Coach Chesswick
Personalised Feedback for Marcin Szymański
Quick Snapshot
• Current peak blitz rating:
• Typical playing window:
• Consistency by weekday:
What You Are Doing Well
- Enterprising openings. In recent wins you have embraced sharp systems such as the Smith-Morra (B21) and aggressive French-Advance structures. You often reach positions with the initiative and open lines for your pieces early.
- Tactical alertness in complex middlegames. The 26.Rxc8! 27.Rxc8+ sequence in your latest victory shows confident calculation under time pressure.
- Piece activity over material. Several games illustrate a healthy willingness to sacrifice pawns (or exchange) for long-term pressure, e.g. 23.Rxd5 vs PeterPetrik.
Recurring Issues to Address
- King safety in flank-pawn structures.
• Loss vs CoachBucci: early h4 combined with delayed castling let Black break through with …Qg3+ and …Qd3#.
• When you play 3.f4 / 5.h4 setups, castle by move 9–10 or close the centre with d4–e5 before pushing wing pawns. - Over-ambitious pawn grabs in slower time controls.
• In the daily French (C05) you committed the queen to b2-a2 and were punished by a direct attack. Ask “What can go wrong if my queen remains off-side for 3 moves?” before capturing loose pawns. - Converting advantages.
• Even in wins you sometimes drift (e.g. missed faster mates in the Smith-Morra). Create a simple mental checklist in won positions: 1) King safety, 2) Piece coordination, 3) Force exchanges, 4) Pass pawns. - Time management.
• Blitz losses show critical decisions taken with <10 seconds. Allocate time consciously: opening (10 %), early middlegame (40 %), critical middlegame (40 %), conversion/endgame (10 %).
Targeted Training Plan
| Focus Area | Action | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| King-side safety | Play 20 puzzles/day with themes h-pawn storms against un-castled king and zwischenzug. | Build reflexes to meet flank pawn pushes with central counterplay or timely castling. |
| French & Sicilian repertoire as Black | Prepare one solid line vs 3.Nd2 (French) and a calm …e6 Sicilian to complement the sharp …h5 ideas. | Reduces preparation burden and lessens risk of early tactical blows. |
| Endgame technique | Weekly study of one classical rook endgame; replay Carlsen–Karjakin 2016 g3 rook endgame & mimic moves. | Raises conversion rate when material up & low on time. |
| Clock handling | Set a soft alert at 60 s; force yourself to make a move within 15 s after the beep. | Prevents last-second blunders and distributes thinking time. |
Model Game to Review
Below is the critical phase from your latest win. Try to pause before each of Black’s moves and predict the best continuation.
Next Steps
- Play a mini-match (10 blitz games) focusing on only quiet king-side development—no early flank pawn pushes. Compare results with your usual style.
- Every Monday, annotate one of your own losses without an engine, then compare to the engine afterwards. This will sharpen self-diagnosis skills.
Keep up the creative play, Marcin! Addressing the few structural weaknesses above will quickly convert more of your promising positions into wins.