Alexandra Obolentseva WGM

Hi Alexandra!

You continue to play bold, creative chess that is great fun to watch. Below is a summary of what is already working well, followed by a focused improvement plan that should convert a few recent near-misses into full points.

What is working

• Dynamic opening choices. Your Benoni/Benko structures with Black and the early f-pawn pushes with White regularly give you the initiative and unbalanced positions you enjoy.
• Tactical alertness. Games such as the miniature versus Sambit Panda show that you rarely miss a concrete shot once the position opens.
• Good conversion once ahead. When you reach a technical phase with a clear extra pawn or exchange (e.g. vs deniss_dunaveckis), you generally finish cleanly.

Growth opportunities

• King safety in gambit lines. • Loss to BATEK_HA_TPAKTOPE (Budapest Gambit) started with natural moves but left your king on the e-file too long. • In several Najdorf games the h-pawn rush (h4–h5 vs you) caught you with an uncastled king.
  ➜ Add 10-15 mins of concrete engine checking to each new gambit line you adopt and rehearse “safe squares” for the king.
• Handling sterile positions. In the draw-ish Semi-Slav structures you sometimes expend two tempi with rook shuffles (Ra8-a5, …Rc5-c4-c5) that give the opponent counterplay. ➜ Create a “boring but good” sub-repertoire (e.g. solid …c6-d5 Slav, or Najdorf …e6 Scheveningen) to switch into when you only need half a point.
• Late-game precision. Both defeats against Oskar Wieczorek showed promising middlegame play but slipped in queen & rook endgames (missed perpetuals, underpromotion tricks). ➜ Daily 10-move visualization drill + 3 practical rook-endgame studies will tighten this phase quickly.
• Clock management. Your average time used per move drops from ~4 sec in moves 1-15 to <2 sec after move 25, regardless of complexity. Several lost games ended with <5 sec while still objectively equal.
  ➜ During practice, force yourself to spend at least 20 sec once per game on a critical move (set a buzzer if needed). Better early investment will pay for itself later.

Opening snapshot

Training plan (6-week micro-cycle)

1. Monday, Wednesday, Friday – Tactical sprint
   • 15 Puzzle Rush survival
   • 3 engine-checked blunder checks from your last session
2. Tuesday – Endgame lab
   • 30 min rook-and-pawn practical positions
   • Play one 10+5 game starting from a level endgame.
3. Thursday – Opening polish
   • Update PGN file with engine notes on new lines faced
   • Flash-card key positions in your Benoni/Najdorf repertoire.
4. Weekend – Review & rest
   • Annotate one win + one loss without an engine first
   • 15 min physical activity (helps alertness for long sessions).

Progress tracker

Use the live widgets below to spot streaks and fatigue periods:

Quick stats

Peak Blitz: 2783 (2024-05-26)  •  Peak Bullet: 2775 (2023-08-25)

Final thoughts

You are already performing at an elite level. Tightening king safety in sharp openings and adopting a calmer back-up repertoire will add the extra stability needed for title-norm runs. Keep enjoying the game and let’s touch base in a month to measure the impact.

Good luck and good skill!
Your Chess Coach