Coach Chesswick
Hi Pukani Gallo!
You are putting in the board-time and it shows – a quick glance at
and tells me you are steadily collecting experience. Below is some focused feedback extracted from your most recent games.1 | Current strengths
- Fighting spirit – you rarely give up and often find practical tricks (e.g. the resourceful 29…b5 vs mjohnson74074).
- End-game persistence – the rook endings against 7palmos and Vj1040 were converted cleanly.
- Creativity – you are not afraid to leave the “book” early; this keeps opponents thinking.
2 | Recurring issues
- King safety – early pawn pushes such as f3, h4, a4, b4 often replace sensible development and leave your king in the centre. Three of your last five losses ended in a direct king hunt.
- Opening discipline – several openings violate basic principles (multiple pawn moves, moving the same piece twice, lingering queens). The game that started 1 e4 f3?! is a striking example.
- Time management – you lost on time from favourable positions against tfsteph and jay123love. Typically you burn 50 seconds on a tactical flurry and then blitz the rest.
3 | Illustrative fragment
The next PGN (loss to ravens2008) highlights all three problems. Pause at move 12 and search for improvements before revealing the continuation.
- 2 f3 weakens g1–a7 and hobbles your own knight.
- The queen-side pawn storm leaves your king stuck in the middle until move 22.
- At the critical moment (23…Ng6+) you had barely 60 seconds left – a tall order in a complicated position.
4 | Action plan (next 14 days)
- Simplify your repertoire
• White: play the Italian (e4, Nf3, Bc4, c3, d3, O-O).
• Black vs e4: play 1…e5; vs d4: basic Queen’s Gambit Declined.
Limiting openings lets you learn patterns instead of memorising moves. - Two-pawn rule: in the first 10 moves push at most two pawns (usually e- & d-pawns); every extra pawn advance needs a concrete reason.
- Castling checklist: each move until you castle ask, “Can I castle now?” – if yes, do it unless a direct tactic forbids it.
- Tactics workout: 20 puzzles a day, aiming for 80 % accuracy. Focus on forks, pins, & back-rank themes.
- Clock awareness: switch to 3 + 2 time control for at least 20 games; force yourself to keep ≥30 seconds in reserve. Use the increment to rebuild the clock.
- Post-game habit: spend five minutes with the game report; write down (not just think) one better move for every blunder flagged.
5 | Goal tracking
Your current best is 1011 (2017-03-11). Let’s target +100 points by the end of next month. Re-evaluate after 30 rapid or 50 blitz games and adjust the plan.
Keep enjoying the game, and good luck on the climb!