Hi ShakhiMaty!
You are already a very strong blitz player (current peak: 2791 (2021-12-13)), but the recent batch of games shows several clear patterns you can polish to break through the next ceiling. Below you will find a balance of praise and practical, actionable advice.
1. What you’re doing well
- Initiative-first mindset. Your best wins (e.g. against pavelshkapenko on 2022-05-02) come from seizing space and keeping the opponent on the back foot.
- Piece activity out of the opening. The fianchetto setups in the Vienna & Italian give you rapid development and long-term pressure on the centre.
- Tactical alertness under pressure. When the game turns sharp you rarely miss direct shots; see 18…Rxg3! in the Albin Counter-Gambit win:
2. Primary growth areas
- Early queen adventures.
In the O’Kelly Sicilian loss you played 8.Qe2 Qe4 Qf4, allowing …Qxd4 and …c2. Guideline: if your queen moves twice before move 10, make sure she creates a concrete threat. Otherwise develop a minor piece instead. - Coping with …d5 strikes against the Vienna/Four Knights.
Four of your five latest losses with White started 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 !. Study the critical line 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nb6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O Be7 and decide one clear plan (♗e3 & d4 or ♘e2–c3). - Time management.
You flagged against anonim_gm in a won end-game and against Budnikov_Oleg in a drawn queen ending. • Treat every 5-move segment as a mini end-game and top up your clock. • Auto-pre-move obvious recaptures in dead-won positions to save precious seconds. - End-game conversion vs. stubborn defence.
In the 2022-05-02 game versus KhatanbaatarBazar, a better plan was Kg2-h3-g4-g5 before advancing b-pawns; this would fix his kingside and stop the …h5 break. Remember the classic principle “activate the king first in equal pawn end-games.”
3. Opening micro-prep (quick fixes)
| Situation | Upgrade |
|---|---|
| O’Kelly Sicilian 3.b4 cxb4 4.d4 d5!? |
After 5.exd5 Nf6 6.Bd3, prefer 6…Qxd5 over 6…Nxd5. The queen recapture limits White’s pawn chain and keeps …c7-c5 as a resource. |
| Black side of the Italian 3.Bc4 g6 |
Consider the cleaner 3…Bc5 followed by …Nf6, adopting a classical Two Knights/Italian hybrid. You’ll castle faster and cut down theory. |
4. Training menu for the next two weeks
- 15 minutes/day on defensive puzzles (look for “only move” tasks). This specifically targets the queen-in-danger moments that cost you material early.
- Replay the full ending of Capablanca–Tartakower, New York 1924 with a real board; annotate where both sides activate the king. Reinforces end-game king activity.
- Play three 10|0 games vs. a friend or engine where you must spend at least 10 seconds on moves 1-10. Builds the anti-premature-queen-move habit.
5. Performance overview
The heat-map shows you are strongest in the late evening UTC slot but dip sharply during morning sessions:
And finally, here’s how your win-rate oscillates across the week—consider scheduling big rating runs on the “green” days:
6. Quick reference glossary
Hover for definitions as you study:
Keep pushing!
You already possess the tactical sharpness of a master; ironing out the first-10-moves discipline and late-game technique will add 100 rating points without learning a single new combo. Good luck, and feel free to send me any game that still puzzles you.