Umesh Chandra

Hi Umesh Chandra,

Great job steadily piling up wins and staying active! Your recent checkmates against sanaa-sanna and roamwild show creativity and fighting spirit. Below is some targeted, constructive feedback to help you level-up quickly.

What you’re already doing well

• Attacking instinct. You are not afraid to open files with pawn breaks (…f5, g4-g5, h-pawns) and launch direct king attacks.
• Tactical alertness when ahead. Once you win material you often keep the pressure on, as in your 37…Qxg4# finish vs sanaa-sanna.
• Time usage. You rarely get flagged and usually keep 6–8 minutes on the clock, giving you room to think.

Highest-impact improvements for the next 2 weeks

1. Develop pieces before moving flank pawns.
   In several games you played h4/g4/a4 by move 6. These moves leave pieces on the back rank and kings uncastled (see the loss to letmeplayimbad, moves 5–10). Try this opening checklist:
   “Center pawn, knight, knight, bishop, castle.”
   If a pawn push does not help one of those five goals, postpone it.
2. Keep your queen home until move 10+.
   Early queen raids (e.g. 11…Qxg2 in the LetMePlayImBad game) win pawns but let opponents gain tempi and attack your king. Train yourself to ask “Can a knight/bishop make the same threat instead?”
3. King safety first.
   Most of your losses come from exposed kings rather than material deficit. Make castling automatic; if you have not castled by move 8, look for a way to do it on the next move.
4. Blunder check every move.
   Before pressing “Move”, pause one breath and ask: “What did my opponent just threaten? Is anything hanging?” Doing this simple scan will eliminate 70 % of sub-400 blunders.
5. Reliable internet / commitment to finish.
   Several “losses” are abandoned positions in which you were fine. Make sure your connection is stable and avoid multitasking so you don’t forfeit winning games.

Opening roadmap

Pick one main system with each colour and stick to it for 20–30 games:

• With White: Queen’s Pawn Game – 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3/Bf4 keeps things simple, fast development, early castle.
• With Black vs 1.e4: Continue the Scandinavian Defense but aim for the classical line 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5, developing quickly instead of chasing pawns.
• With Black vs 1.d4/1.c4/1.Nf3: Replace the immediate …Nc6 with the more solid …d5, …Nf6, …e6 setup until you are 800 +. You will reach well-known structures and get your king castled sooner.

Tactical snapshot from your last win

Replay and ask yourself “Why did each move work?”

[[Pgn|1. e4 d5 2. f3 Nf6 3. c4 dxe4 4. fxe4 Nxe4 5. d3 Nc5 6. d4 Ne4 7. Bd3 f5 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. h3 h6 10. g4 g5 11. gxf5 Nxd4 12. Bxe4 Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 Qd4 14. Be3 Qxb2 15. Nd2 Qxa1+ 16. Qd1 Qxa2 17. h4 gxh4 18. Rxh4 ... 37... Qxg4#]]

Suggested practice routine

• 10 daily puzzles (rating 200–500) – focus on spotting checks and captures.
• 3 rapid games (10 | 0) applying the opening checklist; review each game for the first tactical oversight on both sides.
• 15 minutes of basic endings: king + pawn vs king, rook mates, etc.

Motivation & tracking

Your current personal best: 610 (2021-01-19). Let’s set a short-term goal of +100 points in the next month by following the habits above.

Keep the board hot, have fun, and message me if you have questions after trying these tips. Good luck on your climb!