Sara Adel WFM

Hi Sara, here is some tailored feedback to help you climb to the next level!

What you are doing well

• Sharp opening preparation. Your use of the Grand Prix Attack (see your latest win against aggelosaa04) consistently puts early pressure on opponents.
• Tactical alertness. The 10.Bxf7⁺/11.Nxg5⁺ idea in that same game shows excellent pattern recognition and confidence in sacrifices.
• Clock handling. Several wins (e.g. vs. jabucejo & melatonin777) came from superior time management; keep this habit!
• Fighting spirit in difficult endings. Your conversion in the Slav endgame vs. cmet469 displayed good technique and patience.

Biggest improvement opportunities

1. Re-check pawn grabs in the Caro-Kann.
   In the loss to nesterix you accepted 16…Qxb2 & 17…Qxc3, leaving your king stuck in the centre and pieces undeveloped. Before taking “free” pawns, apply the “three-question method”:
   • What is my opponent threatening?
   • How will my king, pieces and structure look after the capture?
   • Do I have a safer improvement move?
   Practical tip: load that position in analysis and set a 2-minute timer to find alternative moves (e.g. 16…Be7 or 16…Qc7).
2. Light-square weaknesses in your own Grand Prix.
   A recent defeat vs. mfilou ended after …29…Qxg2#. Notice how the dark-square bishop on c7 and queen on b8/b7 often head to g3/f4. Consider the prophylactic plan h3–g4 only when the e-pawn is firmly protected and the dark-square bishop is outside the pawn chain.
3. King safety in off-beat gambits.
   Against the Englund Gambit (loss to charlesdtz) you entered complications without finishing development. A simple setup with Nf3, e3, Be2, 0-0 would have kept the extra pawn and neutralised Black’s initiative.
4. Convert time edges into clean positions.
   Many opponents flag, but stronger rivals will defend accurately. Train playing winning endgames with 5-second increment to shift the focus from flagging to flawless technique.

Skill-building drills for the coming week

• From the diagram after 16…Qxb2 (vs. Nesterix) set up five defensive puzzles: find safe alternatives, then play them against the engine until you hold equality.
• Play a 10-game blitz streak starting 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 but forbid yourself from taking any pawn with the queen before move 20.
• Endgame flash cards: rook + pawn vs. rook, queen vs. rook, and opposite-coloured bishop endings (10 positions each).

Quick reference

• Your best blitz peak: 2242 (2024-01-09)
• Activity snapshots:

Replay & reflect

You are on the right path—focus on the highlighted patterns and you’ll see rapid gains. Good luck with your training, and feel free to reach out when you need fresh material!