Coach Chesswick
Feedback for Xiao Cheng
Great job in your recent games! Your aggressive opening choices like the Lion Defense and Modern Defense show that you’re not afraid to challenge your opponents early on. I noticed strong attacking play and good calculation in the midgame, especially in your wins where you effectively used pins, tactics, and pressure on your opponent’s king.
Strengths
- Tactical awareness: Your ability to spot combinations and force resignations is impressive, as seen in your last few wins.
- Opening preparation: You consistently develop your pieces actively and castle timely, ensuring solid king safety.
- Endgame technique: In some games, you played smoothly to convert advantages without losing momentum.
Areas for Improvement
- Handling pressure in complex positions: In your losses, there were moments where slower, more precise moves could have improved your position. Try to practice patience and reassessment in sharp lines.
- Time management: Some games showed significant time pressure in critical moments. Balancing speed with accuracy will help maintain consistent quality throughout the game.
- Positional decision-making: In a few cases, advancing pieces too aggressively without full support led to tactical vulnerabilities. Strengthening your understanding of positional concepts like pawn structure and piece coordination could help.
Next Steps
Continue to analyze your games, especially losses, to understand key turning points. Focus on polishing your opening repertoire to deepen familiarity with typical plans and traps. I recommend integrating practice on endgame fundamentals to enhance your ability to finish close games confidently.
Keep practicing consistently and stay confident — your progress is clear!