Coach Chesswick
Quick summary
Pawel — your blitz shows many of the strengths of a very experienced player: good piece coordination, willingness to simplify into endgames, and confident handling of typical opening structures. The recent losses are not because of fundamental weaknesses in understanding, but because of practical issues that are common in blitz: time trouble, a few tactical oversights and occasional passive move selection when a concrete plan was required.
What you did well
- Good opening familiarity — you reach playable middlegames quickly and often get active piece play early (examples: Nimzo-Indian structure in the first game and Queen's‑Gambit structure in another). See Nimzo-Indian Defense and Queen's Gambit Declined.
- Endgame instincts — when positions simplified you were ready to play king and pawn endings and use your king actively instead of shying away from them.
- Calm handling of complications — you repeatedly traded into positions where your evaluation was easier to play, which is a strong blitz habit.
Main issues to fix (from recent blitz games)
- Time management / time trouble: several games ended with little or no time on your clock. In practical blitz, winning the clock is as important as winning the position — you need an approach that reduces long think times in non-critical moments.
- Tactical misses and between‑moves: a few tactics (knight forks, rook penetrations) were left unresolved. When the opponent presented an immediate threat you sometimes responded passively instead of calculating the forcing continuation.
- Passive piece maneuvers in some middlegames: instead of creating a target or concrete plan you shuffled bishops/rooks which let the opponent improve. Look for one clear plan (break, infiltration, minority push) and stick to it.
- Conversion technique under time pressure: when you're slightly better you traded into endings but then spent too much time on non-critical moves. That invites blunders or flag losses even from winning positions.
Concrete drills and training plan (next 2–6 weeks)
- Tactics sprint — 10–15 minutes/day of mixed tactics with a 3–5 second target per puzzle. Emphasize pattern recognition (forks, skewers, discovered checks).
- Blitz time drills — play short sessions focused on two skills:
- Game 1–5: practice not thinking more than 8–12 seconds on routine developing moves.
- Game 6–10: deliberate practice of “10-second rule” (if a move needs more than 10s, make a reasonable practical move and save time for real tactics).
- Endgame micro‑work — 10 quick positions (king+pawn, rook vs pawn, simple bishop vs knight situations). Learn key conversion patterns and the one‑rule for rook endgames: active rook + king activity wins more than passive defense.
- Opening pruning — in blitz pick 2–3 safe, low‑theory systems for your black and white repertoire so you reach comfortable middlegames without heavy memorization. Example: keep the Nimzo/Queen’s‑Gambit lines you like but remove one highly theoretical variation that costs you much time or gives uncomfortable positions.
- One tactic per game habit — before you click, ask: “Is there a capture or check or threat for either side?” This reduces misses from “move‑drift.”
Practical checklist to use at the board (blitz)
- Clock check: always note your time after each opponent move. If below 1 minute, simplify and avoid long calculations unless forced.
- Threat triage: check captures, checks, and threats first (5 seconds max).
- One clear plan: ask “What is my short plan for the next 3 moves?” and execute it.
- When ahead in material: trade queens and avoid tactical complications if low on time.
- When behind: create practical complications and use pre-moves only when safe.
Examples from your recent games (study targets)
Study these motifs from the games you just played:
- King activity and pawn play in the endgame — good attempt to activate the king in the game vs HoundDog2006; convert these into faster move choices so you don't flag when winning.
- Tactical finish and rook penetration — the game vs agentspookymulder had tactical motifs around back‑rank/rook infiltration; practice spotting back‑rank ideas in similar pawn structures.
- Opening simplification — in the game vs Caio Angelico Silva you used piece activity to trade down. Make this a deliberate plan earlier in the middlegame when the opponent is passive.
Replay one critical sequence here (review move flow and where time was spent):
Interactive clip (recent Nimzo‑Indian game):
Next steps (this week)
- 3×25‑minute sessions: 10m tactics sprint + 10m focused blitz with the “10‑second rule” + 5m endgame practice.
- Pick one opening line to drop for blitz (the one that costs you most time) and replace it with a simpler, safe alternative.
- After each session, annotate 2 lost games quickly: write one sentence about why you lost and one improvement to try next game.
If you want, I can…
- Mark 3 tactical turning points in the PGN above and explain the forced lines (short, to the point).
- Suggest a trimmed blitz opening repertoire (2 lines with one backup each) based on the openings you already use.
- Design a 2‑week blitz training plan with daily tasks and measurable targets (time on clock, tactics score).
Tell me which one you want and I’ll prepare it. Also, if you want specific move-by-move notes on any of the opponents above, I can link to HoundDog2006 or agentspookymulder for targeted study.