Alexander Viñas

Constructive feedback for Alexander Viñas (Vinniaz)

What you are doing well

• Initiative seeker: In many of your wins you grab space early with pawn thrusts such as d4-c4-e4 or the advance f4/f5. This keeps opponents on the back foot and produced tactical wins like 15.Bxc7! against Pascal77.
• Practical tactics: You regularly exploit unprotected pieces (e.g. 33.Nxg6!! vs. God80) and are not afraid to sacrifice material for activity. Keep sharpening tactics daily; they are already a main weapon.
• Piece activity in the middlegame: You often double rooks on open files quickly (Rd1–d6, Rc1–c6 ideas). This “active-rook mentality” is excellent and should be retained for every phase of the game.
• Opening range: Both as White and Black you handle multiple setups (Nimzo-Indian, Benoni, Sicilians, French, Caro-Kann). This flexibility will serve you well once each line is polished.

Key areas to improve

1. Time management
   Five of your last seven losses ended with the clock hitting zero, often in positions that were still playable or even drawn (see move 60…Kg4?? vs. MESTRELUDY).
   • Adopt a “two-phase” thought routine: 80 % of time for the first 25 moves, 20 % for conversion/endgames.
   • When below 30 seconds, simplify to an easily handled ending, or force a perpetual check.
   • Drill 1-minute “board vision” exercises to speed up your calculation of simple tactics.
2. End-game technique
   In the rook endgame versus MESTRELUDY you reached a drawn position but lost both the b-and h-pawns. Study the basic rook-pawn endings (Philidor, Lucena) and remember the golden rule: keep your rook behind the passed pawn. Practical tip: play five daily endings against the computer set to ~2000 Elo and start with 2 minutes each.
3. Handling the Sveshnikov structure
   Your recent loss in the Sicilian B33 showed problems after 9…Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6. White’s Nd5/F5 jumps arrived unhindered and queenside play (axb5) shattered your pawns.
   • Re-check the main line: 9…Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.Nd5 O-O! 12.c3 Bg5! keeping d5 under control.
   • Practice against Play vs. Computer with the book up to move 12 and play both sides to feel the plans.
4. Pawn-structure awareness
   When playing …f5/e5 setups (English Rat, Dutch-like structures) you sometimes leave dark-square holes (e.g. d5, e6) that opponents exploit with knights (Nb5-Nd5). Annotate your own games marking every pawn move with “weakens?” or “controls?” to build this habit.

Concrete study plan (4-week mini-cycle)

Day	Theme	Resource / Goal
Mon-Wed	Tactics	40 puzzles/day  →  pass rate ≥80 %
Thu	End-games	Play 10 ‘R+P vs R’ positions vs engine
Fri	Openings	Memorise 15 moves of Sveshnikov main line; blitz 5 games to test
Sat	Annotated Review	Pick one win + one loss, annotate without engine, then compare to engine
Sun	Rest / Blitz for fun	Limit to 10 games, focus on time handling

Quick stats & visuals

Your current personal best: 2117 (2015-06-14)

When do you score best? Explore:

and

Positions to replay

Critical moment – holdable rook ending (vs. MESTRELUDY)

Try to defend from move 50 as Black; aim for the drawing zone with the king on h7 and rook on g6.

Tactical highlight – 33.Nxg6!! (vs. God80)

This shot shows your attacking flair – keep hunting for these motifs.

Final encouragement

You are already an aggressive, resourceful player. Combine that fighting spirit with better clock control and a solid end-game foundation and breaking 2300 blitz will be within reach. Keep enjoying the process and good luck over the board!