Roman Gavrilin NM

Feedback for Roman Gavrilin (“Romkachess”)

1. What you’re already doing well

• Opening versatility. As Black you handle both the Sicilian (Najdorf & sidelines) and off-beat systems such as the Philidor, while with White you switch smoothly between 1.e4 and 1.d4/London structures. This keeps opponents out of preparation.
• Initiative-seeking play. Your recent wins against jammmmm256 show a willingness to seize space (…c5/…e5 break vs the London and 9.a4! vs the Caro-Kann) and convert it into durable piece activity.
• Daily-chess discipline. In correspondence time controls you rarely blunder pieces and your calculation depth is evident (e.g. 15.cxd5! in the Accelerated London game, exploiting the pin on the d-file).

2. Recurrent themes to improve

2.1 Time management in fast chess

Five of your last seven live games were lost on time from playable or even better positions. In bullet/blitz you often enter an excellent technical ending (see diagram after 30……Rb8 vs Bobancio) but run out of seconds.

• Adopt a “draw-ish bailout” rule when under 5 s: exchange queens or force repetition instead of searching for the absolute best move.
• Use your opening repertoire to reach familiar pawn structures so you can play the first 15 moves nearly on autopilot.

2.2 Over-pressing in equal positions

The loss vs mukesh_micro (Daily, Canal Attack) is instructive: after 21…Nb7 you pushed unprepared kingside pawns and weakened dark squares, allowing …f5–f4. A quieter plan (doubling rooks on the e-file and only then advancing f4) would have kept the bind.

2.3 Tactical oversight vs engines/strong bots

Against Coach-David-BOT the motif 18…Nxf3+ exploited an absolute pin on the g-file — a textbook example of a deflection-with-check tactic. Drilling 3-to-5-move forcing sequences daily (e.g. via Puzzle Rush ≤20 s per move) will hard-wire these patterns.

3. Opening-specific pointers

• Najdorf move orders. In several blitz games you reached ∆Nc5, …d5 breaks too late and allowed White’s a4/b4 steamroller. Study 6…e5 (& …Be6) vs 6.Bg5 to learn the thematic …h6 & …g5 counter-strike.
• Philidor/Lion. The plan ‹…h5/…g5› is powerful, but remember centre first. Insert …c6 or …exd4 before a5/a4 appears, or you’ll be left with loose pawns as happened versus Fox1397.
• Closed Sicilian as Black. After 2.Nc3 d6 3…e5 you reached a fine Benko-style bind but exchanged queens on d5, removing winning chances. Consider the thematic …f5 pawn lever instead.

4. End-game and technical conversion

When you do reach rook endings with time on the clock you convert confidently (see 17…h6 → 0-1 vs Jammmmm256). Two tweaks will raise your ceiling:

1. King activity. In several Sicilian endgames your king remained on g8 while the opponent’s marched to d4. Make it a habit to play …Kg7, …Kf6 the moment queens are off.
2. Opposition drills. Practise “rook & 4 vs rook & 4” endings against an engine at 10 s per move; aim for <90 % engine score loss.

5. Suggested study plan (next 4 weeks)

• Daily: 15 tactical puzzles + 1 annotated classic game (focus on Carlsen end-game technique).
• Alternate days: play one 10|5 rapid game, self-annotate, then compare with engine to identify “first tactical miss”.
• Weekend: 30-minute opening refresher — build mini files for (a) Najdorf vs 6.Bg5, (b) Philidor Lion with early …c6.

6. Stats & tracking

Keep an eye on your progress:

• Peak ratings: 2711 (2024-03-19), 2737 (2025-02-01)
• Momentum charts:
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Stay disciplined with the clock, sharpen your tactical eye, and your already impressive playing strength will become even more formidable. Good luck in your upcoming events!