Coach Chesswick
Hi Scott!
Great job stringing together several convincing wins recently. I took a close look at your latest games (especially the win against olllayoo and the loss to minazzzzz) and have outlined the main trends I see in your play.
What’s working well
- Sharp tactical instincts. In your wins you never hesitate to sacrifice material for the attack (9.Bxf7+, 12.Nh6+, etc.). Your eye for forcing lines is a real asset at this level.
- Confidence with open positions. Whenever the center opens early you usually seize the initiative and coordinate your pieces quickly.
- Time usage when you’re winning. During successful games your clock stays healthy – evidence that you are spotting ideas rapidly.
Main improvement areas
-
Early-queen habits.
• The loss vs minazzzzz shows how bringing the queen out on move two (…2.Qh5/2…Bc5 lines) can backfire. • Challenge: Play 20 rapid games where you keep your queen home until at least move 6 unless you are recapturing material. -
King safety & castling discipline.
• In several defeats your king remained in the center (Alekhine’s Defence game vs Anhelina0007, Vienna vs Xamthi). • Drill: After every opponent move, ask “Have I castled yet? If not, is it safe and useful to do so now?” -
Handling counter-sacrifices.
• You punish weak replies well, but when an opponent defends accurately you sometimes continue the attack instead of consolidating. • Try analysing lost games with the computer only after you annotate them yourself. Write down where you could have switched from attack to consolidation. -
Clock management in worse positions.
• Two time-forfeit losses occurred when you were slightly worse. You spent a long time looking for tactics that weren’t there. • Practical tip: If the position is bad but simple, move quickly and save time for a potential endgame defence.
Opening roadmap (next 4 weeks)
| Week | White repertoire | Black vs 1.e4 | Focus theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bishop’s Opening (continue) | Classical 1…e5 | Castling by move 7 |
| 2 | Italian Giuoco Pianissimo | French Defence (Rubinstein) | Slow, strategic pawn breaks |
| 3 | Vienna Game (without early Qf3) | Scandinavian Defence | Piece development race |
| 4 | Review & blend | Pick your favourite | Balanced decision making |
Tactical warm-up (from your own win)
Try to calculate the full winning line after 8…g6 in the diagram below before revealing the PGN.
Stats & tracking
Keep an eye on your progress:
- Peak Rapid rating: 574 (2025-03-26)
- Hourly performance:
- Day-to-day consistency:
Next steps
- Play three 15|10 games this week focusing on safe development and not launching the queen early.
- Annotate one loss and one win in detail – note where you considered retreating the queen or castling.
- Review concept: zwischenzug – learning to spot intermediate moves will tighten your calculation.
Keep the energy and creativity, Scott – with a bit more structure your rating should jump quickly. Good luck and have fun!