Coach Chesswick
Feedback for Diana Samigullina
What you already do well
- Tactical alertness. In your last win you punished 17…dxe5 with 18.Rxd7!, converting with precise forcing moves. You often spot zwischenzug ideas and tricky forks. Zwischenzug
- Central space gains. Your trademark advance d4–d5 (or e4–e5 with Black in the Caro-Kann) regularly cramps opponents and invites piece activity.
- Piece harmony. Knights land on outposts (Nb5, Ne5, Nf6) and the queen cooperates with rooks on open files (Qh5+, Qa4, Qd1–h5). Your attacking wins show good coordination.
Key areas to reinforce
- Opening discipline with Black vs 1.e4. One loss came after 1.e4 f5 2.e5 g5?? allowing 3.Qh5#.
• Stick to your solid Caro-Kann when the clock is short.
• Build a concise move-order file so you never improvise under time pressure. - King-safety choices in the Slav/Queen’s Gambit structures. In the loss to Pale_Horse_Rider you weakened dark squares with h4–h5 while your own king stayed on g1. Consider castling long or keeping the h-pawn at home until Black commits …cxd4.
- Clock management. Two recent defeats were “won on time” in promising positions.
• Aim to have ≥ 40 sec when you reach simplified positions.
• Practise one-minute “conversion drills” on won endgames to speed up your technique. - Endgame conversions. When you are clearly better you sometimes keep queens on and allow counter-play (see the Slav time-trouble loss with …Ra1). Learn the “don’t wake the king” rule: trade queens when up a pawn and the remaining ending is easy.
Opening snapshot
| Colour | System | Next study step |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1.d4 Torre/Torre-London hybrids | Add one line vs early …Bf5 (…g6 & …Bg7 models) |
| Black vs 1.e4 | Caro-Kann Exchange …g6/…Bf5 set-ups | Prepare the main-line 5…Bf5 6.Nf3 e6 7.Be2 Bd6 to avoid ad-lib …g6 ideas |
| Black vs 1.d4 | Slav & King’s Indian | Review move orders that keep the knight off a5 after d4 d5 c4 c6 Nf3 Nf6 e3 |
Mini-exercise from your own game
After 24…f4? in your win vs bloodboy22, you played 25.Bh5+!. Find the mate-in-three continuation that begins with 30.Qxe8+.
Next four-week training plan
- Week 1: 30 tactical puzzles per day filtered for “quiet” tactics to balance your sharp eye with prophylaxis.
- Week 2: Build a handwritten repertoire card for the first ten Caro-Kann moves; play 20 blitz games using only that card.
- Week 3: Endgame clinic – rook & pawn vs rook, Lucena and Philidor; test yourself in 15 Lichess studies.
- Week 4: Annotate (not just analyse) each game you lose; write one improvement sentence per move you regret.
Progress tracker
Peak blitz rating: 2319 (2021-10-07) • Use the charts below to spot when your win-rate dips (tilt hours) and schedule breaks.
Motivation
“You don’t have to play perfect chess—just a little better than yesterday.” Keep your sharp style, add 10 % more safety, and the next rating jump will follow naturally.