Vsevolod Rytenko IM

Hi Vsevolod!

You have had an impressive run lately, peaking at and scoring convincing wins against several 2300–2600 blitz players. Below is a summary of what is working well and where you can gain the most rating points next month.

What you already do well

• Tactical alertness. Your win against AlexJaykz (Sicilian B44) shows crisp calculation: the 26.Rd7+ clearance and follow-up exchange sacrifices were engine-approved. You convert extra material confidently once the tactics are over.
• Piece activity from the opening. Whether you play the Kan, Taimanov or Scandinavian, you usually finish development quickly and seize open files (…Re8, …Rad8). This leads to middlegames where you can out-calculate opponents.
• Fighting spirit in worse positions. In several games you were objectively worse but generated enough counter-play (…g5, …h5) to turn the tables.

Recurring problems

• Time management. Four of your last seven losses come from flagging in equal or even winning positions. You often reach move 25 with <10 s, then bullet-mode errors creep in (see chart). A simple fix: decide on an automatic “think on opponent’s time, move in ≤5 s on my time” rule until move 15.
• King safety in the Scandinavian. Your most recent loss ended in mate after 30…Rg6. Black’s queen/rook battery along the g-file was allowed because your own king stayed on c1 lines too long. Studying the Mieses–Kotrc variation with 5…Nf6 (instead of 5…Bg4) will reduce such risks.
• Handling opposite-wing pawn storms. Games vs banhgiahuy2606 & Hamzeh_Masoud show that when both sides pawn-storm, you sometimes push prematurely (e.g. 20.c3?!, 30.h4?!) and leave weak squares behind.

Critical moment diagnostic

The final position from your Scandinavian loss is worth memorising:

Notice how every black piece cooperates while your pieces are either undeveloped (a1-rook) or stuck on the back rank. The takeaway: if you sacrifice a pawn for activity, finish development immediately or switch to defence.

Opening tune-up plan (next 2 weeks)

1. Spend one session with an engine on each recent loss where you castled long in the Scandinavian. Add the improved lines to a personal .pgn.
2. Create a “Crisp Kan move-order” flash card set: key ideas after 6.Be3, 6.f4, 6.Bd3. Drill them 5 min/day.
3. Play 20 practice games with the French Exchange as White to vary your repertoire and reduce predictability.

End-game & practical skills

• Clock-handling drill. Once per day play a 5 + 5 game focusing on keeping ≥1 min after move 30. Annotate only the moves made under 5 s; ask “Could I have decided earlier?”
• Technical conversion. Your win vs Lorenz0_8 ended with knight & rook technique. Strengthen this by solving 20 rook-ending studies on the Chess.com drills page (filter: “basic rook vs pawns”).

Mental checkpoints for each game

1. “Is my king safe?” If not, fix before searching for further tactics.
2. “Am I behind on the clock?” If yes, simplify or adopt a strict move/think rhythm.
3. “Who controls the only open file?” Fight for it—90 % of your wins involve doubling rooks on an open file.

Progress tracker

Re-run these stats weekly:

Glossary refresher

Review the concept of zwischenzug and zugzwang—they appear frequently in your Sicilian structures.

Keep up the strong work, Vsevolod. With tighter clock control and a small adjustment to your Scandinavian set-up, 2400 blitz is within reach!