Igor Yarmonov IM

Hi Igor!

Great job maintaining a solid 2400+ blitz level (see 2571 (2025-02-12)). Below is some personalised feedback based on your most-recent games.

1. What you are already doing well

• Consistent repertoire. As Black you trust the Caro-Kann and the QGD/QGA family; as White you favour flexible Queen’s-Pawn setups. This keeps your opening prep focused and practical.
• Conversion technique in technical endgames. The wins versus olm1965 and rajesh nayak show patient squeezing with passed pawns and good rook activity.
• Clock handling under pressure. Many of your wins come from opponents running out of time; your habit of making quick practical decisions is a strength.

2. Recurrent problems to fix

1. King safety after early …h6/…g5 structures. • Loss to elite_training (English Four Knights) and to kaelanmikla (Caro-Kann Breyer) both featured weakened dark squares.
   • Tip ➜ Delay …h6/…g5 unless you have concrete justification, and prefer prophylactic moves such as …Kh8 or …Re8 first.
2. Overlooking forcing tactics along the h- and g-files. • In the diagram below Black is fine, yet after 28…Ne6? you were mated in four. Try to spot a safer continuation before reading on:
   
   
   
   • Exercise: whenever your opponent has a rook on g- or h-files pointing at your king, force yourself to calculate every check & capture.
3. Time-pressure consistency. Despite many flag victories, you also lost on time against Liuber Gongora. • Tip ➜ Adopt a “minimum time per move” rule in simpler positions (e.g. ≥1 second) to keep enough reserve for critical moments.

3. Opening-phase micro-goals

4. Suggested training routine (4 weeks)

1. Tactics: 25 puzzles/day focused on back-rank & rook-lift motifs.
2. Calculation drill: Two “blindfold replay” exercises from your own recent games (stop at a critical position and calculate 5-move lines).
3. Practical endgames: Re-play your conversion versus OLM1965; then practise the same rook-plus-passed-pawn vs rook ending against an engine set to 2200.
4. Opening refresh: Each weekend, spend 60 min updating one note per side with 3 key memory markers (critical positions, typical plans, traps).

5. When do you score best?

The following internal charts might help you schedule play when you perform at peak:

6. Quick reference “watch-outs” list

• Never push both …h6 and …g5 before completing development.
• After castling short, ask “How many pieces guard my king?”; if < 3, improve one defender.
• In blitz with +2 sec increment aim to have ≥10 seconds by move 30; flagging becomes trivial afterwards.

Keep up the disciplined work, Igor. Patch the tactical blind spots and tighten your king safety, and 2500 blitz is within reach!