Coach Chesswick
Hi thechossenone88!
Great job keeping an active schedule and already reaching 1078 (2025-03-10). Your recent games show real fighting spirit and good instincts for open positions.
What you’re doing well
- Quick development with 1.e4 – you usually get pieces out fast and fight for the centre.
- Rook activity – wins vs zakkw1985 and noname28122012 highlight strong rook lifts and file control.
- Clock handling – you stay well ahead on time, giving yourself room to think at critical moments.
High-impact fixes
- Castle before queen adventures
Both recent losses (e.g. vs thomas_p1) start with an early queen excursion (…Qxb7 / Qh5) while your king stays in the centre. Follow the rule “develop, castle, connect rooks” before pawn‐grabbing. - Stop hanging pieces to simple tactics
Most decisive blunders are forks, pins or queen traps. Daily puzzle practice (~10 min) on motifs like the fork and pin will pay off quickly. - Simplify when ahead, defend when behind
In the loss to coolzbayu you stayed material down and kept trading queens against your interest. Make a mental check: “Am I winning or losing? Do I want to trade or keep pieces?” - Basic opening hygiene as Black
a. After 1.d4, choose one reply (…d5 + …e6 or …Nf6) and learn 10 moves deep.
b. Against 1.e4, you already play 1…e5 well; memorise the first 7–8 book moves of the Italian/Scotch so you don’t improvise with …Na5 or …Nb8 retreats.
Three-week training plan
| Day | Task (≈30 min) |
|---|---|
| Mon / Wed / Fri | 10 rated rapid games (15 + 10) this week; annotate one game after each session. |
| Tue / Thu | 30 puzzles filtered for “forks, pins, double attack”. Review wrong answers. |
| Weekend | Watch one 15-minute video or article on your chosen Black defence; create a mini “cheat sheet”. |
Progress trackers
Use the charts below to make improvement visible:
Key take-away
“Play quietly until your king is safe, then unleash the tactics you enjoy.”
Keep the energy, add a dose of discipline, and 900+ is just around the corner. Good luck, and have fun!