Yaris9 WGM

Hi Yaris9 – personalised coaching feedback

1. What you already do well

• Fearless attacking play. Your French-Exchange win against Luka Budisavljevic shows excellent use of space-gaining pawn storms (g-pawn advance, 13.Ne5, 23.e6!).
• Opening awareness. You navigate both the Alapin, the Modern Defense and multiple Sicilian systems with confidence, indicating a broad repertoire.
• Tactical alertness. Motifs such as 11.Bxh5! (vs. queen_iryna) and 14.Nc6! (vs. DontStopMeNow12345) demonstrate sharp calculation.

2. Key growth areas

1. Clock management
   Five of the six listed losses were “lost on time”. You often reach defensible or even superior positions (e.g. the Modern vs. vugarrasulov) but fail to convert.
   Training plan:
   • Play a weekly batch of games with a larger increment (5 + 5) and focus on staying > 80 % of your opponent’s time.
   • Use the “stop-think-move” rule: if under 60 s, move within 5 s unless the position is tactical.
2. End-game technique
   The Alapin loss to Ivan Ivanisevic reached a balanced rook ending, but indecision (R c7/e7 shuffling) wasted both time and tempi.
   Drill: 20 twin-rook end-games each day on a trainer; focus on:
   • Active king (march Kf2-e2-d3 earlier in that game).
   • Cutting the enemy king with the rook on the 6^th rank.
   Critical moment sample:
   – instead 26.Rc8+! followed by Rc7+ ties Black’s king and equals immediately.
3. Modern Defense risk profile
   Three recent losses arise from passive structures after 1…g6. The line can work, but versus 2400+ opposition you sometimes drift into cramped positions.
   Suggestions:
   • Add the Pirc set-up (…Nf6, …d6, …e5) versus 1.e4 for extra counter-punching possibilities.
   • Study model games by Gurevich and Jones to see typical …c5 breaks.

3. Micro-improvements to convert more wins

• Convert material quickly. In your win vs. Budisavljevic the conversion phase (moves 47-57) repeated positions. In a tournament setting play g- and h- pawn exchanges earlier and march the king to g6.
• Simplify when ahead on the clock. If you lead on the board but trail on time, seek exchanges to reduce calculation demand.

4. Recommended weekly routine

1. 3 × 15-min annotated games (focus: clock discipline).
2. 75 tactical puzzles < 3 min each (reinforce your strength).
3. 2 end-game chapters (Silman or Dvoretsky) – especially rook endings.
4. Review two Modern Defense GM games, noting thematic pawn breaks.

5. Stats & progress tracking

Aim to surpass your previous best of 2534 (2022-05-20) within six weeks. Visualise improvement with:  

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Keep up the creative play, Yaris! Pair disciplined time usage with your natural tactical flair and you’ll convert more of those promising positions into points.