Avatar of Benedict Smail

Benedict Smail NM

Recombinant Since 2015 (Active) Chess.com ♟♟♟♟♟♟
42.8%- 47.7%- 9.5%
Bullet 2506
988W 1195L 159D
Blitz 2502
14492W 16044L 3256D
Rapid 2136
14W 11L 3D
Coach Chesswick's Profile Photo
Coach Chesswick

Feedback for Benedict Smail

Great job on the recent streak of dynamic wins! Your attacking instincts are obvious and your current peak of 2544 (2022-04-28) shows steady improvement. Below are a few focused areas that can help you climb to the next level.

1. Time Management – the low-hanging fruit

  • Five of your last six losses were on time in positions that were still playable or even better for you. Treat the clock as an extra piece:
    • Make simple decisions quickly (recaptures, obvious forcing moves).
    • Aim to keep ≥45 s on the clock after move 20 in 3-minute games. Use
      Win Rate by Hour100%75%25%0%50%0:00 - 41.6%1:00 - 40.8%2:00 - 41.5%3:00 - 42.9%4:00 - 43.2%5:00 - 42.8%6:00 - 43.3%7:00 - 43.5%8:00 - 43.2%9:00 - 43.6%10:00 - 43.2%11:00 - 44.2%12:00 - 46.9%13:00 - 33.3%14:00 - 49.1%15:00 - 41.8%16:00 - 36.6%17:00 - 46.9%18:00 - 42.9%19:00 - 44.8%20:00 - 41.8%21:00 - 43.1%22:00 - 43.1%23:00 - 42.3%01234567891011121314151617181920212223Hour of Day (UTC)
      to verify progress.
    • When clearly winning, shift to “increment-friendly” techniques: trade queens, avoid complex pawn races, and pre-move safe recaptures.

2. Opening Hygiene

You score well with mainstream setups (e.g., QGD as White, Sicilian vs. 1.e4) but struggle when structure becomes unfamiliar.

  • Against Anti-Sicilians (Alapin, Closed): have a ready system (…d5 break vs. Alapin; …e6 & …d5 vs. Closed) so you don’t burn time.
  • Queen’s Gambit Declined: in your win vs. honestgirl you used 8.Qd2!? + 10.cxd5. Nice tactical feel, but the light-square bishop got stuck later. Study the model plan ∆Bd3, 0-0, e4 to keep the bishop active.
  • Add one new line a week; test it in 5|5 to get reps without severe clock pressure.

3. Tactics & Calculation

  • Many decisive moments revolved around missed intermediate moves (Zwischenzug). Solve 10–15 timed puzzles daily focusing on forcing-move trees “check, capture, threat”.
  • When pieces swarm the opponent’s king, pause for 5-second blunder-check before executing the flashy sacrifice.

4. Converting Advantages

  • In the win vs. TheKnightBefore, you were +6 but allowed counter-play before finishing. Adopt the “Two-step conversion” rule:
    1. Simplify (trade into a clearly won endgame).
    2. Push passed pawns only when your king and pieces are maximally active.
  • Replay the critical phase quickly:
    . Ask: “Where was the safest win?”

5. Endgame Toolkit

Your middlegame attacking skill often leaves you low on endgame mileage. Shore this up:

  • Practice basic rook endgames (Philidor & Lucena). Two of your time-forfeit losses could have been drawn with correct rook placement.
  • Play thematic endgame sparring (30-move preset rook + 4 pawns vs. rook + 4) with a friend or against bots.

Next Steps

  1. Track blitz sessions with a 5-minute post-mortem; note one recurring mistake each day.
  2. Revisit these notes weekly and plug the biggest leak first.
  3. Check progress in a month via
    Win Rate by Day100%75%25%0%50%Monday - 43.5%Tuesday - 42.0%Wednesday - 43.3%Thursday - 43.7%Friday - 43.2%Saturday - 42.0%Sunday - 42.6%MonTueWedThuFriSatSunDay of Week
    . Aim for +5 % improvement in games finished with >10 s on the clock.

Stay curious and keep the pieces active—looking forward to seeing Benedict Smail break the next rating plateau!


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