white31 FM

What you’re doing well in blitz

You show a strong willingness to navigate sharp, tactical positions and seize the initiative early. Your record in some aggressive lines (notably the Amar Gambit family) indicates you’re very comfortable creating practical problems for opponents who try to equalize calmly. When you hit gimmes for attack, you generate concrete chances and pressure which opponents often struggle to answer quickly in blitz.

• You’re comfortable breaking out of quiet positions and going for active piece play, which can overwhelm less-prepared defenses in short time controls.
• Your willingness to sacrifice or complicate situations tends to pay off in blitz, leading to decisive wins when your opponent missteps.
• You frequently develop pieces efficiently and coordinate threats along open files or diagonals, which helps maintain momentum in the middlegame.
• You show resilience in dynamic middlegame battles and can convert gains from tactical skirmishes into a win, as seen in several recent decisions.

Areas to improve

In blitz, time pressure and consistent planning are often the deciding factors. Focus areas to strengthen your results include:

• Time management in blitz games. There are indications of time pressure affecting accuracy, especially when you’re chasing complications. Build a simple time-budget: allocate a fixed amount of time for the opening and early middlegame, and reserve a buffer for critical decision moments.
• Having a reliable fallback plan after the first few moves. While aggressive lines are exciting, ensure you have a clear plan if the opponent defends accurately and the position becomes closed or tactical opportunities don’t materialize.
• Endgame technique and conversion. A few games show you get advantages but miss precise sequences to convert; practice common endgame patterns and simple rook endings to improve consistency.
• Defensive awareness in sharp lines. When you’re attacking, be mindful of sudden counterplay. Quick checks for key threats (especially toward your king) can prevent unexpected shifts in momentum.

Practical plan to level up

Use this focused plan over the next two weeks to build steadier results in blitz.

• Time budgeting drill: In each blitz session, practice with a 3+2 or 2+1 pace for at least the first 15 moves, then reassess. Note where you spend too much time and trim choices to a short list of 2–3 forced plans per opening.
• Solid backup openings: Pick 2 White lines and 2 Black responses that you’re comfortable with beyond your favorite aggressive setups. For White, pair your go-to aggressive move with a solid, less-volatile option (for example, a principled development-based approach). For Black, have a reliable counter to 1.e4 and 1.d4 that leads to clear middlegame plans.
• Pattern-focused puzzles: Daily 10-minute puzzle practice that emphasizes tactic motifs you’ve encountered in blitz (forks, discovered attacks, decoys, and piece-heavy attacks). This helps you spot winning ideas faster under time pressure.
• Post-game review rhythm: After each blitz session, review 1–2 of your losses and 1 win. Write down the key turning points: where the initiative swung, where time pressure bit, and what you could have done differently (better moves, safer prophylaxis, or simpler simplifications).
• Endgame quick drills: Practice rook endings, queen endings, and common knight vs. bishop endgames. Knowing a few conversion patterns will boost your score in tight blitz finishers.

Two-week targets to track progress

Set tangible goals to measure improvement in blitz accuracy and reliability:

• Reduce time trouble: finish games with a comfortable remaining time, and avoid last-minute speculative decisions.
• Improve conversion: aim to convert at least 60–70% of clearly obtained middlegame advantages into a win.
• Balance openings: ensure your backup openings produce playable middlegames at least 75% of the time, not just sharp tactical shoots.

Next steps

If you’d like, I can annotate your upcoming games to highlight where time was wasted, where a simpler plan would have sufficed, and which tactical ideas consistently lead to success. I can also tailor a mini-repertoire and provide quick, practical drills based on the exact patterns you see most often in your blitz play.