Coach Chesswick
Quick recap — what I saw in your recent bullet set
You had several clean tactical finishes and practical time wins, plus one game where a passed pawn racing to promotion decided the result. Your recent rating slope and win totals show clear improvement — the work is paying off. Below are concrete strengths, recurring leaks, and short drills to tighten things up.
Games to review
- Fast tactical collapse by opponent — you punished a simple opening mistake and finished quickly. Replay the sequence:
- Simple tactical win as White — you used a forcing bishop move to win material quickly:
- Loss vs jad-bal-ja — key sequence: a connected passed pawn on the h-file advanced and promoted. Instead of a PGN snippet, focus on the text line: when an enemy pawn starts marching, prioritize trade/blockade or attack its base immediately.
What you do well
- Quick tactical recognition in the opening — you convert opponent mistakes immediately.
- Practical endgame technique when short on time — you simplify into winning conversions and win on the clock reliably.
- Good variety in openings; you keep opponents uncomfortable and score well in many aggressive systems.
- Consistent upward rating trend — your training/playing rhythm is effective.
Recurring problems (where points are leaking)
- Passed-pawn defense / promotion races: in your loss the opponent's h-pawn marched and you didn’t trade/block early enough.
- Time management: you win many on time but also create positions that become messy in severe time trouble.
- Some openings leave you without a clear middlegame plan (notably lines where you score poorly in your stats). That makes you guess under the clock.
- Pawn-structure weaknesses — you sometimes leave holes or backward pawns that opponents exploit with piece invasions.
Concrete fixes — actions for the next week
- Tactics: 12–20 minutes daily focused on passed-pawn motifs, queen-vs-pawn races and mating nets. Do the exact puzzle after each bullet loss.
- Endgames: 3 short sessions (10–15 min) this week on queen vs pawn promotion races and basic blockades; practice converting when ahead on time.
- Time rule: in 1|0 games add a simple habit — spend an extra 1–2 seconds on moves 1–6. Avoid risky pre-moves except in clear recaptures.
- Opening triage: keep what wins (your Amar Gambit / Barnes / Scandinavian lines). For weaker lines (e.g., lines where your WinRate dips), either replace them or learn 5 typical plans so you don’t get lost early.
- One-week drill: play 20 bullet games with the restriction “if opponent has a passed pawn, either trade it or blockade within 6 moves.” This trains quick decision-making versus passers.
Micro-tips to use during games
- See a pawn start marching? Ask: can I trade it, attack its base, or put my king in front? Pick one plan immediately.
- Under severe time pressure, prioritize safe moves that remove opponent threats rather than flashy tactics.
- If you have a time lead, steer the game toward simplified endgames where you convert with practical technique.
- Reduce pre-moves in complicated positions — pre-move only on forced captures to avoid mouse slips.
Mini 7‑day training plan
- Days 1–3: 15 min tactics (passers, mating nets) + 5 focused bullet games (no pre-moves in messy positions).
- Days 4–5: 15 min endgame practice (queen vs pawn promotion, blockade) + 3 rapid/classic games if possible.
- Days 6–7: Bullet sprint (20 games) with the “trade/block the passer” restriction; review every loss for one recurring error.
Next step — what do you want?
I can annotate one full game move-by-move (suggest the loss vs jad-bal-ja or the long endgame win vs ESP-918), or build a 2–3 week training calendar tuned to your openings. Which do you prefer?
Small encouragement
Your trend and totals show you’re improving steadily. Fix the passer/endgame handling and tidy up a bit of time management and you’ll convert many of those narrow losses into clear wins.