YakimishinKostya

YakimishinKostya – Coaching Feedback

1. What you already do well

• Tactical alertness: Several of your recent wins were decided by sharp tactics (e.g. …Nxf3+, …Qxh3+, and mating nets on the back rank). You spot loose pieces and aren’t afraid to calculate forcing lines.
• Initiative-driven play: You often seize the initiative early with …g5/…h5 pawn storms or quick central breaks such as …d5 and …d5-d4. This keeps opponents under pressure and is a valuable skill once paired with sound structure.
• Opening variety: You have experimented with 1…e5 versus 1.e4 (Petrov, Two Knights) and both 1…d5 and 1…e6 set-ups versus 1.d4. Exploring positions from both sides of the board will speed up your chess growth.

2. Main improvement areas

1. King safety & pawn structure
   Early pawn thrusts (…g5/…h5 or g4/h4 as White) often weaken your own king more than your opponent’s. In the loss against HUGEBlunderMan you had castled but still collapsed after Nxf7.
   Guideline: push flank pawns only when your king is already safe and you understand the counter-punches available to your opponent.
2. Opening efficiency
   Moving the same piece multiple times (e.g. Qd8-d5-d8 or Qh5-f3-d1) cost valuable tempi. Build pieces toward the centre once, castle, then look for tactics. A light study of classical principles will fix half of these issues quickly.
3. Handling critical positions
   You sometimes choose the wrong defensive plan in tactical storms. Review the diagram below – Black is objectively fine, but one mis-step led straight to mate.
   
   
   
   Ask yourself: “What is my opponent threatening?” before committing to forcing moves.
4. Time management
   Two of your recent losses were on time in equal or better positions. Try the 20-40-40 rule: 20 % of your clock for the first 10 moves, 40 % for the middlegame, 40 % saved for the final phase. Blitz finishing skills improve once you keep 30-40 s on the clock after move 25.

3. Action plan for the next two weeks

• Opening focus: choose one line as White (e.g. London with Bf4) and one as Black versus 1.e4 (Petrov) and versus 1.d4 (Slav). Play 10 games in each and analyse without an engine first. Log critical moments.
• Tactics training: 20 puzzles/day, theme = double attacks & discovered checks. Record motifs you miss in a notebook.
• Self-review routine: After every game, spend 5 minutes answering three questions:
  1) Where was the first moment I was out of the book?
  2) What tactic did I miss (either side)?
  3) Did I manage my time? (Yes/No)
• Play at your best hour: your win-rate spikes in the evening – see
  . Schedule important rated sessions then.

4. Quick reference

• Your peak blitz rating: 1203 (2024-04-12)
• Key motifs to study next: fork, pin, zwischenzug.
• Inspirational game to replay: sjavadtaghavi – YakimishinKostya, finish with 38…Qxb2# (nice coordination of rook & queen).

5. Motivation boost

You scored 5 wins out of your last 7 games – great momentum! With tighter opening play and steadier clock usage, crossing 1200 is within reach this month. Keep the pieces coordinated, breathe before every critical decision, and enjoy the climb.