Sergey Karjakin GM

Hi Sergey!

Below is a concise, data-driven assessment of your recent online play, followed by practical recommendations. Everything is based on the games supplied and on your general style; feel free to cherry-pick what is most useful for over-the-board preparation.

1. What’s working well

• Fast initiative in Open Sicilians. In the Najdorf win versus g3god you uncorked the modern h3-g4 line and converted the space advantage into a queenside squeeze and unstoppable h-pawn. The move-order awareness after 10…hxg5 11.Nxg5 is textbook.
• Resourcefulness in inferior positions. Several bullet losses flipped to winning or drawable positions before time trouble struck. Your defensive radar is clearly intact.
• Peak form indicators. 3023 (2021-03-04) and 3245 (2020-10-25) both remain world-class, confirming that the core of your repertoire still scores strongly against every rating bracket.

2. Growth opportunities

• Time-management in Bullet (≤60 s). Three of your last five losses were on the clock. Even when the engine shows equal positions, you are entering critical moves with <5 s. Consider practising premove drills and “10-second conversion” exercises to reinforce endgame muscle memory.
• Consolidation after sharp pawn storms. In several victories you shuffle a knight (Nf3–g5–e4–f6, etc.) more than once. Against top opposition that tempo can matter. Challenge: try to freeze your structure for two moves after the initial break and ask, “What is my opponent’s only counter-chance?”
• Reducing self-pin scenarios with queens on f-file. Your loss to aa175 featured …Qg5-Rh7 motifs against you because Qf2/Qe2 gave Black tempi. A prophylactic h4/h5 earlier or king swing to h2 could have dodged it. A 5-minute exercise: load similar structures and run “king safety only” training in a blindfold board.

3. Opening micro-tips

• Alekhine Defence 4…dxe5 lines. In the loss to Oleksandr_Bortnyk, 12.c5?! allowed …Bc7 and the dark-square blockade. Modern trend: 12.Nxf5!? exf5 13.c5 with improved piece activity.
• Scandinavian (Black). Your 7…Nc6 in the game versus YnotFrost is playable, but 7…Bb4+ followed by …Nc6 scores better in the database and avoids the a3/Qb4 skewer ideas you faced.

4. Recommended training menu (next 2 weeks)

1. Play three bullet sessions focusing ONLY on flagging technique: once a pawn up, switch to premove mode and aim to win with >3 s on your clock.
2. Analyse 20 random positions starting on move 15 of your own games with the question, “Can I castle by hand or hide the king one square safer?” No engine for the first five minutes.
3. Blitz sparring vs Oleksandr Bortnyk or any 3000+ bullet specialist; annotate every endgame reached with ≤10 s each.

5. Visual breakdown

6. Annotated reference games

7. Quick inspiration corner

“The hardest piece to improve is often the king.” – anonymous endgame tablebase

Good luck, and see you at the board!