Matej Sebenik GM

Brief match summary

Nice session — you finished a clean tactical win and a long technical game, and you also had one loss that ended on time. Your play shows good attacking instincts and opening familiarity, but blitz time management and some endgame handling cost you one game.

• Embed of the tactical win (finished with a mating net on h7):
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• Opening in that win: Nimzo-Indian Defense (you reached active piece play and a successful king attack).
• Opponent / practice reference: lerne2

What you're doing well

Your recent games show several strengths that you can rely on in blitz:

• Strong attacking vision — you spot mating ideas and force the opponent into defensive moves (the Q-h7 finish is a good example).
• Opening familiarity — you reach dynamic middlegame structures quickly and consistently (your openings performance shows many lines with >60% in some setups).
• Piece activity and coordination — you bring rooks, queen and bishops into the attack rather than waiting passively.
• Psychological pressure — you force opponents into time trouble and convert at least one win via opponent timeout. You create practical problems under the clock.

Recurring issues to fix

These are the patterns that cost you games or rating over time in blitz:

• Time management: the loss and at least one opponent defeat ended on time. With 5+2 you can avoid most time losses by spending 1–3 seconds on quiet moves and saving time for critical moments.
• Endgame technique under the clock: several long games reached complex rook/major-piece endings where you had chances but drifted or ran low on time. Practice simple conversion patterns (Lucena, basic rook vs pawn) to speed decisions.
• Occasional tactical looseness: when you transition from attack to simplification you sometimes leave a back-rank weakness or hanging minor pieces. Double-check checks, captures and threats before committing in critical positions.
• Choice of risky sidelines: some opening lines you play have lower win rates (for example, certain Sicilian Closed lines). Focus your blitz repertoire on reliable, practical systems you know well.

Concrete, short-term training plan (2–4 weeks)

Designed for blitz gains that transfer to rapid play.

• Daily 15–20 minutes tactics (focus on mates, forks, pins, back-rank themes). Prioritize speed & pattern recognition — blitz tactics drill.
• 3× per week — 20 minutes on 5+2 practice games, forcing yourself to use increments: practice “thinking 2–3 seconds on quiet moves, 30+ seconds on critical ones.”
• Endgame block (3 sessions × 30 min): rook endgames (Lucena, Philidor), king + pawn vs king basics, and simplified queen/rook mates. Learn one conversion pattern per session.
• Opening maintenance — pick 2 main lines you will use in blitz (one with White, one with Black) and run 10–15 minutes of worked examples and typical plans each day. Drop low-performing sidelines (e.g., the Sicilian Closed if it’s producing trouble) or streamline them into simpler move-orders.
• One review per week: go through a loss and the tactical win in depth and write 3 lessons learned per game (time usage, missed tactics, better plan).

Practical blitz checklist (use before and during games)

• Before the game: pick a short, stable repertoire and a concrete plan for the opening — don’t “experiment” in the first 10 games back.
• Move discipline: if nothing changed, spend only 1–3 seconds on the obvious move (develop / recapture). Save your clock for critical lines and calculations.
• When ahead on the clock: trade into simpler winning structures if you can convert without risk; don't enter long theoretical endgames unless you're confident.
• At every move, ask: “Does my opponent have a check or capture?” — especially in blitz where hanging pieces are common (avoid Loose Piece errors).
• Use increment to take a 1–2 second pause before making the next move — it prevents mouse slips and reduces flag chances.

Specific, immediate fixes from these games

Three small changes that will pay high dividends:

• Guard h7/g2 squares early in attacks: you used the h7 mating target excellently in your win — force the opponent to weaken those squares rather than rely on luck.
• When simplifying: check for opponent counterplay on open files (in the loss you faced strong rook activity; trade only when opponent’s rook activity is neutralized).
• Clock protocol: at move 20–30 in 5+2, if your clock < 30s, stop calculating super-deep lines — use practical, safe moves and rely on increment to regain time.

Weekly micro-plan (what to do next 7 days)

• Day 1–3: 3× 5+2 blitz sessions (5 games each) + 3× 15 min tactics.
• Day 4: 30 min endgame core (Lucena + simple rook mates) + review one loss move-by-move.
• Day 5–6: Opening drill (10–15 min each) on your chosen two lines; play 10 training games with them.
• Day 7: Rest or light puzzle session and review improvements (compare time usage statistics).

Next steps & helpful reminders

• Keep the momentum: your 12‑month trend slope is positive — small, steady changes will continue that. The Strength Adjusted Win Rate (~0.48) shows you’re near an even baseline vs similarly strong opponents — the gap to a consistent +score is largely in time and endgame conversions.
• Be pragmatic in blitz: choose safe, sensible moves over “beautiful but slow” sacrifices unless you’ve calculated them quickly.
• After each session: note one tactical motif you missed and one decision where you spent too much time. Short feedback loops improve blitz fast.

If you want, I can...

• Analyze one of the loss games move-by-move and mark 3 turning points to turn into training tasks.
• Build a 2‑line blitz repertoire and a one-page cheat sheet of plans/structures.
• Create a 4‑week calendar with daily drills tailored to your openings performance and time-trouble pattern.

Tell me which option you want and I’ll prepare it.