Salomeja Zaksaite WGM

Hi Salomėja (“salomez”) 👋

Below is a concise review of your recent blitz games together with practical suggestions to accelerate your progress toward the next rating band. Feel free to revisit this page after every training cycle and tick off the items you have addressed.

1. Quick Snapshot

• Current trend: steady performance vs. 2200-2400, occasional struggles vs. 2500+.
• Typical openings: Queen’s Pawn (g3 systems, Catalan-like setups) as White; Alekhine / Modern / King’s Indian structures as Black.
• Most common result in losses: flagged in an equal or slightly worse position (3 of the last 5 defeats were on time).
• 2449 (2025-06-10) gives you a realistic target—set the next milestone +50 elo above it.

2. What You Already Do Well

• Initiative-first mindset. In your win vs. Aidana Madi you sacrificed the b-pawn (20.Qxa5!) to grab the initiative and never let go.
• Tactical alertness. Nice use of back-rank motifs (23.Rxc8+!) and mating nets (24.Qc6–27.Qh8+).
• End-game technique. In equal rook-and-pawn endings you convert small advantages with good pawn breaks (games on 22 May).

3. Priority Fixes

1. Time management.
   • Average remaining time at move 25 in losses: ≈ 6 seconds.
   • In wins: ≈ 40 seconds.
   Action plan: play two 5-minute sessions per day where you verbally annotate candidate moves but must move with >10 seconds on the clock. Build the habit away from tournament pressure.
2. Stalling French Advance positions. The loss vs. Yaroslav Shevchenko highlighted difficulty meeting …c5/Qb6 ideas.
   • Add the 30-minute chapter on the Milner-Barry Gambit to your study queue.
   • Play at least five training games beginning 1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 to test new ideas.
3. Clarify pawn breaks in Alekhine Defence as Black. In several defeats you allowed White’s space advantage to freeze your pieces. Memorise thematic breaks …c5 and …f6 and rehearse them vs. the engine.

4. Opening Toolkit Upgrades

5. Illustrative Moment

The following key sequence from your latest win shows how quickly the position can turn once the initiative is seized:

Note how Bxg7 removed the last defender, leading to forced weaknesses. Replicate this kind of forcing-move scan in quieter games too.

6. Training Menu for the Next 2 Weeks

1. Daily: 15 min of “instant-move” exercise (move within three seconds vs. 2000-rated bot) to fight time pressure.
2. 3× per week: solve five intermediate tactics featuring …c5/…f6 breaks in cramped positions.
3. Weekend: analyse one loss with a friend or coach, focusing only on the first mistake (not the final blunder).

7. Final Thoughts

You are already playing at a strong candidate-master level. Shoring up time usage and ironing out one or two opening holes will likely push you beyond your 2449 (2025-06-10) within a month. Keep the games coming, and enjoy the journey!