Robert Ris IM

Constructive Feedback for Robert Ris

Quick Snapshot

• Peak form: 2815 (2025-02-14)
• Typical session rhythm:
• Day-to-day consistency:

What’s Working Well

1. Opening Mastery & Variety
   With Black you reliably reach comfortable structures in the Bogo-Indian and various Sicilians; with White you score heavily in flexible set-ups (1 Nf3/1 d4). Your 0-1 against Todd Andrews shows smooth transition from opening to a favourable middlegame.
2. Tactical Alertness
   The miniature Ng7# vs. moroccanchess23 demonstrates excellent calculation speed. You convert loose king positions efficiently once the initiative is yours.
3. Converting Endgames
   Several wins (e.g. the knight ♞ cleanup in the same game) reveal good technique in R+N and N-pawn endings—an area where many blitz players stall.

Key Growth Areas

1. King Safety After …gxf6 / pawn pushes
   Loss to raymclung featured an exposed king and dark-square holes once …gxf6 appeared. Consider rehearsing “king in the centre” drills and delaying …cxd4 until the monarch is secure.
2. Over-extension of flank pawns
   Several defeats (Witik & paulgalas) began after ambitious g- and h-pawn thrusts that created permanent targets. Before pushing a wing pawn, ask “Can my opponent’s minor piece jump into the square I’m leaving?”
3. Time-pressure Quality
   You often reach <10 s with winning positions and survive on flag. Blitz converts must still respect increment formats. Add 30-second “spike” breaks in puzzle training to imitate critical moments.

Action Plan

• Weekly: Analyse every loss where your king was checked >3 times before move 25. Log patterns.
• Study: 30-min module on prophylactic thinking (e.g. “What is my opponent’s next check, capture, threat?” each move).
• Drills:
  • Defensive resources in the Nimzo-Indian (…dxc4 lines)—aim to hold the structure after 12 e4.
  • Endgames: Knight vs. connected passed pawns (you win them, now rehearse holding the worse side).
  • Bullet-proof tactics: back-rank motifs & queen sacrifices (mirroring your own wins).
• Practical tweak: In blitz, adopt a 10-second rule: if you dip below 25 s, play three moves on intuition to regain time, then reassess.

Motivational Highlight

Your best recent finish:

Keep sharpening your strengths, tidy up those defensive details, and the jump beyond 2800 blitz is well within reach.