TokyoVice GM

Hi TokyoVice!
Here’s a personalised review of your recent blitz performance.

1. Quick Snapshot

• Current Blitz rating: ~2550  |  2731 (2021-01-23)
• Typical result distribution:
   
• Main openings as White: Alapin Sicilian, French Exchange, Caro-Kann 2.Nf3 d3-line.
• Main openings as Black: Scandinavian, Modern-style …g6 set-ups, occasional French.
• Deciding factor in 7 of the last 10 games: clock (wins and losses on time).

2. What You’re Doing Well

• Opening Variety & Early Activity – You regularly reach positions with space and the initiative (e.g. 11.Nxd6+! in your latest win vs Dewarfd).
• Dynamic Piece Play – You don’t hesitate to sacrifice pawns for activity (20.Nxf7+ vs AllCer7 was objectively strong).
• Conversion Technique – Endgames such as R+2P vs R (vs MaestroCheck) were converted methodically despite a ticking clock.

3. Main Growth Areas

1. Time Management
   • Five of your last six losses were flagged positions, often with a clear advantage (see diagram in your loss to AllCer7).
   • Practical tip: make at least one move every 2–3 seconds when below 20 s to bank increment, even if it’s a safe waiting move.
   • Drills: Play “1 | 1” arena sessions focusing only on pre-move discipline and hot-key promotion.
2. Critical Decision Depth vs Intuition
   • You often enter sharp lines (e.g. 20.Nxf7+ in the French) but then spend 15-20 s calculating the follow-up.
   • Create a home “go/no-go” checklist: material count, king safety, loose pieces, forcing replies. Use it to decide in under 5 s.
3. Endgame Fearlessness vs Precision
   • The R+P vs R finish against Dewarfd was clean, but in the loss to HeinichessPY you declined ⟶Rxf3! counter-play and drifted into time pressure.
   • Suggestion: daily 5-minute warm-up on Lichess “Rook-endgame trainer” (or any engine table-base) – aim for 20 perfect solutions.

4. Illustrative Moment

After 22…Bd5 in your loss to AllCer7 you were objectively winning. Here’s the sequence with the engine’s critical line added so you can replay it quickly:

[[Pgn| [FEN "r4rk1/7n/6kp/1pPb2p1/R5K1/5P1P/6P1/8 w - - 0 44"] 44. Ra6+ Nf6 45. c6 Be6+ 46. Kg3 Nd5 47. Ra7 Kf6 48. Rb7!* (48... b4? 49. c7!) ]]

Key theme: push the passed c-pawn first, keep the rook active, and only then hunt pawns.

5. Concrete Next Steps (7-Day Plan)

• Day 1-2: Review every blitz loss where you flagged – write a one-line note “first move under 3 s? yes/no”.
• Day 3-4: Create a 20-line Alapin mini-repertoire file; memorise with spaced repetition so you can blitz out the first 10 moves.
• Day 5: 30-minute rook-endgame drill + play one 10|0 game to practise technique without increment reliance.
• Day 6: Watch a 15-minute video on forced move trees (search internally on Chess.com courses) and summarise 3 take-aways.
• Day 7: Play a 2-hour 3|1 session focusing solely on staying above 5 s after each increment.

6. Motivation Boost

You are already beating 2700-rated blitz opponents; shaving just ½ second per move in critical spots will easily push you toward 2600+. Keep the energy high and the mouse hot – you’ve got this!

Good luck in your next Titled Tuesday! – CoachBot 🤖