Coach Chesswick
Constructive feedback for Yerkin Kozganbay
Quick snapshot
• Current form: a solid streak of attacking wins tempered by a few avoidable losses.
• Personal best so far: 2877 (2023-08-14).
• Activity charts:
What you are doing especially well
- Dynamic pawn play. In many French-type positions (e.g. your win vs. Edegem) you seize space with f- and h-pawn storms, often forcing weaknesses around the enemy king.
- Tactical alertness. Your victories against conbosuaquay and Aliencowboy show crisp calculation of mating nets and long diagonals. The sequence 23…Ng4 24.Bxf4 Nf2+! was found quickly under time pressure.
- Practical decision-making. When positions get sharp you rarely hesitate to sacrifice material for the initiative, converting several games on the clock or through perpetual pressure.
Recurring issues to address
-
King safety when you play the French as White.
In the loss to icecreamiscream the manoeuvre 26……Rg6+ exploited dark-square weaknesses and an exposed king. Your early 17.b4 & 19.b5 left e3/g3 light squares unprotected. Aim for a slower build-up or castle long to keep the rook lift …Rf6-g6 out of the position. -
Conversion technique in won endings.
You were completely winning vs. Rafail Antoniou but resigned after mis-coordinating rooks on an outside passed pawn. Basic end-game drills (rook vs. rook+pawn, Lucena & Philidor) will save 10-15 rating points per week. -
Time management.
Two recent defeats (vs. Jerzy Slaby on time and vs. Dr_Aficionado after an early crisis) came with <15 s on your clock while the position was still defensible. Try the 30 second “flash check” every five moves: ask “Is a simple move good enough?” before diving deeper. This habit alone usually cures most zeitnot problems.
Study plan for the next two weeks
| Day | Focus | Typical workload |
|---|---|---|
| Mon-Wed | French Defence middlegame patterns (exchange sacrifices on f3/c3, dark-square strategies) | 30-40 min interactive puzzles |
| Thu-Fri | King-safety drills with engine defence (load the position after 25…Rf6 and try to hold vs. Stockfish) | 3 attempts × 10 min |
| Weekend | End-game technique (R+P vs R, & opposite-colour bishops) Test yourself with the set in “100 Endgames You Must Know” | 60 min split session |
A critical moment to revisit
Here is the tactical fragment from your loss to icecreamiscream. Ask yourself “Where should my king belong and which minor piece should I exchange first?”
Next step
1. Analyse each loss for the first tactical mistake, not the last one.
2. Keep a personal opening notebook; add one line per session, nothing more.
3. Re-test yourself in two weeks—your improvement will be visible in the charts above!
Good luck and enjoy the process! – Your chess coach