Felix

Quick review — recent games

Nice work keeping a steady stream of daily games. Below are two games I reviewed closely — your most recent win and your most recent loss. Open them to replay the critical moments and follow the suggestions.

• Recent win to review: Review this win
• Recent loss to review: Review this loss

What you are doing well

You have a lot to build on. Here are clear strengths I saw across your recent play and overall stats.

• Strong opening results — your Scandinavian and Vienna/Bishop openings score very high. Keep using what works. (Scandinavian Defense)
• Good tactical instincts — in your recent win you won material on the queenside and converted by trading into a winning queen endgame. You spot tactical shots like captures on a7 and follow through.
• Conversion ability — you tend to take small advantages and turn them into a win rather than giving chances away immediately.
• High activity in the middlegame — your pieces often end up on active squares, which helps generate threats and create practical chances.

Main areas to improve

Targeted, short work on these areas will give the biggest rating gains.

• Endgame technique — several losses come from late-game rook and king activity. Practice basic rook endgames and common king + rook vs king patterns so you can defend and convert with confidence.
• Selective calculation for sacrifices — your loss started with a king-side grab that gave you material for a short time but left your king exposed. When you sacrifice or grab, verify the follow-up and the opponent counterplay first.
• Watch for piece coordination after trades — when you exchange a bishop or knight make sure your rooks and queen can cover weak squares and the back rank. Avoid drifting into positions where your pieces are uncoordinated and your opponent’s rooks invade.
• Use the long time control — these daily games give plenty of time. Stop and check for opponent counter-thrusts (pawn breaks and rook infiltration) before assuming a position is “safe.”

Concrete drills and study plan (2–4 weeks)

Short, consistent practice beats long random sessions. Try this plan:

• Daily tactics: 10–20 puzzles focused on forks, pins and discovered attacks. Aim for pattern recognition rather than speed.
• Endgame practice: 10 minutes a day of rook endgames and basic king+pawn setups. Learn the concept of the active king and cutting off the opponent’s king.
• One opening theme per week: study the typical middlegame plans for the Scandinavian and the Bishop’s Opening Vienna Hybrid. Instead of memorizing moves, learn the pawn breaks and ideal squares for your pieces.
• Weekly game review: pick 3 finished games (one win, one loss, one unclear). For each, do a 10–15 minute post-mortem: what was the turning point, what tactics were missed, what plan would you choose next time.

Practical tips to apply immediately

• Before grabbing pawns or making a sacrifice, ask: how will my opponent get counterplay? If the answer is rook entry, back-rank mate, or passed pawn, recalc.
• When one side trades into an endgame, switch into "convert mode" and ask four questions: king activity, passed pawns, piece activity, and pawn weaknesses.
• Keep your rooks connected and look for rook lifts — an active rook on the seventh rank wins games. Conversely, block opponent rook files early.
• Use the opponent’s weaknesses. In your win you exploited weaknesses on the queenside quickly. Repeat that pattern: create a target, force exchanges, then convert.

Specific moments to study in your games

Replay these short lines and ask yourself what else you or your opponent could have done.

• Win vs lancepetrich18 — you played an aggressive kingside pawn push early and later won on the queenside by removing defenders and winning material. Replay the sequence around the a7 capture to see the tactical trigger. Open the win
• Loss vs zeni_jr — examine the sequence after the early knight foray to f7. That capture gave you concrete targets but opened lines toward your king. Ask: could a quieter plan have kept the advantage? Open the loss

Short training plan for the next 14 days

• Days 1–7: 15 minutes tactics + 10 minutes rook endgames + review 1 lost game (10 minutes)
• Days 8–14: 15 minutes tactics + 10 minutes studying typical Scandinavian middlegames + play and post-mortem 2 games
• Measure progress: try to reduce the number of "large" blunders per game (use your site’s game analysis to count blunders) and focus on eliminating one type of mistake at a time.

Extra resources and next steps

• Puzzle trainer for tactical sharpness.
• Short endgame videos or drills for rook endgames.
• One opening video or notes each week for your main systems so you understand plans, not just moves.

If you want, I can generate a tailored 14-day practice calendar with exact puzzles and endgame positions based on the positions you lost. Want that?