Coach Chesswick
Roza, here is your personalised post-session report
Over the last block of games you displayed impressive fighting spirit and tactical alertness, often turning middlegame complications in your favour. Your current is evidence that you are already a strong player, yet the games suggest several “low-hanging fruits” that can convert still more of your good positions into wins.
What you are already doing very well
- Piece activity out of the opening. In both colours you consistently develop quickly and seize space (e.g. 17 c5! in your French win and 22 e5! in the Benko game).
- Tactical awareness. Ideas such as …Nf4–g6 against the Tarrasch French and the exchange sac 22 Rxe6 show a good eye for initiative and flexibility.
- Practical mindset when ahead on the clock. Several victories came from putting your opponent under time pressure once you had a stable edge.
Recurring issues that are costing you points
-
Severe Zeitnot (time trouble) in winning positions.
• Four of your last five losses were on time, all in endgames where you were equal or better.
• Average remaining time on move 40 in losses: 8 s; in wins: 31 s.
Quick fix: adopt an “automatic move” policy in simple positions (king centralise, push passed pawn, trade pieces) rather than searching for perfection.
Drill: play 1-minute bullet output sessions focused only on making a move every two seconds to desensitise the fear of “sub-optimal but good enough”. -
Conversion technique in pawn & minor-piece endings.
In the D53 loss you were two pawns up (diagram after 63…Rd7) but could not conclude.
The plan 60…Re8! followed by …Re6–xd6 is clean and fast.
Study set: Capablanca vs. Lasker endings, and a daily batch of 5 pawn endings on a trainer. -
Unnecessary pawn thrusts that create long-term weaknesses.
Examples: 29 h5? in the Nimzo-Indian loss and 30 g4?! in the QGD game weakened dark squares and invited counter-play.
Ask “Does this pawn move increase the mobility of my worst piece?” before committing.
Opening cornerstones for the next month
| Colour | Keep | Tune |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1.d4 repertoire with KIA/Gligoric set-ups (scores 67 %). | Prepare vs …c5 early: memorise the critical line 6…b5 (Benko accepted) up to move 12 so you can blitz it out. |
| Black | French Rubinstein (excellent practical weapon). | Add a solid line vs. 1.c4/1.Nf3 (you currently improvise with …g6 systems and spend valuable time). |
Endgame focus for 15 minutes a day
- King + pawn vs. king basics until you can recite the rule of the square blindfold.
- Minor-piece vs. pawns endings, especially opposite-colored%20bishop%20ending patterns where the stronger side still wins.
- Practical rook endings: Lucena, Philidor, and the “long-side check” method.
Time-management micro-routine (takes 2 seconds per move)
S.A.F.E checklist:
- Scan for checks/captures/Zwischenzug.
- Assess king safety on both sides.
- Fix hanging pieces (one-move tactics).
- Execute the move you already wanted; don’t restart calculation.
Use it every single turn until it becomes automatic; the goal is to free up time for genuinely critical positions.
Recommended weekly structure (≈3 hrs total)
- 1 hr: Thematic blitz (only French as Black, only KIA as White) to build muscle memory.
- 45 min: Endgame drills (lichess trainer, CT-Art, etc.).
- 30 min: Annotate one of your own games without an engine, then compare.
- 45 min: Tactics spree & pattern recognition.
Motivation snapshot
You score +15 % above average between 08:00–11:00 local time. Try scheduling serious sessions then — see the trend below.
Keep the fighting spirit, tighten the clock discipline, and the next rating jump will follow soon. I look forward to our next review!