Sam Schmakel IM

Hi Sam!

Congratulations on maintaining elite blitz form (current peak: 2896 (2025-07-08)) and a healthy win-rate that stays strong throughout the day

. Below is a quick “strengths & next-steps” summary based on your latest session.

What you are doing especially well

• Tactical alertness & resource hunting – your recent Scandinavian miniature shows razor-sharp calculation:
  
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• Dynamic opening choices – you switch comfortably between 1.e4, 1.c4 and 1.d4, and as Black you aren’t afraid to enter sharp Ruy Lopez or French structures. This keeps opponents guessing and fits your combative style.
• Converting initiative – when you seize the attacker’s role you very rarely let it go. Wins vs Artemii Khanbutaev and Andrei Skvortsov underline that your sense for piece activity is world-class.

Opportunities for fast improvement

1. Clock management
   Three of the five losses in the sample were on time in <30-move positions with winning or equal evaluations. Try the “bursts of instant moves” method: after every big think, pre-move the forced recapture and regain 4-6 seconds. A short daily streak of bullet games focussed solely on speed of decision is often enough to ingrain this habit.
2. Neutralising early queen trades
   In the French Defence loss to reenbok you entered a queen-less middlegame where White could press on the d-file. Consider 9…cxd4 10.Nxd4 Qb6!? – keeping the a7–g1 diagonal and reaching a more comfortable Carlsbad structure. In shorthand: if the queens come off, make sure you are the one first to improve the minor pieces.
3. Arkhangelsk risk control
   Against Enis Metin the early …Bc5 allowed 11.Bd5! followed by Bxa8/Qa8 tricks. Two simple remedies:
   • Play the main …Bb7 lines where …d5 can be prepared safely, or
   • Insert 5…b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 only after 6…Bb7 7.d3 d6, avoiding the Bd5 fork.
   A few blitz reps vs a strong engine should be enough to patch this.
4. End-game conversion
   In the long English vs GMBoorchess you reached a winning opposite-coloured bishop ending yet drifted into repetition and flag. Add 10-minute daily drills of RB-vs-R and minor-piece races; they build the muscle memory to finish without burning the clock.

Quick training menu (2 weeks)

Day	Focus	Time
Mon / Thu	3 Arkhangelsk sparring games vs engine @ 2600	25′
Tue / Fri	Bullet streak: 15 one-minute games, aim >80 % time left	20′
Wed	End-game drill set (table-base guided)	30′
Weekend	Annotated review of two wins & two losses (focus on candidate moves & zwischenzug spotting)	40′

Progress tracker

Use

to watch the effect of reduced flag-outs; aim for a 5 % swing upward over the next 30 days.

You are already playing at near-GM blitz strength. Small tweaks in clock handling and a lighter-risk move-order in the Ruy & French should be worth another 30-40 Elo quickly.
Keep the energy high and good luck in the next Titled Tuesday!