Viktor Skliarov IM

Quick summary

Solid cluster of rapid games — recent wins show good tactical flair and piece activity, recent losses highlight recurring issues with time management and defending against passed pawns / promotion races. Rating has dipped ~28 points over the last month, and your strength-adjusted win rate (~0.49) suggests you’re roughly performing at expectation versus similarly-rated opposition, but there’s room to convert advantage more consistently.

Highlights — what you did well

• Active piece play and initiative: in your win against Caleb Levi you grabbed central space and kept the pieces on aggressive squares rather than hiding them.
• Opening variety and preparation: your repertoire (Bishop’s Opening, Alapin, French Advance, etc.) gives you good practical chances and several high win-rate lines — keep using that edge. See example: Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid, Hromádka Variation.
• Conversion under pressure: many wins come from pressing small advantages and forcing mistakes — your finishing instincts are strong when the opponent gives you targets.
• Tactical vision: you win a lot of games by spotting combinations and exploiting loose pieces — continue drilling tactics to keep that sharp.

Main weaknesses to address

• Time management / time trouble: several games (including the loss to Sergey Sklokin) finish with extremely low clock values. When the position becomes complex you’re losing practical chances to the clock.
• Endgame technique in pawn races / promotions: you allowed opposing passed pawns to queen or created messy promotion races where the opponent’s coordination won (see the promotion sequences in recent loss).
• Opening-specific losses: your record in some Sicilian Closed / anti-Sveshnikov type structures is weaker. Targeted theory and model games will help close that gap.
• Prophylaxis and counterplay: in a few losses you let the opponent build a single obvious plan (advance a pawn, lift a rook, create a passed pawn) with insufficient preventative measures — tighten your prophylactic thinking.

Concrete next steps (training plan)

• Daily (15–30 min): tactics — focus on calculation depth and pattern recognition. Mix medium puzzles (4–6 plies) with one hard puzzle a day.
• 3× week (30–60 min): endgames — practice rook + pawn vs rook, queen vs rook races, and basic pawn race positions. Work with tablebase examples until the winning technique is automatic.
• 2× week (30–45 min): opening review — for the Sicilian/Closed lines where your win rate is lower, review 8–12 model games and one typical middlegame plan. Drill the key break moves and a few typical tactics your opponents often use.
• Weekly: one slow rapid game (15|10 or 10|5) to practice thinking under increment and to eliminate pre-move/time-scramble habits.
• Post-game routine: after every session pick 3 losses/dubious games and annotate them quickly — what was the turning point, one improvement per game, and one recurring pattern you see across games.

Practical tips to use at the board (rapid)

• Quick checklist before you move: opponent’s checks, hanging pieces, immediate pawn pushes, your king safety. If anything urgent exists, resolve it first.
• When ahead: simplify if the simplification reduces opponent counterplay (trades that reduce passed pawn chances). But before trades, ask: does this exchange make my king or pawn structure weaker?
• Pawn races: when queens, rooks or connected passed pawns appear, switch to counting mode — count moves to promotion for both sides and prioritize blocking opposition promotion paths and king activity.
• Time rule: at ~3 minutes left, switch to a “practical mode” — stop long-forcing lines unless necessary; aim for safe, improving moves and keep an eye on increment (if any).

Opening-focused advice

• Leverage your strengths — keep playing lines with high win rates (French Advance, Alapin, Bishop’s Opening Horwitz Gambit) to score more wins where you know the plans.
• Target improvement: allocate focused study time to the Sicilian Closed / Anti-Sveshnikov lines (your Openings Performance shows lower win rate there). Learn one reliable setup against typical pawn breaks and one defensive idea to neutralize counterplay.
• Build a short “anti-prep” packet: 3–5 moves you play against common sidelines your opponents try — this saves time and avoids drifting into unfamiliar territory during rapid games.

Mindset & tournament tips

• When you notice a small slide in rating (-28 last month), don’t chase quick fixes. Follow the training plan and focus on consistency (fewer lost wins and fewer lost on time).
• Use a short breathing ritual between games — 30 seconds to reset focus reduces tilt and bad mouse errors.
• If you repeatedly flag or get into time trouble, switch to formats with increment for a week (10|5 or 15|10) to retrain your clock sense.

Example: review your latest win

Here’s a compact replay of your recent win — use it to mark the critical moments (where you improved activity and where your opponent’s pieces got cramped):

Links & targeted resources (placeholders)

• Opponent reviews: Caleb Levi, Sergey Sklokin, Logan Clark Shafer
• Opening to review: Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid, Hromádka Variation and Sicilian Defense: Closed

Final note — what to focus on this month

• Cut down losses to time trouble: play 10|5 or 15|10 for a week; track whether flagging drops.
• 15–30 minutes/day of tactics + 2 focused endgame sessions on rook/pawn races each week.
• One opening deep-dive (Sicilian Closed lines) so you stop being surprised and can play confidently from move 10–20.

Send me one annotated game (loss or unclear win) and I’ll give a move-by-move check focusing on decision points and simpler alternatives.