Coach Chesswick
Overview of your recent blitz play
You show strong energy and practical fight in blitz. In the latest win, you kept the attack lively and coordinated your heavy pieces well, finishing with a decisive mating sequence after building pressure on open files. In the other recent games you faced sharp, tactical moments where quick decisions and clean conversions were essential. Overall, your instinct to create activity and keep your opponent under pressure is a real strength for blitz.
What you are doing well
- Active piece play and willingness to complicate when your opponent is passive. This helps you seize initiative in the middlegame.
- Good use of rooks and coordinated pieces to create threats and force concessions from the opponent.
- Resilience in sharp positions — you stay aggressive and look for winning chances rather than settling for equal positions too early.
Key areas to improve
- Time management in blitz: avoid getting stuck in long calculation threads when the clock is tight. Develop a quick three-move screening habit: identify the most immediate threat from your opponent, pick a forcing or safe plan, and commit to one clear continuation for a few moves before reassessing.
- Endgame technique: when you gain a small edge, practice simplifying to simple endgames you can convert reliably. Focus on rook endings and keeping your pieces active on open files to convert advantages without risking unnecessary complications.
- Opening and early middlegame choice: in blitz, a compact, reliable repertoire helps. Pick a couple of solid lines and study the typical middlegame plans from those setups so you can reach comfortable positions quickly.
- Pattern recognition and calculation discipline: regular short tactical puzzles will improve your ability to spot forcing moves and avoid misses in practical games.
Concrete practice plan for the next 1–2 weeks
- Daily tactical training: 15 minutes of puzzles focusing on pattern recognition and quick calculation, followed by a quick review of the key tactic and why other options were less strong.
- Post-game review: after each blitz game, spend 7–10 minutes noting 2 turning points and what you would change in the next game in a similar situation.
- Endgame drills: practice rook endings and simple, practical endgames from common blitz positions to build confidence when ahead or when converting toward a draw.
- Opening consolidation: solidify a small, reliable opening repertoire (for example, a straightforward choice in the Caro-Kann or a careful Scandinavian) and learn the main middlegame ideas and typical endgames from those lines.
Optional support
If you’d like, I can annotate one of your recent blitz games and point out the critical moments with ideas for improvement. You can share a specific game to review, and I’ll tailor the guidance to your preferred time control and playing style.