Coach Chesswick
Hi Tijana, here is some personalised feedback based on your recent games.
1. What you already do well
- Opening awareness. In both the Slav (D10) and Bogo-Indian (E11) you steered the game to the typical pawn structures you clearly understand. Your move …c5 in the Bogo-Indian game is a model break that punished White’s slow set-up.
- Tactical alertness. Motifs such as the Rxf2/Qxb2 double hit and the early …dxc4 pawn grab show that you look for concrete tactics instead of playing on autopilot.
- Conversion technique. Once you obtained material advantage you simplified efficiently – e.g. trading down to a won queen end-game in the Slav and liquidating into a rook-and-two-pawns ending in your Petroff win.
2. Repeated problems against stronger opposition
- King safety in sharp ⚡ time controls. In the one-minute loss to Dadeldavve17 most of the damage started after 17…Ne7 when both of your rooks were still at home while all kingside pawns were pushed. The diagram below highlights the result:
- Over-extension of flank pawns. The chain h5-g5-h6 appears in several losses (Dadeldavve17, elmini). Pushing both rook pawns before pieces are developed gives your opponent easy hooks for an attack.
- Missing quiet defensive resources. Versus Alex1234123 you resigned in the diagram position below although 18…Qg5 would have held – illustrating a tendency to underestimate defensive chances under pressure.
3. Opening map – keep & tweak
| Colour | Current main lines | Keep / Replace | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 1.e4 – Petroff, Italian set-ups | Keep | Add an anti-Sicilian weapon (2.c3 or 3.Bb5+) so you aren’t forced into main-line theory every time. |
| Black vs 1.d4 | Slav / Semi-Slav & Bogo-Indian | Keep | Prepare a back-up line (e.g. the Czech Benoni) for surprise value in faster games. |
| Black vs 1.e4 | 1…e5 classical | Keep | Study the modern Italian with …h6 & …g5 ideas so you can attack without loosening prematurely. |
4. Structured training plan (6 weeks)
- King-safety drills (Week 1-2). 50 puzzles where the correct move is a quiet defensive resource or a piece trade. Filter for themes back-rank, escape square, zwischenzug.
- Middlegame strategy (Week 3-4). Build a personal “model game” file for your favourite pawn structures (Slav triangle, Bogo-Indian IQP). Annotate one GM game per day focusing on plans, not only tactics.
- Bullet/Blitz hygiene (Week 5-6). a) Always castle before move 10; b) Avoid pushing both rook pawns unless you are already better developed; c) Use pre-moves only for forced recaptures.
5. Progress tracker
Current peak ratings: Rapid 2276 (2021-12-06), Blitz 2652 (2022-05-03).
Monitor your trend with the widgets below and look for win-rate stability, not just single peaks.
6. Micro-goals for the next 20 games
- Score at least 70 % in games where you castle before move 10.
- Limit pawn moves in the first 15 moves to max. 6. Note your count after each game.
- Annotate every loss within 24 h; mark one critical decision and one missed defensive resource.
Keep up the energetic play, Tijana! Tightening your king safety and pawn discipline will convert many of those promising positions into wins against 2200+ opponents.