Andy Woodward GM

Quick summary

Nice streak — you’re winning a lot of fast games by converting small advantages and by flagging opponents. In bullet you’re relying on strong opening familiarity, fast pattern recognition and practical choices. Below I’ll highlight what’s working, what to clean up, and a short, actionable training plan you can start tonight.

What you do well (keep these)

• Opening familiarity — you consistently reach playable middlegames from lines like the Nimzo-Larsen Attack and various Reti/Larsen setups. That saves time and gives practical positions where your opponents make errors.
• Practical simplification — you trade down into winning endgames instead of forcing complications when short on time. That’s why you convert so many games even when the position is only slightly better.
• Time pressure play — you handle flagging well: good pre-move sense and speed under the clock. That’s a legitimate bullet skill.
• Tactical awareness — the recent games show you spot simple forks/pins and force trades when they help your clock more than the opponent’s.

Common mistakes to fix

• Over-trading into unclear endgames while ahead on the clock. Winning on time is fine, but you should still keep a clear path to conversion (avoid giving the opponent counterplay).
• Occasional loose pieces / hanging-pawn moments after early captures (ex: recapturing on f3 opens files but can leave structural weaknesses). Look for quick tactics that punish the newly-weakened squares.
• Incautious queen moves late in the opening — your queen sometimes steps into squares that invite trade or tempo loss instead of improving a piece.
• Relying on flagging too much. When both sides get low you can miss a simple tactic or stalemate resource — aim to keep little margins on the clock (1–3s) rather than 0s risk.

Concrete examples from a recent game

Here’s a compact playback of a recent win — review the transition where you simplify after the central exchanges. Watch how trades remove counterplay and leave you with the initiative:

Open the sequence and step through the exchange simplification:

• Lesson: the trades on the c- and d-files removed active rooks from the opponent and left your pieces better placed. That’s textbook bullet simplification.
• Opportunity: in similar positions try one active rook lift earlier (Re1→Rd1) to keep a tempo advantage before liquidating.

Bullet-specific practical tips

• Pre-move smartly — only pre-move captures that are safe (no intermezzo or discovered checks). If you’re low on time, pre-move recaptures on an obvious capture square, not speculative ones.
• Openings: keep mainlines simple and familiar. If you play Nimzo-Larsen Attack-type systems, memorize 2–3 move orders and the key pawn breaks so you don’t burn time finding a plan.
• Clock discipline: when up on the clock, aim to keep at least 2–3 seconds. If you find yourself under 10s often, start spending 1s more in early opening moves to avoid panic later.
• Endgame shortcuts: practice a small set of conversion recipes — king activation, rook behind passed pawn, and basic knight-vs-pawn motifs — so you can convert with the clock ticking.
• Quick check routine: before every move glance for checks, captures, threats (3-second safety scan). That cuts blunders dramatically in bullet.

Short training plan (30–45 minutes/day)

• 10 min tactics train — focus on forks, pins, discovered attacks. Use a timed mode to simulate clock pressure.
• 10 min opening drill — pick your top 2-3 systems (you already have great numbers in Nimzo-Larsen Attack) and run through common sidelines and one typical plan per system.
• 10 min endgame drills — 3 positions: king+pawn vs king, rook vs pawn, minor-piece endings. Play them against engine/solver from slightly worse and slightly better sides.
• 5–15 min bullet practice — play a small session (5–10 games) applying the “3-second safety scan” and conservative pre-move rules.
• Weekly: review 5 losses and 5 messy wins. Mark recurring themes (timing, hanging piece, bad trade) and fix one at a time.

Next steps for your next session

• Tonight: run the PGN above and pause after each exchange — ask “Does this trade improve my worst piece or theirs?” If yes, trade. If not, improve a piece first.
• Try one behavioral change: do a 3-second scan before every move for the next 20 bullet games. Track how many blunders you cut.
• Pick one partner/opponent to follow — for example Fever_Code — and study how they try to complicate endgames. That will prepare you for common counterplay.

Motivation & final notes

Your win rates and opening stats show you already have a very effective, practical bullet approach. Move small, practical edges into lasting improvements: tidy the few recurring tactical slips, tighten your pre-move habits, and keep practicing simple endgames. Those micro-improvements will convert your strong bullet win-rate into more clean, de-risked wins.

If you want, I can: (a) create a 2-week micro-plan tailored to the exact openings you play, or (b) annotate 3 of your recent losses and show precise alternate moves you could try under time pressure. Which do you prefer?