Quick summary
Nice stretch — your results are trending up and you’re converting advantages reliably. You show good tactical sense and flexibility across several openings. Below I highlight what’s working, what to fix, and a short training plan you can use in the next 2–4 weeks.
What you do well
- Opening variety and comfort: you get playable positions from many systems (for example the Scotch Game and Alekhine\u0027s Defense), which makes you hard to prepare for.
- Creating concrete chances: you generate strong kingside and central play — castling long plus pawn-storm patterns are effective in your games.
- Tactical awareness and exchanges: you spot and force favorable exchanges, then convert into winning endgames.
- Closing games: when you get an advantage you tend to press and convert rather than relax — good discipline for rapid time controls.
Key areas to improve
- King safety with opposite-side castling. Casting long invites pawn storms — be extra careful about early pawn pushes that open files toward your king.
- Avoid repeating maneuvers without a clear plan. Moves that shuffle a piece back and forth often cost time and let the opponent seize the initiative.
- Timing pawn breaks. Improve evaluating when a pawn break helps your coordination vs when it creates enemy counterplay.
- Technical endgames & simplification choices. You convert well, but simplifying earlier when safe can remove counterplay — practice basic rook and pawn technique so conversions become more automatic.
- Targeted opening prep vs problem lines: your loss in the Catalan Opening suggests a specific line to study or avoid until you know it better.
Concrete, short training plan (next 4 weeks)
- Daily tactics (20–30 minutes): focus on pins, forks, discovered attacks and back-rank patterns. Aim for accurate solves rather than bulk volume.
- Endgame drills (3×/week, 20 minutes): king & pawn, rook vs rook+pawn, Lucena and Philidor ideas (Lucena Position). Make these positions automatic.
- One opening to master (weekly): pick an opening you play often (for example the Caro-Kann Defense or the Scotch Game). Learn typical plans and one common reply your opponents use.
- Post-mortem habit: after every rapid game, annotate the 3 winning lines and 3 critical mistakes (5–10 minutes). For complex losses, run an engine check only after your own analysis.
- Play training constraint: in 5 rapid games, refuse to castle long — forces you to practice alternative plans and improves your sense of safe middlegame structures.
In-game checklist (use these every game)
- Before castling: scan for open files toward that side and enemy pawns that can advance.
- Before repeating a piece move: ask “does this change the position or only lose time?”
- If ahead in material: simplify when it reduces opponent counterplay — but only if it doesn’t activate their king or create passed pawns.
- In time trouble: keep moves solid and avoid speculative attacks; trade when safe and simplify to a winning endgame.
Concrete examples from your recent games
You used a clean exchange sequence to eliminate counterplay and enter a winning endgame in the game where you played against gmhellers. Another game (opponent Madara Golsta) shows the danger of opposing-side castling: your attack succeeded, but only after careful timing — a reminder to evaluate pawn pushes before they open files toward your king.
Next steps I can help with
- I can annotate one of your recent games move-by-move (pick any from your list). Tell me which opponent (for example gmhellers or Madara Golsta) and I’ll give a focused 8–10 point post-mortem.
- I can generate a 2-week tactics set tailored to the patterns you miss most (pins/discovered checks/back-rank).
Final note
Overall you’re doing well: consistent wins, a positive rating slope, and good conversion skills. Focus the next month on king safety when you castle opposite sides, tighten piece coordination (avoid aimless repeats), and make endgame technique automatic. Send one game you want annotated and I’ll make it actionable with exact move alternatives.