Jonathan Hawkins GM

Jonathan, here’s a personalised review of your recent play

Your current profile highlights

• Peak Blitz rating: 2441 (2016-07-21)
• Peak Rapid rating: 2590 (2017-10-16)
• Typical playing hours  →  
• Weekly consistency  →  

What you’re already doing well

1. Dynamic pawn play. Your most recent win (see diagram after 24…Kh7) shows excellent use of the c- and b-pawns to create a connected passer that decided the game.
   Key moment: 30.Nc6! broke through and forced Black into passive defence.
2. End-game technique. Converting the rook-and-queen ending with precise checks (moves 48-57) demonstrates good calculation when the position is simplified.
3. Opening flexibility. You comfortably switch between 1.d4 systems and English/Réti structures, keeping your opponents out of their book.

Recurring issues to address

1. King safety against lower-rated opponents.
   Both of your 2025 losses came after premature pawn pushes (5.f4 & 13…g5) that opened files around your own king. Treat every opponent as 2500 until the handshake is over.
2. Over-ambitious central breaks without backup.
   In the Chigorin loss you played 5…e4 and 9…f5 without finishing development, giving White easy targets.
   REMEDY: Before pushing two centre pawns ask, “Are all my minor pieces participating?” – a simple prophylaxis check.
3. Time management.
   • You flagged from a clearly winning rook ending on 2019-01-15.
   • In several blitz games you reached move 30 with <10 s while your opponent kept >40 s.
   Suggestion: Allocate a soft cap of 20 % of your clock for the first 15 moves; train this with 3 | 2 drills.

Targeted exercises

• King-hunt tactics: Solve 15 mating-net puzzles daily to sharpen your eye for resources like 13…Re8 & 24…Qg1# in your own loss.
• Model games with the French structure. Replay Korchnoi-Karpov (1978, game 17) – identical pawn chain to your win; note how Korchnoi timed c4-c5.
• Practical end-games: Rebuild this study from your win and play it vs. engine until you can mate within 20 s:
  
  

Opening housekeeping

• As White vs …d5: You score well with c4–c5 breaks; add 7.Be2 lines in the French exchange to avoid early queen swaps when you want complexity.
• As Black vs. 1.e4: Your Scandinavian sideline is fine for blitz, but consider a mainline Sicilian or 1…e5 to cut down on early queen excursions that cost you tempo and time.

Next-step plan (4 weeks)

1. Week 1: Annotate every blitz game where your king is attacked; tag mistakes “KS” (King Safety).
2. Week 2: Daily 15-minute session of only rook-and-pawn endings.
3. Week 3: Play a themed mini-match (10 games) starting from move 4 of the position after 5…e4 in the Chigorin; aim for 70 %.
4. Week 4: Review progress using the charts above; set a new peak-rating goal.

Stay disciplined, keep the king healthy, and you’ll break the next rating barrier soon. Good luck and enjoy the journey!