Coach Chesswick
Hi Arghyadip!
Great work maintaining a ~2300 live-rapid level (2452 (2021-06-27)) and playing frequent tournament games. Your recent performance shows several clear strengths that will help you climb further, together with some concrete areas to polish.
What you’re already doing well
- Opening variety & ambition – you switch comfortably between 1.e4 and 1.d4, and as Black you handle both the French and Slav structures. This flexibility will pay off long-term.
- Tactical alertness – many wins feature accurate combinations (e.g. 7.Nxd5! cxd5 8.Nxf6+ against Harsha712). Your eye for forks and discovered attacks is sharp.
- Piece activity focus – you routinely fight for the initiative, even when a pawn down. Your win vs GOAT160510 is a textbook illustration: rooks doubled on the 7th, constant pressure, and a clean conversion.
- Work ethic – the volume of games across the day is impressive (). Consistency builds intuition.
Key improvements to target next
-
Time management
Two of your recent losses (vs Aaryan-Varshney & shadow_master99) were on the clock from near-winning positions. Practise the “10-second rule”: move once your calculation tree resolves to one safe line; deeper lines can be checked on the opponent’s time. -
Endgame conversion technique
In the loss to arnavkoli you resigned an arguably drawable R+P ending. Review fundamental rook endgame principles (Lucena Position, Philidor Position, “cutting the king”). Push a pawn-at-a-time in lichess studies or tablebase drills. -
Pawn-break awareness in the Slav / QGD
Games vs Aaryan-Varshney and Aronyak1 show trouble once White achieves the d5–d6 or d4–d5 break. Study model games by Kramnik for the …c5 break timing. Extra homework: – annotate why 11…b6? slows your counterplay. -
Prophylaxis & king safety
In the King’s Indian Four-Pawn game you allowed 19.g4 with tempo, forcing your queen back and losing momentum. Before advancing flank pawns ask “what squares am I weakening?” and apply prophylaxis.
Opening micro-fixes
- Center Game as Black: after 3…Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.e5 Nd5 6.Qe4 6…d6 is stronger than 6…Nb6. It hits e5 immediately and scores well.
- French (Pelikan): the sequence 3.f4 Nf6 4.exd5 exd5 is solid but after 5.Bb5+ 5…Bd7 keeps the extra tempo compared to 5…c6.
- Slav with …Bb4: study the “Ukrainian Defense” setup …dxc4/…b5 to avoid cxd5 IQP positions where you seemed less comfortable.
Suggested weekly routine
| Day | Focus | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Mon / Thu | Endgame drill (rook + pawn vs rook) | 30 |
| Tue / Fri | Tactics puzzle rush & blindfold knight tours | 20 |
| Wed | Opening review – add annotations to one recent game | 40 |
| Weekend | Play two 15 + 10 games; self-analyse before engine | – |
Mindset tip
“When you find a good move, look for an even better one, but when the clock is critical, play the good move.”
Keep enjoying the game, and remember that every loss is a free lesson from a Grandmaster named Experience. Good luck in your next tournament, and let me know how the training plan feels after two weeks!