Coach Chesswick
Hi G M – Personalized Blitz Review & Action Plan
Your recent 3-minute games show a healthy ~2250 rating range and a fighting style that produces many decisive results. Below is a concise assessment drawn from the last 10 games (6 wins, 4 losses) and supported by your performance dashboards:
2301 (2025-02-23)What you already do well
- Active piece play. In the win against deki1967 you seized the initiative with 24…Rxb2!!, then converted via the powerful double-rook lift …Rf8-f5-f3+.
- Opening variety. King’s Indian Attack (1.g3) as White and both Alekhine’s Defense & Slav structures as Black keep opponents guessing.
- Alert tactical vision. You rarely miss one-move shots; e.g. 33…Kh7!! calmly sidestepped perpetual ideas before delivering 38…Qg6#.
Recurring improvement themes
- Time management – your #1 leak.
• Three recent losses (vs oppslider, Misimp2024 & pawnhopper316) were winning or equal positions that collapsed on the clock.
• Average time per move in the opening is 5-6 sec – slightly high for 3 | 0.
➜ Goal: reach move 15 with > 2:10 left. Consider a 3 | 2 time control for training and practise “0-2-4 rule” (0 sec for theory moves, 2 sec for obvious recaptures, 4 sec for everything else). - Converting extra material.
In both Alekhine games vs OppSlider you were a pawn up but allowed counterplay by neglecting king safety (…Qg6? 41…g6?); endgames slipped away.
➜ Checklist before simplifying: (a) king safety, (b) rook activity, (c) passed pawns. If two are in your favour, trade; if not, improve first. - Opening depth.
• As White the KIA with 7.a3?! hands Black an early …a5/…Ra6 tempo. Consider the main line 7.Nbd2 & 8.Ne4 instead.
• With Alekhine’s Defense you reach the Modern / Balogh set-ups but often misplace the dark-square bishop (…Bh5-g6-e4 shuffle). Study the model game Larsen–Fischer 1958 where …Bg4 & …e6 equalise smoothly.
Illustrative sequence – tactical finish from your latest win
Key moves (Black to move, move 34):
34...Rxf2+ 35.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 36.Kh3 Rf3+ 37.Kg4 Qg2+ 38.Kh5 Qg6#
Notice how every move was check or capture – a good habit to emulate when low on time.
Action plan for the next two weeks
- Opening tune-up
• Add 20 min of targeted repertoire work every other day.
• Prepare one crisp sideline vs 4.Bc4 Alekhine (…dxe5 & …Nc6 line) to cut opponent prep. - Clock discipline drills
• Play a daily set of 10 bullet games focusing solely on speeding up the first 10 moves.
• Review only the games you lose on time; identify the moment the pace slowed. - Endgame refresh
• Spend 15 min/day on rook endgame puzzles. Your Slav loss vs Misimp2024 showed difficulty converting R+P vs R.
• Start with the classic Lucena & Philidor setups Lucena position.
Motivation snapshot
Your blitz peak is currently 2301 (2025-02-23). Hitting +50 elo is realistic once time-trouble losses are trimmed; that alone would have added +18 elo in the last session.
Keep the pieces active, trust your intuition in blitz, and—above all—watch that clock! See you at the next training review.