Coach Chesswick
Quick summary
Vladimir-Alexandru — you have a very strong rapid record right now: consistently high win rates, lots of clean tactical finishes, and a clear upward rating trend. You're converting advantages into wins instead of blundering them away. Keep building on that.
What you're doing well
- Excellent tactical finishing — you find mating nets and combinations (example: the quick win vs bluecookie123). See the sequence here: .
- Active piece play — you use knights and rooks aggressively and your coordination often creates decisive threats.
- Strong opening foundation in several systems — you consistently score very well with the Colle, Ruy Lopez (Berlin), and a handful of Sicilian/Caro-Kann lines.
- Good match temperament — you convert practical chances and are hard to outplay in long tactical sequences (your Win:Loss:Draw record is very positive).
Recurring weaknesses & patterns to fix
- Occasional back-rank and king-safety oversights. Several decisive sequences in the database end in mating nets; keep guarding escape squares (see back rank themes).
- Tendency to simplify into tactical complications without checking defensive resources. You win many of those, but against stronger resistance they can backfire — practice defensive calculation and spotting counterplay.
- Some opening lines (for example the French Advance in your stats) show poorer results. That usually signals unfamiliarity with the typical pawn breaks and long-term plans rather than tactical issues.
- Occasional rushed moves in the opening/middlegame — in rapid you have time for one extra verification (king safety, hanging pieces, opponent's strongest reply).
Concrete training plan (next 4 weeks)
- Daily tactics (20–30 minutes): focus on mating patterns, forks, pins, deflections. Target puzzles that require 3–5 ply calculation.
- One slow game per week (15+10 or longer): practice converting the kinds of advantages you get in rapid but with deeper calculation and no time pressure.
- Analyze 3 recent wins and 3 losses with an engine but do it in two passes: first find the turning point by yourself, then check the engine for missed resources. Focus especially on games in the French Advance where your score is poor.
- Endgame drills (2× weekly, 15 minutes): basic king and pawn endings, rook endgames and simple queen vs. pawn mates. These raise your conversion rate from small advantages.
- Practical checklist before each move in rapid: (1) Is my king safe? (2) Any hanging pieces? (3) What is opponent's strongest reply? — this habit eliminates cheap tactical losses.
Opening work — targeted & efficient
- Keep what works: deepen plans in your Ruy Lopez/Berlin and Colle lines. Study 3 typical middlegame plans for each opening rather than memorizing long move-lists. Try Ruy Lopez plans for pawn breaks and knight maneuvers.
- Repair weak lines: for the French Advance, pick two model games (one win, one loss) and extract the critical pawn breaks and piece placements. Practice the typical break on a training board until the plan becomes natural.
- If you play both 1.e4 and 1.d4 as White, create a short, reliable repertoire of 3–4 lines you understand well — it's better than a wide but shallow book of openings.
Practical drills & micro-goals
- 7-day micro-goal: +10 solved puzzles per day focused on mating nets; review mistakes nightly.
- 2-week micro-goal: Play four 15|10 games and analyze the first decisive error in each loss or near-loss.
- 4-week micro-goal: Reduce avoidable tactical losses by 50% — track "avoidable blunders" after each game.
Sample positions to practice
Work on positions where: your rooks are active but king has limited luft; knight sac on f7/g5; blocked center positions where a pawn break decides the game. If you want, I can extract three instructive positions from your recent games and give tailored plans for each.
Next steps & offer
- If you want, I can: (a) produce 3 annotated key moments from one of your wins, or (b) give a mini-repertoire sheet for the French Advance. Tell me which and I’ll prepare it.
- Want targeted homework? Reply with "Tactics", "Openings", or "Endgames" and I’ll give a 2-week plan with exact exercises.
References from your recent games
- Wins against: bluecookie123 (clean mating net), smurfchad123 (storming the kingside).
- Opening patterns you excel at: Ruy Lopez (Berlin) and various Colle lines — keep leveraging those strengths.