Coach Chesswick
Quick summary
Nice session — you converted two clean wins today by creating concrete queenside threats and winning material, but you also lost a long game where king safety and piece activity cost you. Your recent upward rating trend shows the right work is paying off; now tighten the blitz-specific habits so you convert more of those advantages.
Highlights — what you did well
- Pushed a clear plan in the win vs pechenn9: you created a passed pawn on the queenside and relentlessly pushed it (b5, bxc6, cxb7). That kind of plan-led play is exactly what you want in blitz.
- Good tactical awareness in the win vs kenlonecarson — you found the tactical exchange that simplified into a winning end for you (Bxd6 idea). You pick the right moments to simplify when ahead.
- Active piece play: you often try to improve piece placement (Ng5, Rde1, Rxe1 in the pechenn9 game) rather than passive moves — this creates practical problems for opponents under time pressure.
- Positive rating momentum — your slope and short-term gains show training is effective. Keep the focus on high-impact improvements (tactics, endgames, time management).
Key mistakes and recurring weaknesses
- King safety and squares around the king: in your loss to davaa-ochiry you allowed White’s pieces to become very active around f6/g5/h4 and then lost control of dark squares. In blitz that kind of looseness is punished quickly.
- Missed prophylaxis before pawn breaks — when the center opens (exd5 / cxd5 type structures) you sometimes react instead of preventing the opponent’s counterplay. Preemptive moves (keeping a defending piece or preventing a …g5/…f5 break) would have helped.
- Trades in unclear positions: you have a habit of exchanging into endgames quickly if you see a simplification; make sure the simplification actually preserves your advantage (count pawns, active rooks, passed pawns). One loss shows exchanging into a position where your rook activity dropped.
- Time management in 3|0: you often arrive in critical positions with under 1:30 left. That increases blunders. Prioritize simpler, faster decisions in the opening to save time for tactical middlegames and endgames.
Concrete blitz-level improvements (next 2 weeks)
- Daily tactical warmup: 15–25 minutes focused on pattern recognition (pins, forks, discovered attacks). Do 20–30 puzzles a day with a 5–10 second target per puzzle to train speed.
- Endgame drills: 3× a week, 10 minutes — practice king + pawn vs king and rook + pawn endings and converting an outside passed pawn. Turn those drill positions into blitz muscle memory.
- Opening simplification checklist: choose 2–3 reliable lines (keep English Opening and one Caro line you like). Know the first 10 moves and one clear plan — this saves time and reduces surprises.
- Analyze your losses fast: pick the last 5 losses, find the single turning move in each (the tactical or strategic blunder) and note a corrective move. Repeat until those errors stop recurring.
Game-specific notes (short)
- vs pechenn9 — excellent queenside play and passed pawn conversion. You used piece activity to support the pawn march and punished Black for an exposed king. Review that game in full: it’s a model of plan + tactics. Viewer:
- vs kenlonecarson — good use of central tension and timely exchanges (Bxd6). Keep practicing the thematic tactics in the Sicilian/English transpositions.
- vs davaa-ochiry (loss) — the turning point came when White seized control of key squares and you let the kingside get fragile. Work on counting tactical threats before grabbing pawns in the vicinity of the king.
Opening guidance (practical)
- You play lots of Caro-Kann Defense and English systems. Caro-Kann shows mixed results (many games). If you want to keep it, pick a single sub-variation and learn typical piece placements and the standard plan vs pawn breaks — that reduces early time spending.
- For the English and Sicilian transpositions, prioritize: quick development, controlling d5/d4, and preparing pawn breaks. When you choose to push on the wings (b4/b5 or c5), make sure the king is safe.
Blitz checklist (use during games)
- Before you move: 1) Is my king safe? 2) Any immediate opponent tactics? 3) Can I improve my worst piece? 4) Do I have a forcing continuation? — if not, play a safe improving move.
- Time targets: aim to be near 1:30 by move 15 and keep at least 30–40 seconds for the critical phase (moves 20–35).
- Use pre-moves only in absolutely forced recaptures or captures where you know the opponent’s reply.
Two-week practice plan (compact)
- Weekdays: 20–30 min tactics + 10 min opening review (one line) + 5 rapid games (focus on checklist).
- Weekends: 45–60 min mixed session: 20 min endgames, 20 min analyze one loss in depth, 20 min 5+0 or 3+0 practice matches (apply checklist).
- At the end of week 2: play a session of 25 blitz games and report back the top 3 blunders — we’ll target fixes.
Final encouragement
Your win/loss totals and recent rating slopes show you are improving and handling high volumes. Convert that raw experience into targeted practice — fast tactics, basic endgames, and a couple of opening lines you know by habit — and your blitz score will start to match your skills more consistently. If you want, I can generate a tailored set of tactics and 3 opening lines to drill next.