Alexandra Afanasieva WFM

Alexandra, here is some tailored feedback based on your recent games.

Quick snapshot

• Peak blitz rating so far: 2636 (2024-04-30).
• Typical activity:
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What you are doing well

1. Solid Black Repertoire. Your Queen’s Indian (…Ba6, …c5) and Caro-Kann structures show good strategic understanding. The win against MikeWizard illustrates how comfortably you handle minority-style pawn play and piece coordination.
2. Practical Gambit Handling. As White you are happy to enter the Goring (vs. bssjdm) or grab space with the advanced French structures. You often obtain the initiative quickly.
3. Nerve in Complicated Positions. You rarely shy away from unclear sacrificial lines (e.g. …Qxh3+ followed by …Qxg2# in the accelerated Panov). This courage wins you many miniatures.

Main improvement themes

1  Concrete calculation vs. “hope chess”

Several losses share a moment where a single tactic refutes an otherwise reasonable plan:

• Your piece activity looked promising, but pawns on both wings became loose. Missing 27.Ra7 allowed White to seize the seventh rank and win by force.
• Drill: 10 minutes/day of “Calculate till quiet” exercises. Force yourself to verbalize the candidate → forcing line → evaluation routine on every move that changes the position (captures, checks, threats).

2  Dark-square weaknesses after flank pawn pushes

In several Sicilians (loss to LittleCube) and the Modern defence game vs. Dodouo you advanced h– or g–pawns early, inviting …Qd7–h3 or …gxf5 ideas.

• Before pushing a wing pawn, run the “dark-square checklist”: Who controls g3/e3/c3/f3? What is the worst square my opponent’s queen or bishop can reach after the push?
• Study model games by Kramnik in the Catalan/Queen’s Indian where he contains dark-square holes with patient manoeuvres.

3  Time management

Even with a 1-second increment you often reach critical positions on 0 :05 – 0 :15 (e.g. the final conversion in your win vs. MikeWizard).
Rule of thumb: spend ≤ 20 % of your clock in the opening, 50 % in the middlegame crisis, reserve 30 % for the endgame.

4  White repertoire depth

The 1.e4 d3 / 1.e4 g3 setups keep you flexible but sometimes concede the centre without concrete pressure. Consider adding one mainstream weapon so you can “turn up the heat” against strong opposition:

• Open Sicilian with 3.d4 if you enjoy tactics.
• Italian Game (Giuoco Pianissimo) for a strategic fight with familiar structures.

Action plan for the next four weeks

Players & resources worth revisiting

• Positional mastery in similar structures: Kramnik (Queen’s Indian), Ulf Andersson (Caro-Kann endgames).
• Tactical alertness: look at finishes by ShazilTheGOAT2006—the game you lost is a ready-made puzzle set.
• Concept glossary: review Zwischenzug and Deflection motifs; they appear in many of your critical moments.

Keep playing ambitious chess, but marry it with a bit more calculation discipline and time control, and your next rating jump will follow soon. Good luck, and enjoy the journey!