Coach Chesswick
Hi Lena, here is some personalised, constructive feedback based on your recent games.
1. Celebrate Your Strengths
- Versatile opening repertoire: you handle both 1.d4 (Queen’s Gambit / London-style set-ups) and 1.e4 positions smoothly, showing confidence against a broad range of defences.
- End-game conversion: your daily win against junglejoueur6 showed excellent technique in a rook-and-pawn ending culminating in 41.Bg5#.
- Ratings progress: your current peak is impressive – 2251 (2020-10-14) and 1890 (2018-03-08). Keep building on this momentum!
2. Recurring Themes to Tackle
- Early king safety in sharp systems
• In the 60-second Pirc loss to kaspemi, castling was delayed while you advanced the f-pawn; your king was soon trapped by 26…Rd1+.
• Guideline: if you choose the Pirc, prioritise rapid development & safety (…g6, …Bg7, …0-0) before launching …f5 breaks. - Over-pushing flank pawns
• Several King’s Indian-type defeats featured …h6/…h5 ideas that weakened dark squares (e.g. vs saintvallier).
• Work on recognising when a pawn push truly supports an attack versus when it creates fresh targets. - Tactical alertness under time pressure
• In bullet you missed 53.Qc7# (diagram below) even though material was roughly equal.
• Recommendation: incorporate 5-minute puzzle rush sessions before playing bullet to warm-up your tactical vision.
3. Opening Road-Map (Next 4 Weeks)
| Week | White Focus | Black vs 1.e4 | Black vs 1.d4/c4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queen’s Gambit Declined: exchange ideas on cxd5 | Solid Caro-Kann | Nimzo-/Bogo-Indian set-ups |
| 2 | London quick-castle lines | Pirc — but with early 0-0! | King’s Indian, focusing on classical model plans |
| 3 | Test both 1.e4 and 1.d4 in blitz to stay flexible | Review illustrative Caro-Kann end-games | Benoni structures, emphasis on pawn breaks …b5 / …e6 |
| 4 | Play thematic training games vs engine at depth-6 | Evaluate statistics and adjust repertoire | |
4. Time-Management Checklist
- Openings: use pre-move only for book moves you know 100 %.
- Mid-game: when the clock shows < 1:00, pledge to spend at least one full second on any move that gives or receives check.
- End-games: remember incremental time is your ally; keep the moves simple, avoid fancy tactics when ahead.
5. Suggested Micro-Drills
- Daily: 15 tactic problems < 3 min each.
- 3 x per week: play a 10 + 5 rapid game, annotate, then compare with engine.
- Weekend: review your highest-error game of the week; store critical positions in a “blunder file”.
6. When You’re Ready for Data Deep-Dive
Analyse your performance trends with:
7. Final Encouragement
You are already competing – and winning – against 2000+ opponents. Small improvements in king safety and tactical discipline will push you to the next bracket. Stay curious, keep practising, and enjoy the journey!