Agustin Droin IM

Hi Agustín, here’s a tailored review of your recent play

Overall you are playing sharp, principled opening lines and scoring well against strong opposition, but a few recurring themes are costing points. Below is a concise break-down with practical drills and study ideas.

What you’re doing well

• Active opening choices. You consistently steer the game into dynamic positions (e.g. the Old Sicilian 3.Bc4 and Pelikan/Sveshnikov structures). They suit your tactical style and give you winning chances with both colours.
• Piece activity & initiative. Many of your wins come from rapid development followed by energetic pawn breaks (d4–d5, f4–f5, g-pawns storms). Example: 22.d6! in your latest win forces concessions along the c-file.
• Calculating forcing sequences. Conversions such as 24.dxe8=Q+ and 27.Nf6+ show you spot tactical resources quickly.

Key areas to improve

1. Clock management – four of the last six losses were on time or with < 10 s left in a lost ending.
   • Adopt a structure first approach in the opening: use your prep to save clock, then invest time later.
   • Set a mental “spend limit” (e.g. max 20 s) on non-critical moves; press the clock and keep playing.
   • Practise 3 + 2 or 1 + 1 games to force faster automatic decision-making.
2. End-game conversion – promising middlegames sometimes drift.
   Try the “60-move ladder” drill: start R+P vs R with 60 s each and ladder down to B+P vs B, K+P vs K, etc. This builds pattern memory under time pressure.
   Recommended course: Silman’s “Endgame Manual” chapters 5 & 6 (rook endings you frequently reach).
3. Pawn-storm risk assessment with Black (Caro-Kann & English reversed).
   • Games against TimAina and Peng_Li-Min show early …h5/…g5 weakened dark squares and invited sacrificial attacks.
   • When playing …h5 in the Caro structures, commit only if you have the follow-up …h4 and the centre is closed. Otherwise retain kingside flexibility with …Re8/…Nf8 plans.

Openings diagnostics (last 20 games)

• Sicilian as White – +75 % score. Keep it; deepen your prep versus …e6 setups.
• Caro-Kann as Black – –40 % score, mainly vs 2.Nc3 & Advance. Consider adding the Classical (…dxe4 & …Bf5) or even 1…e5 repertoire for variety.

Illustrative snippet

After 33…Bxh6?? in your Caro-Kann loss you could have equalised with 34.Qc6+! forcing a perpetual. Spotting such resources comes from routine blunder checks before capturing.

Training plan – next two weeks

1. Daily: 15 min of Woodpecker style tactics (focus on clearance & deflection).
2. Alternate days: play two 10 + 5 games; annotate immediately, then run “blunder check” only after your own notes.
3. Weekend: rehearse five theoretical rook endings from Silman, then test in 3 + 2 vs engine.

Stats & tracking

Your blitz peak so far: 2502 (2025-05-04). Let’s aim to add +50 pts in the next quarter – the time saved on the clock alone can get you there.

Watch your playing rhythm here:

Keep the energy high and the king safer – every pawn push must earn its keep!

Good luck and feel free to send more games any time.