Coach Chesswick
Hi Raja Rithvik R.,
You have been putting up an impressive string of results lately—good work! Below is a concise performance review, followed by targeted recommendations you can incorporate in your next training cycle.
1. Current Snapshot
- Peak Blitz Rating: 3004 (2025-03-28)
- Typical play-times pattern:
- Day-to-day consistency:
2. What You’re Doing Well
- Active piece play out of the opening. In several recent wins (e.g., against Xhoniue), you managed to seize the initiative quickly with early …c5 breaks and timely …Nc6 development.
- Dynamic pawn breaks. You are not afraid to strike in the centre with moves such as …d5 or …e5 at well-chosen moments, which often catch opponents unprepared.
- Conversion technique in winning positions. Your endgame against Xhoniue (…Qb2#) shows patience; you limited counterplay before cashing in.
3. Biggest Improvement Levers
-
Handling counter-sacrifices.
In your loss to “wonderfultime” (Chess960), material equality changed fast after 16.Rxh7! and 18.Rg7!. You accepted too many pawn trades without completing development.
➜ Drill: Play out the position below against the engine and practise declining the sacrifice.
-
Square complexes & outposts.
Against NeoSupremacy you allowed …Qe6–e4 hitting d4 & g4 because your dark-square grip evaporated. Review the concept of the WeakSquare. Make a habit of asking, “Which colour complex am I weakening with this pawn push?” -
Time management in critical middlegames.
Your clock often dips below 60 s before move 25 even in straightforward positions. Try the “30-second rule”: if nothing concrete is happening, move within 30 s and save time for tactical storms. -
Endgame simplification choices.
Several wins feature long queen endgames where a quicker transition to a won rook or pawn ending was available. Study Capablanca’s technique; aim to trade queens when up ≥ 2 pawns unless there is a mating net.
4. Opening Priorities for the Next Two Weeks
| As White | As Black |
|---|---|
|
• Deepen your grasp of the Reti move-order nuances. • Prepare an anti-Pirc system (Bc4 lines give you trouble). |
• Polish your Pirc/Modern repertoire—learn the early …c5 ideas that scored well. • Add a solid fallback vs. 1.d4 (consider the Nimzo or Queen’s Gambit Declined). |
5. Weekly Training Menu
- 3x 20-min calculation workouts (no engine, write lines & blunder-check later).
- 2 annotated classical games—pick one win and one loss, annotate honestly.
- 50 mixed tactics on Chess.com “custom: 1800-2300, <4 moves”.
- 1 themed blitz session starting from the diagram above, alternating colours.
6. Mindset Nugget
When a game swings, pause for a 3-breath reset before the next move. This micro-routine lowers tilt and boosts calculation accuracy—essential in the sharp positions you thrive in.
Keep up the hard work, Raja! Small, focused tweaks each week will compound into big Elo gains.
—Your Chess Coach