Yuri Zhizmer IM

Hi Yuri, here is your personalised post-tournament review

1. General impression

Your recent blitz sessions show a fearless, initiative–driven style. When it works (see the Sicilian French-Variation win vs. Patryk Mrozowski), you overwhelm opponents with space–gaining pawn storms and piece activity. But the same ambition sometimes costs you material or clock time, leading to losses on time vs. SHAPIRO VIKTOR and Nikolaos Poupalos.

2. Openings

• With White – You alternate between 1.e4 (Sicilians, French Exchange) and flank systems (Nimzo-Larsen 1.b3, Anderssen 1.a3). Decide which lines you truly want to master and narrow the menu. A tighter repertoire will speed up decision time in blitz.
• With Black – The Pirc/Modern structure (…d6, …g6) gave tough positions but some end-games slipped. Study common plans in the Pirc after …e5 breaks and typical exchange sacrifice ideas on c3/c4.

Quick drill

Replay the critical phase that cost you the game vs. GlavkonVVS and note how the misplaced queen and loose pawns appeared:

3. Tactical radar

You spot direct tactics (e.g. Nd5! in the Najdorf win) quickly, but overlook hidden counter-shots on the back rank or long diagonals (…Bb4+ in the loss to GMAkobianSTL). Five-minute daily sessions of Mixed Tactics at 2400–2600 rating should plug those gaps.

4. Time management

Half of your losses were on time. Try this routine:

1. First 10 moves: spend ≤ 10 seconds total (use your prep).
2. Middle game: move-time cap of 8 seconds unless the position is forcing.
3. Last 30 seconds: switch to “safe mode” – no pawn pushes that open your king.

5. End-game technique

The conversion vs. Ivan Andrade was smooth – excellent use of the passed h-pawn and outside majority. Continue drilling rook-and-pawn endings; they arise from your Pirc structures often.

6. Next steps

• Analyse five games per week with an engine after writing your own notes first.
• Add one classical game (15 + 10 or longer) each practice day to reinforce deep calculation.
• Keep a blunder diary – every tactical miss goes in, annotated with its theme (pin, over-loaded piece, back-rank, etc.). Review weekly.

Progress trackers

Use these widgets to monitor whether the adjustments are helping:

Motivation corner

Your current peak blitz rating is 2753 (2025-01-07). With cleaner time handling and a trimmed opening book, climbing another 50–70 Elo is realistic within two months.

Good luck, keep the pieces coordinated and the clock under control!