Radosław Psyk

Quick summary

You played some sharp, ambitious blitz: you created kingside pressure, found a tactical knockout in the Caro‑Kann game and converted cleanly. The games also show a recurring weakness: defending against connected passers and long pawn races in simplified endgames. Your short‑term form is trending up — keep the focus on cleaning a few endgame and time‑management habits.

Games & key moments

Highlights to review (click to load the winning line):

• Win vs Jure Borisek in the Caro-Kann Defense — excellent kingside pressure, a tactical finish after opening lines (you sacced on h5 and used the g‑pawn breakthrough to open the h‑file). Replay:
• Loss vs Danger_in_prime — opponent converted a passed pawn and you were unable to generate effective counterplay; final sequence allowed promotion(s) and mate. This is a typical pattern worth targeting in training.

What you did well

• Active piece play and initiative — you repeatedly put pieces toward the enemy king and followed up when lines opened (good in blitz).
• Sharp tactical vision — the Nxh5+/sac idea and follow‑up forcing moves show decisive calculation under time pressure.
• Opening consistency — you stick to systems you know (Alekhine, Caro‑Kann etc.), which gives you practical chances quickly.
• Mental resilience — you bounced back from losses and kept pressing in later games (your recent rating slope and +45 last month reflect that).

Main areas to improve

• Endgame technique vs passed pawns — in the loss you let connected/advanced pawns promote. Practice basic king+rook vs pawn and defensive setups to stop promotion races.
• Pawn‑race awareness — when pawns start rolling toward promotion, count the race immediately and prioritize either blockading or creating faster counterplay (rook activity, checks, or advancing an opposing passer).
• Trade timing — when the opponent’s passer is unstoppable, look to simplify into positions where your active pieces can create perpetuals or stalemate resources; avoid simplifying into a pawn race you lose.
• Blitz time‑management (3|0) — make the first 10 moves faster and keep enough time for critical endgames. If you regularly fall below ~20–30s late, adopt a slightly faster opening routine or predecide standard replies.

Concrete drills (next 2 weeks)

• Daily 15–20 minutes tactics — focus on mate and pawn‑race motifs (discovered checks, promoted piece tactics).
• Endgame blockades (3× per week) — practice positions: king+rook vs passed pawn, rook behind passers, opposition and shouldering in king and pawn endings. Use 10‑15 saved positions and play them out against engine at low depth.
• One game review per day — pick your loss and annotate the single turning point: where counting the pawn race or changing move order would have changed everything.
• Blitz routine — first 8 moves in 15s (preparation), then switch to normal speed. This prevents running into severe time trouble once the middlegame/pawn race arrives.

Practical checklist to use mid‑game (blitz)

• Count pawn races immediately: how many move to promotion for each side? If you lose the race, look for checks/captures to disrupt it.
• Is there an available blockade or an outpost for my king/rook? If yes, implement it before simplifying.
• If you have the initiative, keep pieces on board — simplify only if it reduces opponent’s passer or creates perpetuals.
• When opponent's king is exposed, prioritize forcing moves (checks, captures, threats) rather than long repositioning in blitz.

Opening and repertoire notes

• You get good practical chances from Alekhine Defense and Caro-Kann Defense lines — keep the main ideas but add 1–2 concrete plans vs common replies so you don't spend too much clock early.
• Against opposite‑wing pawn storms (your kingside expansion vs Caro‑Kann), remember to: (a) calculate the sacrificial idea precisely and (b) make sure you have back‑rank escape squares after opening files.

Next steps I suggest

• 7–10 days: follow the drills above and do 10 annotated blitz reviews (5 wins, 5 losses).
• After 2 weeks: play a 50‑game blitz block and track how many losses are from passed‑pawn promotions / endgame slipups. If still frequent, add more endgame practice.
• Keep a short “blitz checklist” on a phone note and consult it between rounds.

Motivation & final notes

Your trend and strength‑adjusted win rate show you belong at high blitz levels — you just need to tighten a few technical areas (endgames, pawn races, and a tiny bit of time management). Play focused drills and keep reviewing the exact turning points in losses. You’re very close to converting this form into a stable rating bump — keep it up!

Want a short annotated analysis (one or two critical positions) of the loss where the passed pawn promoted? I can mark the exact move(s) to improve and give 3 practical alternatives you could have played in the heat of blitz.