Zach Slagowski

Hi Zach!

Great effort in your recent run of games. I’ve reviewed the six most-recent wins and losses you provided and extracted the main trends. Below is a balanced assessment with clear next steps.

Quick Snapshot

• Favourite White opening: London-style (1.d4 2.Bf4).
• Favourite Black opening: Caro-Kann (…c6 & …d5) – appears in 4/5 of your latest Black games.
• Average game length: 25–30 moves, usually decided by a tactical shot or a flag.
• Most common result trigger: Opponent’s king walk or a sudden tactical blow for/against you.

Your Current Strengths

1. Fast Development & Initiative – In your victory vs. efgs2000 you castled early, doubled rooks on the e-file and converted the attack swiftly. Nice model game! (
   
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2. Piece Activity Awareness – Repeatedly you place minor pieces on aggressive squares (e.g. 24.Ne6+! in the same game). This shows tactical vision.
3. Practical Mind-set in Bullet – When ahead, you simplify quickly (e.g. 23.Qxf6+ & 24.Rd8 against GabrielGaspar) and force resignation.

Key Improvement Areas

1. Time-management – avoid “0-second” moves
   • Four of the five recent losses ended on time or under 3 seconds with a worse position.
   • You often enter sharp positions (e.g. Benoni vs. MMMMtwss) but keep 15 ⟶ 2 seconds for ten critical moves.
   Action: Adopt a “4-second rule” – never let a move drop below 4 sec unless it gives forced mate.
2. Opening Detail in the Caro-Kann
   • Two opponents exploited …Qa5 tricks after 8…Bb4+ in the Advance/Two Knights lines.
   • In the Panov loss (vs. Monkeman60) 13…Qb6? drops the c6 pawn to 15.Nxc6.
   Action: Study one clean system such as the Short Variation (…Bf5 + e6 + Nd7) and stick to it for a month.
3. King Safety vs. Pawn Storms
   • Loss vs. MrBillyBounce: you delayed queenside development; White’s 15.g4 Ng6 17.h4 18.h5 crashed through.
   • When you castle short in the Caro, be ready for g-pawn pushes; consider counter-play in the center (…c5!) earlier.
   Action: Add the pattern “h-pawn storm vs. f6-knight” to your tactical warm-up set.
4. Conversion Technique When Up Material
   • In the Benoni game you were up a rook on move 16 but let activity slip and eventually flagged.
   Action: Practice “up a rook” bot positions (e.g. Chess.com drills at 800-1200) and aim for trades + king safety within 5 moves.

Suggested Weekly Plan

Motivation Corner

You’re sitting right around 1621 (2023-09-03)—every small fix yields a quick Elo jump. Keep the initiative you’re famous for, plug the early Caro holes, and your next rating milestone is around the corner.

Progress Tracker

Let’s touch base in two weeks to see which area feels better. Until then, enjoy the grind—every game is a lesson!

Coach