Coach Chesswick
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
- 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. - 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. - 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. - 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!