Overview
Your recent daily games are all against Coach Levy, a much stronger player, so the losses are not a disaster. The important thing is the pattern that shows up again and again. You have good ideas, but small lapses in safety cost you material and the game.
What you are doing well
- You start games with a consistent and reasonable setup in the Reti Opening, playing Nf3, e3, b3 and Bb2 to control the center from a distance.
- You develop your pieces and often fight for the initiative with moves like a4 and active knight jumps.
- You do not give up early. In the second game, you kept defending a long attack and made your opponent work hard for the win.
Main weakness: king safety
Your biggest recurring problem is the safety of your king. In the first game, after a pin from the bishop on b4, you moved your king to d1 to escape the check. That left your knight on d2 unprotected and you lost it. Moving the king early also gave up your right to castle and exposed your king in the center. When you are in check, look for ways to block, capture, or finish development, and castle as soon as possible.
King safety also matters when you push pawns around your king. In the second game and the fourth game, pawn moves such as g3 and h3 opened lines for your opponent and gave their rooks and queen a target. Before making pawn moves in front of your king, ask yourself what lines you are opening.
Use king safety as a top priority in every move. Ask: Is my king able to castle? Are any squares around my king weak? Would my opponent like to open this file?
Watch out for pins and hanging pieces
The first game shows a clear tactical lesson. After 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nc6 3. d4 Nf6 4. c4 e6 5. b3 Ne4 6. Bb2 Bb4+, your knight on d2 was pinned. Instead of rushing the king forward, you needed to break the pin by developing and creating a safe square. When a pin is removed, check whether the piece you were relying on is still defended.
Later in the same game, you were a piece down because of a Pin that you tried to resolve too quickly. In the fifth game, pieces were left unprotected and the opponent was able to grab material. Look for loose pieces on your side before every move and at the end of each turn check that all your pieces are defended.
Opening plans and consistent development
You often reach a familiar Reti-like setup, so the problem is not the opening itself. The issue is what happens around move 7 to move 15. You need to learn the typical plans in your system: which pawn breaks to choose, where the king should castle, and which pieces belong on which squares.
In the third game, you traded queens early and left your king without castling while your opponent had a safer king. In the fourth game, you spent moves moving the same knight and allowed your opponent to take over the center. Try to make each move with a clear purpose and avoid moving the same piece several times before you have completed development.
How to improve
- Start a daily routine of checking your king's safety before every move, especially before pushing pawns on the side where you intend to castle.
- Practice recognizing pins and loose pieces. Before moving a piece, ask whether anything else is left undefended.
- Review each of your lost games with a focus on move 10 to move 20. Identify the exact moment when your position became difficult and try to find a better move instead.
- Learn a few simple plans for the Reti Opening so you know where to place your rooks and when to play d4 or c4.