Sergiy Kryvosheya GM

Hi Sergiy (skzt)!

Congratulations on the steady climb to 2580 (2020-05-26) and a nice recent win in the Alekhine/Scandinavian hybrid (see the tactic below). Your games show a clear attacking flair and willingness to enter sharp positions, but there are a few recurring themes that—if polished—can push you to the next bracket.

What you’re doing well

• Initiative-driven opening play. You frequently seize space with early ...c5/...c4 or Qh5/Bc4, forcing opponents to solve problems from move 1.
• Tactical alertness. The exchange-sac in your latest game was timed perfectly:
  
  
  
• Broad opening repertoire. With White you alternate between the Bishop’s, Queen’s-Pawn Zukertort and English setups; with Black you employ the Alekhine's Defense and Scandinavian, keeping opponents off balance.

Key areas to focus on next

• Respect the “rating gap.” Both of your February games versus 596-rated hrundel24 illustrate a tendency to gamble against lower-rated players, leading to an unnecessary 1-1 split. Play the board, not the rating—convert cleanly instead of experimenting.
• King safety in the middlegame. Early queen sorties (e.g., Qh5 on move 3) often leave you behind in development. Against stronger opposition (see losses to 2300-2600 range) you were punished by central counterplay. Consider delaying the queen until minor pieces are out.
• Time management. Several losses were on the clock (e.g., vs. Tash_Boy). Try a discipline rule: reach move 20 with at least 40% of your starting time.
• Endgame conversion. You generally reach winning endings but occasionally let activity slip (see 11/26 game vs. swop1107). A weekly diet of classical endgames (Capablanca, Karpov) plus practical rook-pawn drills will pay off quickly.
• Defensive technique. When your attack is parried you sometimes overextend (loss to Euphonics2). Practice “best-defense” exercises: set up inferior positions vs. an engine and hold.

Action plan for the next 4 weeks

1. Opening maintenance: pick two mainlines (one for each color) and review 15-move depth with a cloud engine. Add one completely new solid line to force yourself to play quieter positions.
2. Tactics quota: 25–30 mixed-difficulty puzzles per day with 5-minute cap each. Focus on “defensive” tags, not just mating nets.
3. Endgame Monday: each Monday watch one annotated model game that ends in a technical win; then reproduce the final position vs. engine until you can convert under 60 seconds.
4. Sparring: play two 10|5 games daily using a strict “no pre-moves before move 15” rule to ingrain thoughtful pace.
5. Self-review: after every session tag one critical mistake and one highlight. Build a mini database of “my recurring errors.”

Progress trackers

Use these to verify that the plan is working:

• Hourly performance:
• Consistency across the week:

Stick to the structure above, and your attacking style will be supported by reliable technique and clock control. I’m looking forward to seeing you cross 2600 soon—good luck!