Torstein Bae IM

Hi Torstein!

You continue to play dynamic, enterprising chess that puts a lot of pressure on your opponents early. Your willingness to sacrifice material for the initiative is a real asset and is reflected in your best victories. At the same time, several recent setbacks show recurring patterns that, once fixed, could push your level even higher.

Your Current Strengths

• Tactical awareness. The win over tunkupunku (Sicilian B57) shows crisp calculation and the courage to throw pawns forward: 9.g4!?, 11.g5!, 27.Rah1!, etc. You kept the initiative throughout and finished with an elegant deflection:
  
• Opening imagination. Lines such as the early …c5 vs the London and your g-pawn storms in Open Sicilians keep opponents off balance.
• Resourcefulness under pressure. Several wins were achieved from objectively equal or even slightly worse positions because you set practical problems and played quickly when the clocks ran low.

Key Improvement Themes

1. Controlled aggression & pawn structure.
   • In the losses to BerovskiK and mittel1 you advanced flank pawns (h4/h5, a-pawns) before your king was completely safe. When the counter-punch came, your own weaknesses were impossible to plug.
   • Tip: Before any pawn thrust, run a quick prophylaxis check: “What will my opponent do if I push this pawn?” If the answer is “…Qb6, …Rb8, …d4” hitting newly weakened squares, reconsider.
   
   
2. Converting structural advantages.
   • Several wins got messy because a technical conversion turned into a tactical slug-fest. Example: vs. TreasureHunter10 you were already winning after 24…Re2+, yet allowed counter-play that kept the clocks relevant.
   • Recommendation: Spend 15 minutes each day on clean model games by Karpov or Carlsen that feature small, steady improvements. Then practise converting +1 or +2 positions against an engine set to 2000 strength.
3. Time management.
   • You routinely reach critical positions with < 60 seconds. Blitz makes that inevitable, but try allocating the “big think” earlier (moves 8-12) so you can blitz the conversion stage.
   
   can help reveal which sessions you flag most often.
4. Opening housekeeping.
   • Against the French Advance you repeated 12.Rb1?! and 16.Rb4?! but never resolved the queenside tension, leading to an ugly …d4 wedge. Prepare one reliable line that keeps the centre closed and delays flank play until development is complete.
   • Update your Sicilian White repertoire so that 3.h4/4.c3 setups are backed by concrete lines versus …g6 and …d5 breaks.

Action Plan (next 4 weeks)

• Week 1: Build a “safety checklist” (king safety, pawn structure, piece activity) and run through it every move for one training game.
• Week 2: Analyse your five longest wins without an engine; write down why each imbalance favoured you.
• Week 3: Daily 30-minute endgame drill: rook vs pawns, same-colour bishop endings, & opposite-colour bishop attacking patterns.
• Week 4: Two opening tune-up sessions with ChessBase/OpeningTree focused on the French Advance and Hyper-Accelerated Dragon—replace or repair the lines that failed.

Motivation Corner

Your current peak is . With cleaner structures and slightly better clock management, 2500+ is realistic. Keep the creativity—that is your edge—but anchor it in rock-solid fundamentals. Looking forward to your next smashing miniature!