Quinten Ducarmon IM

Quick summary — what you did well

Nice run in these recent blitz games. You finished sharp tactical sequences, converted material/endgame advantages cleanly, and you’re comfortable creating direct attacking plans with pawns and pieces.

• Strong tactical awareness: the exf7 finish against reshetkov shows you spot decisive captures and follow-up checks quickly.
• Good endgame technique: in the game vs lc0daniel2003lh44 you converted a rook/king endgame without giving counterplay — precise rook activity and mate threats.
• Opening consistency: you play lots of Caro-Kann Defense and related systems — that gives you reliable, practical positions in blitz.

Concrete things to improve (and where they showed up)

Small adjustments will turn more winning positions into reliable wins and reduce losses to stronger opponents.

• Control of passed pawns and pawn breaks — Loss vs athenalegacy: after 31.h4 gxh4 32.Rc8+ Kg7 33.a7 Black resigned. The a‑pawn became unstoppable. Practice preventing/containing outside passed pawns and keep your king more active to stop queening races.
• Pawn overextension / weakening your king side — Win vs reshetkov: your g‑pawn storm worked, but creating pawn levers earlier sometimes left weak squares (e.g., f4/f5). Balance attack with piece cover so opponents can’t exploit square holes.
• Time management in blitz — Several games show sub-20 second clocks late in the game. Keep a 10–15s reserve; use simpler pre-moves only when the position is safe. Prioritize fast evaluation of candidate moves (trade vs keep tension).
• Slav and certain defenses need work — Your Openings Performance shows a low win rate vs Slav Defense (≈28%). Review typical pawn breaks and main plans (b4 minority play vs queenside play and when to exchange on c4).

Tactical and strategic training plan (next 4 weeks)

Short, focused habits that fit blitz practice and will give quick rating/quality gains.

• Daily 15–20 minutes tactics: pattern drill on mating nets, forks, and rook/lift tactics. Emphasize puzzles with passed-pawn races and back-rank motifs.
• Twice weekly 30 minutes: endgame practice — king + pawn vs king, rook endgames (Lucena, Philidor), and basic king activity to stop outside passed pawns.
• Weekly opening session (45 min): pick one troublesome line (start with the Slav Defense and the Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation). Learn 3 typical plans/structures and 1 trap to avoid.
• Blitz match routine: play 10 blitz games with the explicit goal of maintaining 12–15s on the clock at move 30. If you drop below 8s twice, stop and review those games instead of grinding more.

Practical advice for similar positions

Short heuristics you can apply immediately in blitz.

• If you’ve opened a kingside pawn storm (g/h/f pushes), keep a knight or bishop nearby to guard weak squares and avoid creating holes that a knight can jump into.
• When facing an outside passed pawn, trade/neutralize opposing pawns promptly or activate your king to approach the pawn — don’t wait for tactical miracles.
• In simplifications (exchanges) aim to keep the more active piece and force the opponent’s king to defensive posts — convert activity advantage into passed pawns.
• Against compact pawn chains (Caro-Kann/Slav): aim for timely pawn breaks (c5 or e5 depending on side) — learn when the break is tactical vs when it is strategic.

Game-specific takeaways + replay

Review these critical sequences from your recent win — the final pawn/king tactics give good practical lessons:

• Win vs reshetkov (Alekhine ideas + kingside pawn storm): the decisive sequence around 25.e6 and 26.exf7 shows conversion after creating dual threats. Study similar breakthrough motifs in the Alekhine's Defense.
• Win vs qkid2024 (Reti-opening sharp tactical finish): excellent use of queen activity to force mate; keep hunting for queen sorties when opponent’s king is exposed — see the Reti Opening patterns you used.
• Win vs lc0daniel2003lh44 (Sicilian endgame conversion): solid rook play and limiting counterplay; review rook cutting and infiltration ideas in the Sicilian Defense.
• Loss vs athenalegacy (Caro-Kann): passed pawn race that slipped away — reinforce rook activity against passed pawns in the Caro-Kann Defense.

Replay the decisive sequence below (fast review of the final phase):

[[Pgn|20.Bxd5+|20...Kh7|21.g5|21...c6|22.Bb3|22...Bf7|23.d5|23...Bb4|24.Nd3|24...Ba5|25.e6|25...Re8|26.exf7|fen|2rnr3/pp3Ppk/2p5/b2P1pPp/5P2/1B1NB2P/PP6/R1R3K1 b - - 0 26|orientation|white|autoplay|false]

30/90/20 goals for your next 20 blitz games

A focused challenge to measure improvements.

• 30% fewer time scrambles: aim to finish at least 75% of games with ≥10 seconds on the clock.
• 90% tactical check: before every capture in tactical middlegames, spend an extra 1–2 seconds checking opponent’s between-moves and pins.
• 20% fewer losses from passed-pawn races: if you’re losing races more than once every 5 games, stop and analyze the losing games immediately.

Final notes

You’re clearly experienced and convert advantages well — your Strength Adjusted Win Rate (~50.4%) and positive rating trend show that. Tighten the defensive handling of pawn races and clean up blitz clock habits and you’ll turn a lot of close games into wins.

• Next step: pick one lost game each day and annotate the critical 10 moves — focus on alternative defenses and king activation.
• If you want, I can create a 4-week study plan with daily exercises and 10 curated puzzles drawn from these exact mistakes.