What You're Doing Well
Zvonko, your recent games demonstrate a strong command of various popular openings such as the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation and several Sicilian Defense variations. Your win rates in these lines are impressive, consistently above 55%, with some reaching near 64% like in the Ruy Lopez Exchange. This familiarity gives you a solid foundation going into middlegame positions.
- Consistent ability to convert advantages into wins in complex positions, showing good tactical skills.
- Strong endgame technique, as seen in your ability to press advantages and force resignations.
- Good time management overall in blitz games, which is crucial for maintaining quality moves under time pressure.
- Positive upward trend in rating over the last 3 and 6 months, indicating ongoing improvement.
Areas to Focus On for Improvement
Despite your many strengths, your games show some recurring themes where you can focus effort to raise your performance further:
- Handling Counterattack Pressure: In your most recent loss, you allowed your opponent to generate strong counterplay against your king's position. Working on defensive resources and prophylactic moves can help reduce the risk of being overrun.
- Opening Stability Against Aggressive Lines: While your win rate is good in popular openings, analyze some of the positions where you lost or drew to find if there are specific variations or ideas that trouble you. This will make your opening repertoire tougher to crack.
- Maintaining Composure in Critical Moments: Quick tactical oversights sometimes surface when the clock gets low. Practicing tactical puzzles with short time limits or doing focused blitz sessions on calculation accuracy can help.
- Expanding Knowledge of Less Familiar Endings: Some games ended in draws or lost positions where deeper knowledge could have swung the result. Studying tricky endgames relevant to your openings will add confidence and skill converting small advantages.
Next Steps for Training
To continue progressing steadily and make the most of your current rating momentum, consider these approaches:
- Review your recent lost and drawn games to pinpoint the critical moments and recurring mistakes.
- Incorporate focused opening preparation on your less comfortable lines, using databases and engine analysis.
- Regularly solve tactical puzzles under timed conditions to enhance calculation speed and accuracy.
- Study instructive endgames from your recent games and master key theoretical positions relevant to your playstyle.
- Maintain your current training balance as the rating trend slope shows positive growth while preventing overtraining fatigue.
Summary
Your strong foundational knowledge and consistent winning are evident in your blitz performances. By sharpening your defense against active counterplay and reinforcing your opening and endgame knowledge, you can continue elevating your results. Keep capitalizing on your strengths, and use your recent wins as motivation for steady progress.