Kevin Su NM

Quick summary

Kevin — nice session. You show strong piece activity and a good nose for simplifying into winning endgames in bullet. A lot of your recent wins come from turning small advantages into concrete pressure and from faster clock handling. Below are focused, practical suggestions to turn those bullet strengths into more consistent results.

What you did well

• Fast, active development — you consistently bring pieces to useful squares early and look for trades that improve your position.
• Cleaning up tactics — you won several games by converting tactical skirmishes quickly instead of letting complications fester.
• Using opponent time pressure — you keep moves solid when the opponent is low on time and convert practical chances (won a number of games on opponent time).
• Reliable winning openings in your repertoire — you have clear go-to lines that give good practical play and high win-rates (e.g., London-type systems and other lines you’re comfortable with).

Concrete things to improve (bullet-focused)

• Time management: you often win on opponent time, but you also lose time. Try to keep a reserve (3–5 seconds) for complex moments. In a 10+0.1 setting, avoid long think-time on early non-critical moves.
• Premoves & mouse moves: pre-moves are great for trivial recaptures but dangerous around tactics. Stop pre-moving when the position has captures or forks in the air.
• King safety & castling timing: in a couple of games you delayed or split rooks while the king stayed in the center — that invited checks and tactical back-rank or diagonal threats. Decide early whether to castle and follow through.
• Endgame technique under the clock: when you reach a won endgame, convert more methodically — reduce counterplay, centralize the king, use outposts. Practice 1–2 rook endgame themes (active rook vs passive rook, cutting the king off).
• Avoid unnecessary exchanges that give the opponent active passed pawns or open files. Trades should increase your concrete plan, not just simplify to a race if the opponent’s pawns become dangerous.

Examples from your recent games

Here are quick pointers from the latest win and loss (you can open the mini-board below for the win to replay the key sequence):

• Win vs turkage: you converted central pressure and used a rook lift to simplify into a winning rook exchange. Useful moment: after queens came off you immediately exchanged into a favorable rook endgame and used active rooks to win on the clock. See the key sequence below:
• Loss: time management cost you. The position was playable, but you let the clock decide. When ahead on material or position, switch to simpler, fast-moving plans (king walk + pawn push, activate rook briefly) and avoid long calculations that don’t change the plan.

Opening & middlegame advice

• Double down on your best lines: you already score well with the London-style setups and a few gambit lines. Keep the core ideas (short development, timely pawn breaks) and memorize 1–2 move-order tactics opponents use against you.
• Handle the center dynamically: in multiple games you accepted early pawn tension (exchanges on d4/d5). When the center opens, prioritize piece activity (rooks on files, bishops on long diagonals) rather than cautious pawn moves.
• Watch for common themes: knight forks on e4/d4, queen checks on the long diagonal, and back-rank tactics after trades. Add these motifs to your opening review checklist.

Practical training plan (7-day cycle)

• Day 1 — 30 minutes: fast tactics (1–2 second solves), focus on forks, skewers, discovered attacks.
• Day 2 — 30 minutes: 5–10 rapid games (3+0.5), practice time-scramble decision-making (when to simplify vs keep the complexity).
• Day 3 — 20 minutes: opening review — study two key opponent responses to your main lines and memorize 2 tactical traps.
• Day 4 — 20 minutes: endgame drills — rook vs rook, opposition king marches, converting with an extra pawn.
• Day 5 — 30 minutes: play 10 bullet games but review 3 losses immediately (1–2 minute post-game notes).
• Day 6 — 20 minutes: focused tactics (mates in 2–3 and back-rank motifs).
• Day 7 — rest or play casually; review marked variations from the week.

Small habits that make a big difference

• Use your increment: even 0.1s helps if you avoid 2–5 second think-spikes on trivial moves.
• When ahead on material, force trades and swap queens if it reduces tactical risk and speeds play.
• Before premoving, scan for checks, captures and threats — if any exist, don’t premove.
• Keep a short checklist for complex positions: piece safety, opponent checks, your counterplay, and a safe pawn move if nothing else.

Next step — what I can do for you

• If you want, paste one full PGN (or tell me which of the recent games to annotate) and I’ll give move-by-move notes and 3 concrete improvements per critical position.
• We can build a 30-move opening cheat-sheet for your best lines so you play the first 10 moves instantly in bullet.

Want me to annotate your last loss move-by-move? Reply with that PGN or say “annotate loss” and I’ll dig in.