalic_02. Tighten up the clock and the blunders will disappear quickly. See you on the leaderboard!