Coach Chesswick
Hi sassystacks30 – your personalised training report
1. What you’re already doing well
- Fighting spirit: Many of your victories (e.g. against dadaradio) came from complicated middlegames where you kept posing problems until your opponent’s clock or position collapsed.
- Opening variety: You comfortably handle the Caro-Kann, Nimzowitsch and Alekhine as Black and show readiness to play both open (1.e4 e5) and semi-open positions as White.
- Pawn breaks: In your latest win you used …a5–a4–a3 and …c5 to open lines at the right moment – a sign of good dynamic awareness.
2. Repeated trouble-spots
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Time management
Six of your last nine decisive results (three wins, three losses) were decided on the clock. You often spend very little time in the critical last moves – sometimes playing on 0.1 s!
Recommendation: play two or three 5 | 5 (increment) games every session to practise finishing with increment instead of bullet-like scrambles. -
King-side light-square safety
Loss vs frontporch (Four Knights, 19…Qh2#) and vs ursae_majoris (Sicilian Canal Attack) show the same pattern: early …Ng4/…Nf4 or …Qh4-h3 infiltration after you push h- or f-pawns.
Checklist before playing g2-g3, h2-h3 or f2-f3:- Can my opponent sacrifice on g3/h3/f3?
- Is my queen defending the second rank? Is my knight controlling g4/f4?
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Conversion technique in winning endgames
You flagged twice in clearly winning rook endings (see loss vs albamchess). Practise the basic rook win patterns (Lucena & Philidor) for 10-15 minutes/day on a board – no engine.
3. Opening tune-ups (next 2 weeks)
| Side | Position to study | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| White | Four Knights after 8…Ng4 9.h3 | Avoid the …Qh4/…Qh6 ideas – consider 9.Bg5 or 9.Be2 instead. |
| Black | Nimzowitsch 1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 | Memorise the main plan …Bf5, …e6, …c5 rather than repeating …Nb6-b8. |
4. Tactical workout
20-minute routine: 10 puzzles rated +200 over your current tactics rating, then review any misses by searching for the first quiet defence (often a zwischenzug you overlooked).
5. Track your progress
Peak blitz rating so far: 2172 (2021-04-04)6. Quick tactical quiz from your loss to frontporch
Why is 16…Qe3+! so strong and how can White avoid disaster?
7. Weekly assignment (starting Monday)
- Play 10 rapid (10 | 5) games; annotate two of them without an engine.
- Solve 70 puzzles (minimum 10/day).
- Watch one Grandmaster game with the Caro-Kann Exchange and write down three ideas you could reuse.
Stick to the plan for just one month and you’ll feel the rating climb. Good luck, and keep the sass in your stacks!