Coach Chesswick
Quick overview
Great recent run — your rating trend is moving strongly upward and your win-rate (adjusted) is solid. You’re creating and converting concrete chances in blitz, but a few recurring patterns are costing you losses. Below I highlight what’s working, what to fix, and a short plan to keep the momentum.
What you’re doing well
- Active, direct play — you push in the centre and open lines quickly (example: the game with tamazmchedlidze where the e-pawn push and queen infiltration produced decisive pressure).
- Tactical awareness — you find forcing continuations (captures and checks) that win material or force simplification — see the finish vs sammallam where a clean tactical sequence won material and ended the game.
- Good conversion instincts — when you get a material or positional edge you often trade into a favourable endgame and press the win instead of letting complications return.
- Strong recent rating momentum — your 1/3/6 month slopes and rating jumps show consistent improvement. Keep reinforcing habits that produced that rise.
Recurring issues to fix
- King safety after grabs — in your loss to arjunkrshna999 you accepted tactical complications (a Bxf7+ line) that left your king exposed. When taking pawns or launching an attack, check the safety of your own king first.
- Watch back-rank and hanging pieces in simplified positions — a couple of losses involve allowing the opponent’s queen/rook to penetrate or picking up material while missing counterplay.
- Time management in critical moments — blitz requires fast, practical decisions. You often reach very low time (tens of seconds). Work on quick candidate evaluation and pattern responses so you don’t need deep calculation every move.
- Occasional tunnel vision — when you see a tactic or winning idea, double-check for simple defensive resources (in one game you pushed for a win but missed a defensive resource the opponent used to equalize).
Concrete next steps (this week)
- Daily 15–20 minute tactics: prioritize forks, pins, skewers, and mating patterns. Focus on speed — aim for 8–12 correctly solved puzzles within 10 minutes.
- Study one short endgame: rook + pawn vs rook basics (Lucena, keeping the king active). Practise 5 positions until you can convert quickly under time pressure.
- Opening checklist: for lines you play (for example Italian Game: Two Knights Defense and Owens Defense), write down: typical pawn breaks, one plan for the middlegame, and common tactical traps to watch for. This reduces think time in blitz.
- Play 5 rapid games (10|5) focusing on one goal each game — e.g., “game 1: keep king fully safe; game 2: trade into a rook endgame if ahead” — then review only critical moments (5–10 min per game).
One-month plan (practical improvement)
- Week structure: 3 tactic sessions (15m), 2 opening reviews (10m), 2 practical games (blitz) + quick review (10m).
- Reinforce openings with highest win rates from your repertoire (you do well with Scandinavian and some gambits). Keep what works; deepen one mainline so you can play fast and confidently.
- Timed pattern drills: 2 sessions focusing only on mating patterns and queen/rook endgames under 60s to simulate blitz pressure.
Typical mistakes & micro-checklist (before each move)
- Are my king squares safe? (If no, spend the extra second on a defensive resource.)
- If I capture, what counterplay does my opponent get on the next move?
- Do I have any immediate tactics (checks/attacks on high-value pieces)?
- Can I trade into a simpler winning endgame if I am ahead?
Opening & study suggestions
Given your opening performance, a mix of tactical and solid systems suits you. Focus on a small, reliable toolkit:
- Keep the sharp, tactical lines you win with — practise typical tactical motifs in the Scandinavian and aggressive sidelines.
- Consolidate one safe, simple setup vs common replies so you spend less time in the opening and more on the middlegame plan.
- Use the following short study target: 10 model games in your chosen openings and write one-sentence plans for each typical pawn structure.
Short annotated example (learn from this sequence)
Here’s the key tactical phase from your recent victory vs tamazmchedlidze. It shows proactive pawn breaks and timely queen checks that force wins — replay the critical sequence slowly until the pattern is automatic:
Final notes — short checklist before your next session
- Warm up with 5 quick tactics (3–5 minutes).
- Play focused: decide one improvement target for the session (time, safety, endgame conversion).
- After every game, spend 3–5 minutes reviewing one turning point — what allowed you to get ahead or lose the edge?
Keep building on the patterns already working for you. Your recent rating slope and win trends show the training is paying off — mostly it’s about sharpening defenses and time management in blitz. You’re on the right track.