Coach Chesswick
Hi Tommy (TAWillis) – Coaching Feedback
What you are already doing well
- Tactical Alertness – you often spot forks and mating nets, e.g. …Qh4 & …Qf2+ in your latest win.
- Active Play – you rarely sit back; your pieces look for chances on both flanks.
- Opening Variety – you have a main reply to 1.e4 (Caro-Kann) and experiment with dynamic set-ups versus 1.d4.
Priority Areas to Improve
- Sound Opening Structure
In several losses the Caro-Kann set-up mixed plans (…d6, …c5) and delayed castling. Commit to one clean line – e.g. 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 – and study its ideas for 30 minutes. Hold back on premature pawn thrusts. - King Safety Before Attacks
Games against ReyaanshLuthra_9yrs and Grisly45 show your king in the centre while queens invade. New habit: develop 3 pieces → castle → connect rooks before any pawn storm or queen raid. - Blunder-Check Routine
Most material drops in one move. Before each move ask: “What checks, captures and threats does my opponent get if I play this?” Ten extra seconds saves whole pieces. - End-Game Basics
In the loss vs ABC17878 a rook ending slipped away. Drill the Lucena and Philidor positions for five minutes after every session.
Illustrative Examples
Good attacking conversion (31-Jan-2024):
Turning point in the loss vs ABC17878 (10-Mar-2024):
A calmer 24…Rhe8! held equality and kept your rook active.Suggested 4-Week Training Plan (≈30-40 min/day)
| Day | Task |
|---|---|
| Mon / Wed / Fri | 15 tactical puzzles focused on “Mate in 2-3” & “Hanging pieces”. |
| Tue | Self-review one game without an engine; list 3 mistakes & 1 good move. |
| Thu | Watch a short lesson or read two pages on the Classical Caro-Kann. |
| Sat | Play two 15|10 games, applying the blunder-check routine; annotate briefly. |
| Sun | End-game drill: 10 basic rook-pawn endings. |
Your Progress at a Glance
Peak rapid rating: 1297 (2015-04-09)
Next Milestone
Cut blunders to <3 per game and stick with one main Caro-Kann line for a month – you’ll be on track for 900 rapid. Keep the fighting spirit, Tommy!