Jan Travesset Sagré

Personalised Feedback for Jan Travesset Sagré ( “travee7” )

1. What you are doing well

• Active, principled openings – as Black you reliably reach solid Caro-Kann structures and achieve counter-play (see the clean conversion vs. Patrick – your latest win).
• End-game technique – several wins were decided in rook-and-pawn endings where you converted an extra pawn with good king activity (e.g. the Catalan end-game vs. kemal_2007).
• Calculation under pressure – the tactic 18…Rd2+!! against marinomans shows you can spot forcing continuations quickly.
• Fighting spirit – you rarely accept quick draws and you keep posing practical problems even in worse positions.

2. Priority improvement areas

1. King safety in Fianchetto systems (White)
   In several losses (e.g. vs. edo50) the early g3/ Bg2 set-up was followed by …h5-h4 from Black and your king was caught on the g-file. • React faster to pawn storms: meet …h5 with h4 or h3/h4 only when it is really safe.
   • Consider the flexible move h3 before g3 to prevent …Bg4/…Bh3 ideas.
2. Time management
   Four of the last six defeats were on the clock. Try the “40-20-20” rule for 3-minute games: 40 s for the first 10 moves, 20 s for the next 10, 20 s for the rest. Blunder-checking in the opponent’s time will also help.
3. Handling backward pawns & weak squares
   In the loss to schalabais the pawn on d6 became a target and cost you the game. Train positions with an isolated or backward pawn; learn typical counter-play (breaks with …e5 / …c5, piece activity over pawn structure).
4. Conversion of material advantage
   You occasionally allow counter-play when a clean simplification is available (see 23.d6? in the win over jdkdkskdktry – 23.dxe6! would have been safer). Before pushing passed pawns, ask: “Can I eliminate counter-play first?”

3. Opening toolkit

• Caro-Kann (Black) – keep it! Add the solid 4…Bf5 main-line to complement your 4…Nf6 repertoire, so opponents cannot prepare only one system.
• English/Catalan hybrids (White) – your results are good, but memorise a critical line against early …dxc4 / …Qd5. A quick idea: after 7…a6 8.a4 Nc6 9.Qxc4, prefer 10.Qc1 over 10.Nbd2 to keep the bishop on c1 flexible.
• Prepare one surprise weapon for Black vs. 1.d4 – even a simple Queen’s Gambit Accepted will stop opponents from steering into anti-Caro systems.

4. Sample position to study

Critical moment from your loss vs. edo50 – White to move after 19…g5:

Instead of 20.Bxg5? you had the strong 20. e6! keeping the f5-square for defence and opening lines against Black’s king.

5. Training plan (next 4 weeks)

• Week 1 – Tactics: 30 mins/day on intermediate tactics involving exposed kings and pawn storms.
• Week 2 – End-games: Study rook-and-pawn vs. rook (watch for Lucena/Philidor) and practise with online drills.
• Week 3 – Opening refresh: Build a concise file on the Caro-Kann Exchange and Catalan main lines; add two new sidelines.
• Week 4 – Clock discipline: Play 10 rapid games at 10|0 focusing exclusively on time usage; review each game for one missed faster move.

6. Useful stats

Peak Blitz Rating: 2317 (2020-01-04)
Win-rate by hour:

7. Final thoughts

You are already a strong tactical player with sound openings. By tightening king safety in the g3 systems and managing your clock more efficiently, you will break through the 2300 blitz barrier soon. Keep enjoying the game and analyse at least one loss deeply every day – improvement will follow!