Coach Chesswick
Hi Vivian!
Below is a constructive snapshot of your current chess profile together with an actionable improvement plan. Keep this as your personal training roadmap for the next few weeks.
Quick stats
- Current peak: 1466 (2020-04-17)
- Favourite defence as Black: Sicilian ( B20-B33, B27 )
- Typical session length: 3-5 games (180 + 2).
Strengths to build on
- Dynamic openings. Your choice of the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon and Sveshnikov consistently yields unbalanced middlegames where you out-calculate many opponents.
- Tactical alertness. In the win vs. ashkanhadi you spotted …Rfd8 and …Rc6-c3, converting a rook ending smoothly.
- Practical fighting spirit. Several wins come from putting pressure on the clock even in equal positions.
Key areas to improve
- Time management. Eight of the last fifteen decisive games ended on the clock (four losses, four wins). Aim to keep >25 seconds entering any rook or pawn ending.
• Drill “move-and-trust” habits in quiet positions.
• Play one 10 + 5 game after every blitz session to rehearse deeper calculation without flag-fear. - End-game technique. When you lost the McDonnell Attack game on time you already reached a drawn knight vs. rook ending. Study basic setups:
• Lucena & Philidor (rook + pawn).
• Key squares in pawn endings.
Work through chapters 1-4 of Silman’s “Complete Endgame Course” and test with 20 puzzles/week. - Handling opposite-wing pawn storms as White. In the Ruy Lopez loss you advanced g- and h-pawns before securing the king and the e4 point, allowing …Qf6-h4 ideas.
• During review, ask “What is my opponent’s pawn lever?” before any flank push.
• Annotate three of your own Lopez games, marking every irreversible pawn move. Patterns will surface quickly. - Broadening the White repertoire. You rely heavily on 1.e4 Sicilians and occasionally Ruy Lopez. Introduce one anti-Sicilian line to reduce prep time (e.g. 3.Bb5+ or the Alapin). Build a mini-file with five critical positions and train them with spaced repetition.
Illustrative mini-lesson
The move 20…Bxg3? grabs material but misplaces the bishop and burns 20 seconds. Instead, 20…d4! keeps the initiative. Use this as a reminder: If you are up in development, open lines before collecting pawns.
Suggested weekly routine (4-week cycle)
| Day | Focus | Volume |
|---|---|---|
| Mon / Thu | Tactics sprint | 30 puzzles (mix of zwischenzug & deflection motifs) |
| Tue | End-game study | 2 chapters + 10 practice positions |
| Wed | Opening file refresh | Add one line & play 2 rapid games |
| Fri | Annotated game | Self-review + coach feedback request |
| Sat / Sun | Rated blitz | 10-15 games, apply the week’s theme |
Progress tracking
Use the built-in insights to monitor form peaks:
Little steps daily beat a marathon once-a-month. You’ve already proven you can operate at an 1800+ level; tightening the three areas above could take you past 2000 in the next quarter.
Enjoy the journey and message me after each cycle—let’s celebrate the breakthroughs together!
—Your Chess Coach