Coach Chesswick
Hi Olga!
Great job maintaining a ~2300 online rating and showing a consistent fighting spirit in every time control. Below is some targeted feedback based on your latest games.
What you are already doing well
- Opening versatility. As Black you switch smoothly between the Caro-Kann (B15, B18) and Queen’s Indian setups, while with White you score heavily in the Réti / King’s-Indian-Attack structures. This keeps opponents out of book and rewards your understanding rather than rote memory.
- Piece activity & dynamic play. In your win against Hopaparei you seized the initiative with 18…Nc5! and never let go, finishing with the neat 37…g6 38.Qh4 Rxf3!
- Converting material edges. Several victories (e.g. vs gt2004) showcase smooth transition from middlegame to a won rook ending without giving counter-chances.
- Recognition of typical tactical motifs. You frequently exploit pins on e-files (…Re8/…Rad8) and tactical shots like …Bxd1 or …Bxh7+ at exactly the right moment.
Growth opportunities
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Time-management in long technical endings.
In the loss to SoLuckyThough you reached a defendable rook + pawn ending but slipped after move 60 with barely 20 seconds on the clock. Even 5-second increments add up—try using the opponent’s think time to outline defensive plans so that your own moves can be played almost instantly. -
Central pawn breaks when you play the Réti.
Games vs SoLuckyThough and HuangHou show the sequence 1 Nf3 d5 2 c4 d4 where you sometimes fall behind after an early …e5/…c5. Consider meeting …d4 either with 3.e3 (aiming for d4–e4 later) or 3.b4!?, or be ready to strike in the centre with e3+d4 faster. -
Handling of opposite-wing pawn storms.
Against Ana Matnadze you allowed h-pawns to advance uncontested. When you have the safer king, pawn storms are fine, but when the kings are castled the same side, spend a tempo on prophylaxis (…h6/h5 or h3/h4) before launching your own attack. -
Endgame technique—rook & pawn vs rook.
In several endings you entered rook+4 vs rook+3 with winning chances but had to settle for grinding. A quick refresher on Philidor & Lucena positions will help convert faster and conserve clock time.
Concrete study plan
- Week 1: Review your recent Réti games; create a mini-repertoire note with best replies vs …d4, …c5, and …e5. Goal: know the first 8-10 moves by heart.
- Week 2: 20 puzzles/day limited to rook endgames. Aim for a 75 % success rate.
- Week 3: Play three training games starting from the critical position after 25.Qd2 Ng6 26.Raf1 (your loss to HuangHou) and test alternative plans with a sparring partner or engine.
- Week 4: Annotate two of your own wins and one loss, writing a one-sentence summary for every move 15-35. This strengthens self-explanation, a proven accelerator of improvement.
Quick reference snippets
Diagram of tactical highlight (vs Hopaparei):
Your personal best Blitz rating: 2307 (2020-05-17)
When are you at your best?
Take a glance at your performance charts to identify sweet spots for scheduling important games:
Final encouragement
Keep embracing dynamic, double-edged positions—your tactical eye is a real asset. A small investment in endgame polish and opening fine-tuning versus …d4 will likely push you beyond your current peak.
Good luck in your next tournaments, and feel free to reach out with any questions!