Coach Chesswick
Quick summary for Juny Rookie
Nice streak — big rating jump and strong win rate lately. Your attacking sense and willingness to simplify into winning endgames are clear strengths. You also have a reliable set of openings that score well for you. Below are targeted, practical recommendations to turn your momentum into steady improvement.
What you’re doing well
- Strong attacking instincts — you find forcing ideas (rook lifts and captures on f7, queen invasions) and finish cleanly when the opponent gives you chances.
- Good opening choices — you score very well with Queen’s Gambit Chigorin and the King’s Indian Attack lines. Keep building on those.
- Converting advantages — when you win material or create a decisive attack you tend to press until mate or resignation rather than letting chances slip.
- Time usage — your clock checks show you usually keep reasonable time on the clock in rapid games (600s control).
Recurring issues and what to fix
- Watch tactical backfires in complex positions. In your recent loss the game turned sharply after a tactic on the kingside — double-check opponent’s counterchecks and interpositions before committing to captures or sacrifices.
- Piece coordination near the endgame. A few games show rooks and minor pieces not cooperating optimally when the queens come off. Ask: can my rooks occupy the open file or the 7th rank? Can a knight reach a stable outpost?
- Pawn-structure oversight. You sometimes grab pawns or make thrusts that create weak squares or isolated pawns you later must defend. Before breaking the center, evaluate resulting weak squares and opponent outposts.
- Tactical blindness in sharp lines. When there’s imbalance (sacrifices, open kings), slow down and run through candidate moves — checks, captures, threats — before hitting the clock.
Concrete drills & short-term plan (next 4 weeks)
- Daily tactics: 12–20 puzzles/day with focus on forks, skewers, deflection and mating patterns. Track accuracy, not speed.
- Candidate-move checklist: before each move ask yourself (out loud or in head) — “Any checks? Any captures? Any threats?” Use this in every sharp position for two weeks until it becomes automatic.
- One theme per week:
- Week 1: Rook lifts and second-rank attacks — practice rook lifts and converting the 7th/2nd ranks.
- Week 2: Sacrifices vs. back-rank and decoy tactics — learn when exchange or rook sac is sound.
- Week 3: Simple endgames — king + pawn basics, rook endgames, and Lucena concepts.
- Week 4: Opening plans — deepen middlegame plans from your two best openings.
- Play two slow rapid games per week (15|10) and do a short post-mortem without engine first: write down 3 moments where you changed the evaluation and why.
- Weekly review: pick one loss and one win; run them with engine for tactical misses but focus on the decision process (why you chose a move, what you missed).
Opening notes — keep what’s working
Your openings performance shows clear winners. Double down on the plans and typical pawn breaks instead of memorizing long move lists.
- QGD: Chigorin — you’re scoring well here. Study typical piece maneuvers and where the queenside knights outpost (b5/d4) appear. QGD: Chigorin, 3.cxd5
- King’s Indian Attack (French setup) — you convert kingside play effectively. Work on timing the pawn break and coordinating rook lifts. King's Indian Attack: French Variation
- Be cautious with lines that produced your loss and earlier struggles (French Exchange / Albin) — review common tactical motifs and sidelines so your opponents’ tricks become familiar. French Defense: Exchange Variation
Example: a clean tactical win to study
Here’s your recent finish against Saparrr — nice sequence: rook sac on f7, queen infiltration, and mate on h7. Replay it slowly and note the moments you forced the opponent’s king into those weaknesses.
Want me to annotate this game move-by-move and highlight alternative candidate moves for both sides? I can do that.
Small technical checklist to use in every game
- Before any capture: ask “What piece replaces mine? Are there checks or forks?”
- When you see a tactic for you, check for a tactic for your opponent immediately after — often the counter exists.
- If the position is sharp and you’re low on time: simplify if you’re ahead; complicate if you’re behind — but calculate at least one forcing line.
- End of game: trade down into a winning simple endgame (passed pawn + king activity) rather than hunting another tactical shot.
Next step — what I can do for you
- Make a custom 4-week training plan with daily tasks and links to specific puzzles.
- Annotate one game (win or loss) move-by-move focusing on candidate moves and turning points.
- Generate 30 tactics focused on the motifs you miss most (forks, deflection, discovered checks).
Which would you like first?
Extras / useful references
- Your recent opponent profile (for the mate game): saparrr
- Openings you excel in: QGD: Chigorin, 3.cxd5 • King's Indian Attack: French Variation • QGD: Ragozin