Sayantan Das GM

Hi Sayantan, here’s some focused feedback based on your latest run of games.

What’s working well

• Tactical alertness: You convert a large number of games on the clock or by winning material in sharp situations. The sequence 25…♖e8–28…♘d4 against ved1703 shows good peripheral vision and awareness of loose pieces.
• Comfort in dynamic pawn structures: Whether it’s the King’s Indian with …f5 or the French with …f6–…e5, you’re not afraid to unbalance the centre and play for the initiative.
• Versatility as White: You switch smoothly between 1.e4 and 1.d4, giving you a practical edge in fast time-controls.

Key improvement themes

1. Time-management in won positions
   Several losses (e.g. vs area_5) came after you reached a clearly superior or equal endgame but ran low on time. In bullet, you only need a “good enough” conversion method – not the absolute best.
   • Adopt a template finish (trade queens, centralise king, push the passer) and premove the obvious recaptures.
   • Practise the “mouse-drill” of queening a pawn with three premoves so it becomes automatic.
2. Simplifying your French repertoire
   In the Steinitz & Fort Knox lines you often spend 5-7 seconds on early decisions like …♗d7 or …♗c6. Consider a more bullet-friendly scheme:
   • Play the Rubinstein French (3…dxe4) and head for quick piece development.
   • Memorise only the key tabiya up to move 8; after that rely on general French plans (…c5, …♘c6, castle long).
   This will save you precious seconds and cut down on early queen trades that leave you defending slightly worse endgames.
3. Handling opposite-wing pawn storms in the KID
   Your win vs 1977Ivan showed excellent attacking instincts, but the loss to SaveljevVladislav highlighted a recurring issue: when White avoids castling and pushes h4/h5, you still commit to …f5 without ensuring king safety.
   • Before playing …f5, ask: “Can I meet g4 with …fxg4 followed by …h6, or do I first need the prophylactic …♗d7 / …♖e8?”
   • Train the model exchange sac …♖xf3 in the Mar del Plata to sharpen your intuition for when activity trumps material.
4. Endgame technique vs strong opposition
   In both recent losses you reached rook-and-pawn endings where a single inaccuracy (e.g. 55…b5? against area_5) turned the tables.
   • Revisit fundamental king-activity rules: in rook endings the king is the extra piece; bring it forward before pushing pawns.
   • Solve 5-minute drills on Lucena and Philidor positions to sharpen pattern recognition. Lucena position

Opening snapshots

Below are two instructive fragments. Replay them a few times and ask “Where could I have made an instant move instead of a thoughtful one?”

1) Critical French moment (loss vs area_5)

2) Successful resource in the Indian Game (win vs ved1703)

Short-term action plan (next 14 days)

• Day 1-3: Bullet opening clean-up: create a one-page cheat-sheet for your first 10 moves in the Rubinstein French & Taimanov Sicilian.
• Day 4-7: 20 endgame studies (rook & pawn) – aim to solve each within 60 seconds to mimic time pressure.
• Day 8-10: Play a training set of 30 games at 3|0 focusing exclusively on time-saving moves. Annotate any position where you dipped below 5 seconds before move 15.
• Day 11-14: Review your tactics archive; tag five recurring motifs and build a premove “checklist” (forks on e6/e3, back-rank tricks, etc.).

Your stats at a glance

Peak Bullet Rating:
Peak Blitz Rating:

Activity trends

Keep the momentum!

You’re already performing at a very high level. Shaving a few seconds off your opening phase and tightening the conversion mechanics in rook endgames should net you 30-40 rating points quickly. Feel free to send me any tricky positions you encounter – I’m always happy to help.

Good luck at the board!
– Your Chess Coach