Coach Chesswick
What went well in your recent blitz games
You showed a willingness to enter dynamic, tactical lines and keep pressure on your opponents. In several games, you created active piece play and looked for chances to seize the initiative rather than passively defending. Your opening flexibility lets you steer the game into uneven or sharp positions where your activity can outpace your opponent.
- You pursued activity and piece coordination in the middlegame, which kept many opponents feeling the pressure.
- Your rooks and minor pieces were often placed on open or semi-open files, creating practical threats.
- You didn't shy away from complex positions, which is a good sign for handling blitz where quick decisions are common.
Key areas to improve
- Strengthen a clear middlegame plan after the opening. Instead of trading into unclear endgames, try to identify a concrete goal for your pieces (e.g., targeting a weak pawn, controlling a key file, or pressing on a specific flank).
- Improve endgame conversion. In several games you reach endgames that are still winnable, but small inaccuracies can flip the result. Practice rook endings and king activity with a focus on using passed pawns effectively.
- Reduce unforced mistakes in sharp positions. When the position becomes tactical, slow down and double-check threats, captures, and possible counterplay before committing to a plan.
- Time management in blitz. Allocate a little time early to form a plan and resist overthinking critical moments; use a simple check for forcing moves to avoid time pressure on move 40+.
- Solidify your opening choices. You have a versatile repertoire, but deep knowledge of 2-3 core lines will help you maintain a consistent middlegame plan and reduce risky improvisation.
Practical improvement plan
- Pick 2–3 openings you enjoy and study the typical middlegame ideas and common endgames for those lines. Build a short reference sheet with key pawn structures and plan ideas.
- Dedicate 15–20 minutes per session to targeted tactics that reflect your chosen openings. Focus on motifs like forks, pins, skewers, and discovered attacks that appear in those lines.
- Do 1–2 endgame drills per week: rook endings, king activity in open files, and simple pawn endings with passed pawns.
- After blitz sessions, review 2–3 moves from any loss or unclear position. Write down one concrete change you will try in your next game.
- Practice time-management drills: in practice games, set a limit where you spend a fixed amount of time for the first 12–15 moves and use the remaining time for the critical middle game and endgame.
Quick, practical targets for the next 2 weeks
- Solidify 2 core openings and learn the main middlegame plans and endgames from them.
- Improve endgame conversion by completing a set of rook endgame puzzles and reviewing at least one rook endgame per week.
- Decrease tactical blunders by practicing a focused 10-minute tactic routine 5 days this week.
- Monitor time usage in blitz: aim to finish the early middlegame with at least 2–3 minutes on the clock for the rest of the game in most sessions.