Georgios Haliamanis FM

Recent Game Review

Georgios, your recent blitz games show a clear understanding of aggressive opening approaches and tactical play, especially in your victories using lines like the Trompowsky Attack and active piece play. You are effective at creating pressure and exploiting tactical opportunities, as demonstrated by your sharp pawns and piece advances in your winning games.

• Your handling of the advanced pawn pushes (such as pushing your central pawns to open lines) is a strong point, allowing you to seize control of the center and restrict your opponent’s pieces.
• You successfully utilized timely piece exchanges to simplify into winning endgames, showing good conversion skills.
• In victories, your use of threats against the enemy king and coordination of queen and rook were decisive.

However, in your losses, notice that control and safety of your king were sometimes compromised, particularly facing opponents who attacked the kingside and opened files for their rooks. There is room to improve your defensive positioning and calculation under pressure to avoid tactical oversights that lead to losing exchanges or decisive attacks against you.

Areas to Focus On

• King Safety: Prioritize keeping your king safer in the middle and endgame by anticipating opponent threats and maintaining a solid pawn shield.
• Opening Preparation: Continue refining your knowledge of the openings where you find success, such as the Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, where your win rate is above 59%. Also, consider reviewing critical sidelines within your less successful openings like the Alekhine Defense variations where your win rate dips.
• Positional Play: Strengthen your ability to improve piece placement and understand when to exchange pieces versus keeping tension on the board. This will help you maintain initiative and avoid becoming passive.
• Time Management: In blitz games, managing your clock efficiently is key; try to avoid spending too much time on less critical moves and reserve your thinking for crucial moments.

Overall Progress and Suggestions

Your rating trend over 1, 3, 6, and 12 months is positive, with a recent 3-month increase of 196 points signaling strong improvement. This upward trend, along with a strength-adjusted win rate just above 50%, shows that your training and practical experience are paying off well.

• Keep reviewing your own games to identify recurring mistakes, especially in losses and draws, focusing on missed tactics and endgame technique.
• Practice visualization and calculation drills to help reduce tactical errors in fast time controls.
• Consider exploring strategic themes in your favored openings to enhance your middlegame plans and transition smoothly from the opening.
• Maintain balanced training that includes openings study, tactics, endgames, and practical game play to continue your steady climb.

By concentrating on these focused improvements and leveraging your strengths, you will solidify your performance and continue to gain rating points.

Links to Study

• Study the Trompowsky Attack
• Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation Theory
• Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation Insights