Coach Chesswick
Quick overview
Nice string of games — you showed good opening familiarity and practical decision-making, but a couple of recurring issues cost you games: missed exchange tactics and endgame technique. Below I highlight the decisive moments from your most recent win and loss, then give a short training plan you can apply in blitz practice.
Win — key ideas and what you did well
Game: Black vs fingr1 — you won after active counterplay and tactical conversion.
- Opening: a Sicilian-style structure (you handled the doubled c‑pawns and fianchetto well). See Sicilian Defense.
- What you did well:
- Targeted the queenside with rook play (…Rb8/…Rxb2) and created concrete targets — good use of rooks on open/semi-open files.
- Converted a spatial/structural edge into concrete tactics (the Rxb2 idea followed by simplification). You simplified when ahead and removed White’s counterplay.
- Time management was solid — you kept enough time to think in critical moments.
- Representative position (review the tactical sequence):
Loss — what went wrong and the tactical theme
Game: Black vs Diego Calens — a Grunfeld/Hungarian structure where you lost after a sequence of exchanges opened unfavorable lines for you.
- Opening: Grunfeld Defense / Hungarian Attack structures — you reached complex middlegame tensions around c6/d5 and piece trades.
- Main mistake: the sequence around 21.Rc7. After you played …Nd6, White traded on d6 and then took on d7; you ended up with worse pawn structure and lost material/initiative. This shows a recurring tendency: allowing defensive resources that become tangible after exchanges.
- Concrete improvement point: always check “if they take, what changes?” before committing a piece to a square like …Nd6 where an exchange sequence opens new lines.
- Representative position to review (focus on exchanges and resulting pawn structure):
Recurring patterns I see
- Strengths
- Very comfortable in many Sicilian setups — your opening win rates in Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation and other Sicilian lines are strong.
- Good practical instincts: you convert active piece play into concrete tactical opportunities.
- Weaknesses to fix
- Exchange tactics: a few games are lost because an exchange sequence opens opponent targets (watch trades to avoid creating enemy outposts or weak pawns).
- Endgame technique: games like the loss to Balistidae show issues turning middlegame complications into safe draws or wins — you allowed the opponent’s king/pawns to invade late.
- Occasional tunnel vision on one flank — check both sides before committing (especially when rooks are about to enter).
Concrete drills and study plan (2–3 weeks)
Spend 30–45 minutes daily on the following and you’ll see quick gains in blitz performance.
- Tactics (15–20 min/day) — focus on exchange tactics, pins, and intermediate moves (zugzwang/zwischenzug). Use a mix of easy->medium puzzles and filter for motifs like exchanges and discovered attacks.
- Endgames (10–15 min/day) — practice basic king-and-pawn, rook endgames, and opposition. Drill the Lucena and simple king invasion positions; these directly help the endgame losses you’ve had.
- Opening review (10–15 min every other day) — pick 2 problem lines from your recent games:
- Review the Grunfeld/Hungarian middlegame plans (pawn breaks, where to put knights vs bishops).
- Polish the key ideas in your favourite Sicilian lines (Sicilian Defense / Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation).
- Post-game routine (after each serious blitz session)
- Quickly scan the last 2 decisive games and ask: “Which exchange or pawn break changed the evaluation?”
- Spend 5–10 minutes with an engine only to confirm tactical misses and note the theme (add to a short list to drill).
Practical checklist to use before and during blitz
- Before the game: decide your opening plan (one-sentence memory): e.g., “Alapin — keep central control, avoid early piece trades unless +.”
- When you consider a move that places a piece on a contested square, ask: “If they capture, what changes?” — this catches the exchange tactics that cost you games.
- In simplified positions, trade only when you’re sure the resulting pawn structure favors you or when you can transition to a winning endgame.
- If you’re ahead: simplify but watch for hidden counterplay (rook lifts, checks, passed pawns).
Short-term goals (next 14 days)
- Complete 200 tactics puzzles focused on exchanges and pins.
- Master 5 basic rook endgame setups (Lucena, Philidor-ish ideas for rook vs pawns).
- Analyze 5 recent losses for the exact exchange that flipped the game — write the motif (e.g., “played …Nd6 allows Bxd6!”).
Final notes & useful links
You're trending up recently (your 1‑month and 3‑month slopes are positive), and your opening results show clear strengths to build on. Keep the tactical/endgame work consistent and you’ll turn those close losses into wins.
- Review the winning game above against fingr1 to see how you turned activity into concrete gains.
- Revisit the Grunfeld loss vs Diego Calens and practice the exchange sequence shown above until the motif is automatic.
- When you want, send 1–2 games and I’ll make a brief annotated follow-up focusing on exact move-level improvements.