Coach Chesswick
Hi Vladyslav!
Great job maintaining a high blitz rating (2798 (2025-04-11)) and playing regularly at different hours (
). Below is a condensed review based on your most recent games.Core Strengths
- Dynamic piece play. In your recent win against only_strong_moves you created constant pressure with the exchange sacrifice 22.Rxf7! followed by 29.Rc7, showing excellent tactical vision.
- Active king use in endgames. Against Marcin you centralized the king early (32.Ke5!) to convert the extra material—good technique.
- Opening variety. You handle both 1.d4 and 1.c4 comfortably and defend with flexible setups (King’s Indian, Benoni, Caro-Kann, Scandinavian). This keeps opponents guessing.
Key Areas to Improve
-
Impulse material grabs in the opening.
In the loss to Sanjeev_18 you played 14.Bxa8?, winning a rook but handing Black rapid development and the initiative.
Tip: Before winning material ask, “Can my opponent generate a dangerous attack while I’m undeveloped?” If two pieces will become passive (your bishop on a8 & queen on c4), it’s often better to keep the initiative.
Example sequence: -
Converting winning positions under time pressure.
Several games ended in time scrambles (e.g. win vs only_strong_moves and loss vs Witik). You often reach < 15 seconds with winning or equal positions.- Adopt a simple “automatic move” checklist in winning endgames (push passed pawn, trade pieces, activate king) instead of looking for the absolute best line.
- Use any increment (if available) to spend an extra second safeguarding the king and avoiding pre-move blunders.
-
Handling flank openings as Black.
Recent losses in the Scandinavian Closed and English Four Knights show trouble against solid, slow systems where your opponent expands on the queenside.
Homework: Study plans (not just moves) in the …d5 & …e6 English structures. Knowing typical pawn breaks such as …c5 or …f5 will help you seize counterplay sooner. -
Prophylaxis & pawn-structure awareness.
In several games opponents got long-term squares (e.g. white knight on f4 in Caro-Kann loss; bishop on f4 in Benoni). Spend a moment each move asking, “What is my opponent’s next threat?”; anticipate and stop it before it appears.
Opening Road-Map (Next Two Weeks)
| Focus | Action |
|---|---|
| As White vs …Nf6 (Indian setups) | Revise the Trompowsky move-order you used successfully (A45 opening). Prepare a simple line after 4…e6 to avoid early trades. |
| As Black vs 1.e4 | Deepen your Caro-Kann repertoire: learn the classical Short plan (…Bf5/…Nd7/…Ngf6) to sidestep the h4-h5 lines that hurt you. |
| As Black vs 1.c4 / 1.Nf3 | Build a compact reply—either mirror with …c5 or transpose to a reliable Queen’s Gambit Accepted setup—to cut down prep time. |
Micro-Goals
- Aim to reach move 25 with ≥45 seconds on the clock in at least five blitz games this week.
- Play three 30 | 10 rapid games focusing only on prophylactic questions; annotate afterward.
- Create a flashcard deck of 10 critical pawn-structure themes (hanging pawns, IQP, Benoni chain, Carlsbad, etc.). Review daily for 10 minutes.
Motivation Corner
You’ve shown you can out-calculate 2800-rated blitz players and hold your own in sharp positions. Polish your time management and strategic awareness, and the next rating jump will come naturally.
Good luck with your training, and feel free to share any annotated games for more detailed feedback!
Coach