Steve_in_a_nutshell

Hi Steve_in_a_nutshell! 👋

What you already do well

• Tactical alertness: Your recent wins show a good eye for direct tactics. In the game versus henryshooter72 you found the …d2!! breakthrough and converted smoothly:
  
  
  
• Decisive finishing: Several victories end with clean checkmates (e.g. …Qg2# and …Qb7#). Once you get the initiative you usually keep it.
• Playing quickly & confidently: Your clock usage is balanced; you rarely fall far behind on time.

Biggest improvement areas

1. King safety before attack
   Many losses begin with pawn storms (…g5, …h5) while your king is still in the centre. In the CruzMissile game you were punished after 16…Bxa3+ because the queenside stayed open and uncastled:
   
   
   
   ➜ Rule of thumb: Castle by move 10 unless there is a concrete tactical reason not to.
2. Opening structure & plans
   • As White you like the Veresov (d4 Nc3 Bg5). Good! Add one simple system against …d5/…Nf6: study 6.e3 and quick Bd3–Qf3–0-0-0.
   • As Black you often answer 1.d4 with …Nc6 or early …Bg4. Consider a solid backbone such as the Queen’s Gambit Declined or the Slav Defense. This will cut down on early piece shuffling.
   • Revisit the basic opening principles: develop, central control, castle, connect rooks—in that order.
3. Stop hanging material
   Between moves 10-20 many pieces fall to one-move tactics. Daily puzzle training will help; aim for 20-30 rated puzzles a day, focusing on pins, forks, discovery, and back-rank mates.
4. Endgame technique
   Your win against arnabsoumya reached a rook-and-pawn race that became messy. Practise basic rook endings (Lucena, Philidor) and pawn breakthroughs. It will convert more advantages without drama.

Action plan for the next two weeks

• 📚 Study: 30 min video/reading on “Opening Principles for 1000 Elo”.
• 🔍 Puzzles: 20 tactical puzzles daily, theme “forks & skewers”.
• ♜ Play: 10 rapid games (10 + 5 or longer). After each, spend 5 min finding one better move you missed.
• 🏁 Endgames: Practise king-and-pawn versus king endings until you win from both sides in lichess.org/practice (offline trainer).

Tracking your progress

Check these dashboards after a week:

When your peak rating climbs past 1000 rapid, brag about it here: 980 (2025-06-14) 😎

Final encouragement

You’re already spotting nice tactical shots—adding stricter king safety and a sound opening repertoire will push you to the next bracket quickly. Keep the pieces coordinated, think before pawn pushes, and enjoy the climb!