Praveen Thipsay GM

Recent rapid games: quick read and takeaways

You showed fight and tactical willingness in your recent rapid games. Your sole recent win came as Black in a Scandinavian Defense, where you navigated the middlegame with active piece play and finished with a decisive sequence. In the losses where you played as White, there were moments of strong counterplay from your opponents and some missed chances to convert advantages. The key to turning these into consistent results is sharpening decision points and finishing with clear, concrete plans.

• Positive note: you pursue active ideas and seek dynamic chances when your pieces coordinate well.
• Area to watch: avoid overcommitting in the middlegame too early and ensure your development is solid before launching big pawn storms or king attacks.
• Endgame awareness: strengthen your ability to convert favorable endgames, as many rapid games hinge on precise rook or minor-piece endings.

Opening performance: what to lean into

Your openings show a knack for sharp, tactical play in lines like the Amazon Attack and certain Sicilian variations. This suggests you excel when you create immediate problems for the opponent and keep the game complex. To turn this into a reliable edge, deepen a compact two-pawn‑structure repertoire for both colors and study the typical middlegame plans that arise from these lines.

• Strength to lean into: aggressive, initiative-driven setups (e.g., Amazon Attack, Kan Variation, and Accelerated Dragon) tend to yield the best results for you.
• Suggestion: pick 2 Black defenses and 2 White systems to study in depth, including common reply paths and typical middlegame ideas, so you’re not caught off guard by opponent deviations.
• Practical habit: after each opening choice, note the main structural ideas you want to aim for in the middlegame (pawn structure, piece activity, king safety) and stick to them for the first 10–15 moves.

Strength-adjusted win rate and trends: what this means for practice

Practice plan for the next 4 weeks

• Repertoire consolidation: choose 2 Black openings (for example, Scandinavian and Caro-Kann Bronstein-Larsen) and 2 White setups (such as Amazon Attack and a Queen’s Pawn system) to study deeply. Build short, move-by-move plans for the typical middlegame ideas in each.
• Endgame drills: dedicate 15 minutes daily to rook endings and simple minor-piece endings to improve conversion in rapid time controls.
• Tactical pattern work: solve 15–20 puzzles per day focusing on motifs you encounter in your games (forks, skewers, discovered attacks, and piece coordination).
• Post-game analysis habit: after each rapid game, write down 1–2 alternative moves you considered and why they would be stronger or weaker, then compare with your actual choice.
• Time-management routine: practice with a fixed thinking plan for the opening (aim to complete development by move 10) and allocate slightly more time to middlegame plans, so you’re not rushing critical decisions late in the game.

Practice aids and quick review

Optional: you can review your recent games and openings using a compact PGN summary to identify recurring decision points. If you’d like, I can format a focused study pack for your 2 chosen Black openings and 2 White setups with key middlegame plans and typical endgames.