Pedro Romo

Pedro, here’s some constructive feedback based on your recent games

1. What you already do well

• Spotting loose pawns & tactics. In your win against carlotilla you punished 7. O-O? with the accurate 7…Qxb2! and converted the extra material quickly.
• Playing quickly in live games. Your clock handling is solid in 15 | 10; you seldom get into time trouble there, which keeps blunders low.
• Fighting spirit. Even when positions are messy you keep looking for active resources rather than drifting passively.

2. Biggest growth opportunities

1. Opening discipline & king safety
   Many of your losses start with ambitious pawn thrusts (…g5, …b5) before your king is secure. In the daily game versus polimix you pushed …b5 and …b4 early and never recovered.
   
   Recommended exercises:
   • For Black vs 1.e4: test the solid Petroff or Classical Philidor instead of the risky King’s Gambit-type lines you reach after 2…exf4 3.Nf3 g5.
   • For Black vs 1.d4: try the Queen’s Gambit Declined or Slav to practise sound development before pawn storms.

   Critical moment illustration:
   
   
   Black is a pawn up but every piece is undeveloped and the king is still in the centre. Aim to castle before advancing wing pawns.

2. Converting extra material & end-game confidence
   Several resignations (e.g. vs steve_xiii) happened in objectively holdable endings. Work on basic rook-and-pawn and minor-piece endgames so you trust your technique and fight on.
3. Tactical calculation depth
   You often see the first shot but not the follow-up. Allocate 10–15 seconds after finding a promising move to verify opponents’ replies—especially forced checks and zwischenzugs (zwischenzug).

3. Quick action plan for the next 30 days

• Play 10 themed games each with the goal “castle before move 10” and review any game where you fail.
• Daily puzzle routine: 3 easy, 3 medium, 1 hard tactic. Focus on forcing moves.
• End-game drill: 15 minutes every other day on Lucena & Philidor positions and basic minor-piece mates.
• Replace the early …g5 defenses with one classical system and stick to it for at least 20 games.

4. Scheduling & mindset tips

indicates you perform best in late evenings—try to play your serious games then.
Review your personal peaks (1542 (2017-06-28)) to remind yourself what you’re capable of, and keep confidence high.

5. Summary

Your tactical eye and fighting spirit are real assets. By tightening opening structure and polishing basic end-games you’ll remove most of the easy points you currently give away. Stick to the action plan, track progress with

, and I expect a clear rating jump within a month.

Good luck, and enjoy the journey!