John Watson IM

Personalised Feedback for John Watson

Below is an overview of the strong points in your play, the main areas that currently hold you back, and a concrete improvement plan for the coming weeks. Wherever useful I have inserted interactive elements (game snippets, stats and charts) so you can explore the material in more depth.

What you already do very well

• Dynamic opening choices. As Black you consistently trust the French Defence (Winawer with …Bb4) and the Queen’s Gambit Declined. These systems suit your willingness to enter unbalanced positions early.
• Tactical alertness. Your most recent win shows how quickly you punish inaccurate moves. After 7.Qxg7 Rg8 8.Qh6 c5 your counter-attack was swift and decisive.
  
• Practical time management. In winning games you keep a healthy clock edge.
  gives a nice visual confirmation that you score particularly well in fast evening sessions.

Areas that need attention

• Over-extension against flank pawn storms. The loss to Sam_ChessMood (D30) shows that accepting every pawn thrust (…hxg5, …c5) can leave you with multiple weaknesses and no safe king. Try to ask “What is my opponent really threatening?” before reacting.
  
• Defensive technique. When the initiative swings, you sometimes miss calm consolidating moves (e.g. …Qc7–e7 instead of …Rc8 with only 15 s on the clock). A strong defender always asks, “Can I trade queens?” or “Can I close the centre?” at the first sign of danger.
• Converting winning endgames. Three recent defeats were on time or by blundering in technically won positions. Endgame drills will give you the confidence to finish the job faster.

Concrete 3-week improvement plan

1. Daily micro-training (15 min). Solve three defence-first puzzles where your side is worse. Focus on holding, not winning.
2. Opening clean-up. Use the lazy man’s repertoire rule: if a line has cost you two games in a row, spend 30 minutes fixing it. Start with the 7.g4 line versus your QGD.
3. Endgame fundamentals. Work through the first 50 pages of “Silman’s Complete Endgame Course”, then play out 20 K+P vs K endings against the engine.
4. Play-and-review cycle. Every three rapid games, annotate one fully, focusing on (a) critical moments, (b) missed resources, (c) time usage. Do not skip the losses; they are gold mines.

Quick reference & tracking

• Peak rapid rating: 2347 (2018-04-16)
• Win rate by day:

Next milestone

If you follow the plan, aim for a stable +50 elo increase in rapid within a month and for your blunder rate to drop below 2.5 % per game. I will be happy to review your progress then. Good luck, John!