Geoff Lawton IM

Hi Geoff (“omisoc”) – recent performance review

Quick recap of your last games

• 👍 Solid win as Black in Crazyhouse vs ashermitten – you converted an early initiative into a direct mate with the thematic @g2# drop.
• 👎 A string of near-identical losses to the same opponent in Crazyhouse and a Chess960 loss to markgaryjones suggest a few systematic blind spots rather than mere bad luck.

What you’re already doing well

1. Piece activity & initiative – you routinely seize open lines and keep pieces on aggressive squares. Your last win shows confident queen infiltration (…Qxd4+, …Q@d2+).
2. Pocket management when attacking – you save Bishops/Knight drops (e.g. B@e4, N@g3+) until they are decisive, rather than “spending” them too early.
3. Variant flexibility – you jump between Classical, Chess960 and Crazyhouse without obvious hesitation. That adaptability is rare and worth nurturing.

Key patterns to address next

1. King safety in Crazyhouse
   • You often allow N@f2/h2/f7/h7 or B@d3/c4 drops because you castle late or advance flank pawns.
   • In three of the lost PGNs the final mating net started the move after you captured near the enemy king (giving the attacker fresh material).
   → Before every capture ask: “Does this hand over a tempo & a piece for my opponent to drop near my king?” If yes, look for another plan.
2. Early all-in sacrifices in King’s Gambit–style lines
   • Against …Qh4+ (Falkbeer–like) and …Bb4 ideas, you play Bxf7+ and Nd5 lines that leave your king stuck in the centre without enough pocket material to compensate.
   → Consider calmer setups such as 5.d3 or 6.Nc3, keeping your king flexible. Save the pawn storms for when you already have spare pieces in hand.
3. Square & colour complexes in Chess960
   • In the loss to markgaryjones you weakened the dark squares (…d5, …Bxd4, …Qh6) yet exchanged your own dark-square bishop on move 4.
   → In unfamiliar starting positions, first identify which colour-complex is vulnerable before committing pawn moves or trades.
4. Endgame conversion & clock usage
   • Although most games finish tactically, the win vs road2gm5000 shows you can outplay opponents in technical endings.
   • You usually keep ≤20 sec on the clock at the finish. Turning some of the saved time into double-checking opponent threats would erase several “one-move blunders”.

Action plan for the next 30 games

• Play a mini-match (10 games) of Crazyhouse where you force yourself to castle by move 10 unless tactically impossible.
• After every loss, annotate the first move that gave your opponent a @-drop check. Store them in a personal “danger squares” notebook.
• Solve 5 tactics per day that start with your king in check; focus on escape squares and blocking drops (pattern training).
• Experiment with 3 games of the Queen’s Gambit or London in Classical time control to practise slower, structure-based chess.

Useful reference terms

initiative • king safety • colour complex • tempo

Your progress at a glance

Highlight game to revisit

Re-live your recent Crazyhouse win and note how every capture handed you a new resource:

[[Pgn|1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Bf5 3. Bf4 e6 4. Nc3 Bd6 5. e3 Bxf4 6. exf4 Nf6 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 O-O 9. B@e5 B@e4 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Qxe4 B@d5 13. Qd3 B@e4 14. Qe3 N@c4 15. Qd2 Nxd2 16. Kxd2 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Qxd4+ 18. Ke2 Q@d2+ 19. Kf1 N@g3+ 20. fxg3 @g2#]

Keep up the creative play, Geoff, and tighten those defensive bolts – your attacking talent will shine even brighter!