Brief summary
Nice run in your recent blitz session — several clean tactical finishes and good conversion of advantages, but a couple of games show recurring defensive slips around your king. Below are specific strengths, weaknesses and a short practical plan to turn the good bits into consistent results.
One game to review (example)
Here’s the last win where you as Black finished with a mating net after active rook play and piece coordination. Replay it to see how you used open files and switches between the rooks:
Opponent: chrique17 — study the game from move 20 onward to see the rooks switching files and the final back-rank mating pattern.
What you’re doing well (quick list)
- Active rooks and open-file play — you repeatedly invade the opponent’s back rank and seventh rank (many wins show decisive rook activity).
- Tactical alertness — you convert tactics into material or mate (nice queen/rook coordination in several wins).
- Good conversion — after winning material you tend to simplify and convert rather than overcomplicating.
- Strong results with sharp openings — your scores in lines like the Sicilian Defense (Dragon & Najdorf) and Alekhine\u0027s Defense show you handle messy, tactical positions well.
Main weaknesses to fix
- King safety / tactical awareness in defensive positions — your recent loss vs truekach ended in a mating attack (Qxh6 / Qh7 themes). When the opponent mounts an attack on your king, you sometimes underestimate the speed of their threats.
- Tunnel vision in complicated middlegames — you trade into positions where your king becomes exposed or your back rank becomes weak (watch for discovered checks, sacrifices on h6/h7 and back-rank ideas).
- Occasional passive piece placement in the late middlegame — in one loss you allowed opponent rooks and queen to dominate open files, forcing you into a defensive posture.
- Time pressure habits in blitz — several games show fast tactical moves; keep quick checks when ahead but slow down in positions with direct attacking chances against your king.
Concrete, practical fixes (what to practice)
- Tactics daily (15–25 mins): focus on mating patterns (back-rank mates, rook lifts, sacrifices on h6/h7) and common motifs your losses featured (Qxh6, sacrificial deflections, discovered checks).
- Defense drills (2x a week): set up positions where the opponent has an attack on your king and practice finding the fastest parrying moves (blocking, returning material if necessary, creating luft, exchanging key attackers).
- One-line opening review: pick the specific lines you play in the Sicilian Defense and the Giuoco Piano — prepare a default defensive resource for the common attacking tries so you don’t get surprised in the first 15 moves.
- Play slow-postmortems after each loss (3–5 minutes): first list candidate checks and tactics for both sides — did you miss a direct tactic? This habit will reduce tunnel vision in blitz.
- Endgame basics: short rook and pawn endgames practice. You convert well but sometimes drift into passive endings — improving Lucena/Philidor ideas will squeeze more wins.
Mini training plan (2 weeks)
- Week 1: 5 tactics sets (20 problems daily) focused on mating nets and back-rank tactics; 3 defensive positions solved from defender’s side; 3 rapid games where you deliberately spend +10s on critical positions.
- Week 2: Play 20 blitz games, but after each loss spend 5 minutes on a postmortem (identify 1 tactic missed and 1 positional mistake). Add two 30-minute studies of rook endgames.
- After 2 weeks: review 10 of your wins to identify repeatable patterns you used successfully — make those patterns part of your mental toolkit for future blitz games.
Behavioural tips for blitz
- When opponent opens kingside play and you see Q and R aiming at h6/h7, spend the extra second to look for Qxh6 ideas before any pawn grab or simplifying trade.
- If you trade queens early (as in one game), ask: “Does my king become safer or more exposed?” If exposed, avoid trades or prepare luft and defender pieces first.
- Keep a default defensive move: if faced with a direct attack, check for interpositions, king escape squares and possible piece trades — these three checks in that order often stop mating nets quickly.
Use your opening strengths
Your opening win rates show clear strengths in sharp, tactical systems (e.g. Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation and Alekhine\u0027s Defense). Lean into those lines in blitz where practical — they give you dynamic chances and play to your tactical converting skills. At the same time, tighten your responses in quieter lines (Alapin and Closed Sicilians) where the win rate is lower: prepare one safe contingency move there to avoid early passive positions.
Motivation / trend
Nice momentum: +15 in the last month and +141 over six months. You’re trending upward — the fixes above target consistency and should convert your strong tactical wins into a higher long-term win rate.
Quick checklist before each blitz game
- Is my king safe after the next 2-3 moves? (Yes/No) — if No, re-evaluate immediate trades.
- Who controls the open files? If opponent is about to double rooks, stop it now.
- Before grabbing a pawn: any tactical shots involving Q, R to h6/h7 or back-rank? (Look for them.)
Final note
You have excellent tactical instincts and an ability to finish games once you open lines. The biggest improvement area is defending against fast attacking ideas on your king and avoiding tunnel-vision in complex positions. Work the short tactical & defensive drills suggested above and you’ll see those conversion wins become more frequent — and your losses from mating nets drop.
Want a targeted exercise pack (10 tactics, 5 defensive positions, 3 practice lines) I can generate for you right now?