Coach Chesswick
Hi steulo! Here’s what I learned from your recent games
👍 What you’re already doing well
- Tactical alertness. In the win vs. Xevier16 you spotted 6…Qxc2 and finished with 13…Qxe2# in under two minutes. Nice calculation!
- Active pieces. You usually grab open lines quickly (…Re8, 21.Rd1+). Rooks belong on files, and you put them there.
- Fighting king in endgames. Your victory over oregvn shows you understand the king is an attacker once queens are off.
🔍 Biggest improvement areas
- Time management.
Four of the six listed losses were on time or abandonment. Try the “40-20-20” rule: spend ≈40 % of your clock on the first 10 moves (blunder-check), 20 % forming a middlegame plan, 20 % on converting a lead, and keep 20 % in reserve. - Opening discipline.
• As White you often play 1.d4 followed by f3, g4, h4. This weakens the dark squares around your king. Experiment with a simple London setup instead.
• As Black you rely almost exclusively on the Scandinavian but spend three moves with the queen (…Qxd5-Qe5+-Qf5). 3…Qa5 keeps her safe and saves tempi.
• Castle by move 10 whenever possible; the defeats to Seadation and Paltsontonia show what happens when the king roams. - Piece safety before pawn grabs.
In the win vs. dutchvander-linde, …Qxh1 was good. In the loss vs. Seadation, a similar queen raid got you mated. Follow the “three-defender rule”: don’t take a pawn if it costs more than two tempi or leaves a key square with fewer than three defenders. - Tactical patterns to study.
• The back-rank mate you delivered with 13…Qxe2#.
• Knight forks on f7/f2.
• Smothered mate.
Ten minutes of Puzzle Rush a day will sharpen these motifs.
📝 Micro-homework for the next week
| Theme | Exercise |
|---|---|
| Development lead | Play 5 games where you refuse to move your queen before move 10. |
| King safety | Castle in every game before move 8; write down the results. |
| Clock control | Finish each game with ≥15 s; if you can’t, note the move where you started burning time. |
📈 Track your progress
🏆 Motivation corner
Your current peak is 544 (2025-03-24). Reaching 500 is realistic within a month if you:- Limit each session to five games and review one loss immediately.
- Solve three rated puzzles daily—calculate, don’t guess.
🔁 Replay your cleanest recent win
Good luck, have fun, and remember: Develop, Defend, Decide!