Tomas Laurusas GM

Quick summary for Tomas Laurusas

Nice streak of improvement — your short-term numbers show a solid gain (+29 last month, +52 over 3–6 months). You have huge practical experience (thousands of games), good opening wins in some sharp systems, and you know how to score in blitz. The main symmetry to fix is consistency: big peaks and some steep drops over longer periods. Below are concrete, chess-coach style steps to keep your momentum and cut down the swings.

What you're doing well

• Experience: You’ve played a massive volume of games — that builds pattern recognition and practical instincts.
• Opening strengths: High win rates in lines like the London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation and Australian Defense — you know how to create practical problems for opponents early.
• Endgame and technique under time pressure: many blitz wins mean you can convert advantages and exploit practical chances.
• Momentum: recent upward rating change and positive 3–6 month trend slope show you can climb when you focus preparation and habits.

Main areas to fix (high impact)

• Loose pieces / hanging material (LPDO): a lot of blitz losses come from simple piece hang-ups. Before and after every capture, quick check: how many attackers, how many defenders? Use the term Loose Piece as a mental alarm.
• Time management in blitz: avoid panic moves in the last 10–20 seconds. If you rely on pre-moves, only pre-move safe recaptures and checks. Don’t turn winning positions into scramble losses by flagging.
• Opening inconsistency: your performance by opening is uneven — for example the Slav Defense shows a low win rate compared to your best lines. Simplify your blitz repertoire to a few reliable systems you understand deeply rather than many sidelines.
• Tactical oversights: sharpen calculation for short combinations (forks, pins, discovered attacks). A missed tactic in blitz costs games — 10 minutes of daily tactics yields quick improvement.

Opening guidance (blitz-specific)

Use the openings where your win rate is already high and where lines are practical (low memory, high forcing). For the ones with worse results, either study the typical pitfalls or drop them from your blitz toolbox.

• Keep playing: London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation and Australian Defense — your win rates show you are comfortable and scoring.
• Rework or avoid: the general Slav Defense as played shows weaker results — inspect recurring middlegame plans and common traps in your games and patch them with a short 5–10 move “blitz safe” line.
• Make a 1–2 page blitz cheat-sheet for each opening: typical pawn breaks, one safe development plan, and the one tactical shot opponents play. Memorize plans, not long theory sequences.

Concrete 30-day blitz improvement plan

• Daily (15–30 minutes)
  • 10–15 tactics (mixed time) focusing on forks, pins, and X-ray tactics.
  • 5 minutes of bullet/blitz practice but finish with 1 game at classical pace (10+5) to practice accuracy.
• Weekly
  • 2 rapid games (15+10) — analyze one mistake per game in depth (why it happened, how to avoid it).
  • Openings: one 30–45 minute study session on the weakest blitz opening (e.g., the Slav), making a short “blitz refutation” notebook.
• Monthly
  • Review 30 recent blitz games and tag recurring themes (hanging pieces, time loss, endgame blunders). Create a 1-page checklist from those tags.
  • Play a 50–game blitz block and track how many losses are tactical misses vs time/psych mistakes.

Blitz checklist (use during games)

• Before capturing: count attackers and defenders (two-second rule).
• If less than 30 seconds left: play safe, avoid complicated material sac lines unless you see a forced win.
• Keep king safety first — many blitz swindles exploit exposed kings.
• If ahead in material: trade queens and simplify; don’t let the clock or nerves convert your edge into a loss.
• Use increment: if games have increment, slow down in the critical moments — extra seconds buy accuracy.

Short tactical drill (example)

Work this motif into your daily tactics: always ask “who controls the square” and “is any piece hanging after the capture?”

Here is a short illustrative sequence to replay and think through (use it as a warmup):

• Replay this sequence and pause before each capture:

Practical habits and mindset

• Post-mortem every decisive loss: one key question — what single change would have turned this into a draw/win?
• Limit the number of openings you try in blitz sessions — depth beats breadth.
• When tilted or tired: take a break. Your record shows many wins when focused; fatigue causes the long-period drops.
• Use the phrase Blitzkrieg as a reminder to keep pressure when you get initiative, but don't confuse speed with accuracy.

Next steps I can help with

• I can analyze 3–5 of your recent blitz games and produce a one-page "fix list" for recurring errors — paste PGNs or share a few game links. Example: opponent123.
• I can build a 14-day personalized tactics set targeting your most frequent tactical blindspots (LPDO, forks, pins).
• Want a short blitz opening sheet for the Caro-Kann Defense or the London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation? I can prepare one with concrete plans and trap alerts.

Final note

You have the experience and recent momentum. Small, disciplined changes — daily tactics, a lean blitz repertoire, and a short game-time checklist — will convert that into more stable rating gains and fewer wild swings. If you want, paste 3 PGNs and I’ll give targeted corrections for each game.