Zakia Sultana WFM

Hi Zakia Sultana!

Congratulations on maintaining a ~2000 live-rapid level. Your recent victories, especially against val197217 and 1niccolo1, show strong tactical awareness and a healthy fighting spirit. Below is a blend of praise and concrete advice drawn from your latest games.

1. Opening trends

• As Black vs 1.e4 you trust the French. Your score is respectable, but both of your most recent losses (C13 & C05) highlight trouble in the Classical/Tarrasch lines once White launches a pawn storm with g- and h-pawns.
  • Review move orders after 4…Be7 and 7…c6 in the Classical. Many strong French players delay …c6, playing …c5 or …h6 quicker to challenge Bg5.
  • When you castle long, accelerate counterplay (…c5, …b4, rook lifts) before White’s attack lands. In the loss to vlade1959, you spent six tempi shuffling bishops/knights while White’s pawns crashed through.
• As White you favour the London & Accelerated London. Results are solid, but several time-losses came from over-manoeuvring. Consider mixing in 1.d4 c4 ideas (Queen’s Gambit or Catalan) to practice playing for early central tension.

2. Middlegame & tactics

• Good: You exploit open files well (see 18…gxf5!! followed by …Bg5 in your win vs Val197217). Tactics after pawn breaks are a clear strength.
• To improve: Piece coordination during defence. In several French losses you allowed Bxh7+ or Nxf5 forks because your queen and dark-squared bishop were not communicating with the king. Add 15-minute calculation drills: set a timer, find all checks/captures/threats for both sides before choosing a move.

3. Endgame & conversion

• Strength: When up material you generally convert cleanly (see R+P endgame vs Alex41249).
• Weakness: Time pressure leads to rushed decisions. Against ushoetee and miekl you were equal but flagged. Practise technical endings with a 3-second increment to build “automatic” technique (Lucena, Philidor, R vs R+P side checks, basic minor-piece mates).

4. Time management

You lost three of your last six defeats on time. Try the “40-20-40 rule” in 10|5 games: 40 % of your clock for first 15 moves, 20 % for middlegame transition, 40 % for the rest. Blunder-check with a quick scan before every move, but keep your hand off the mouse until you are ready to commit.

5. Concrete study plan (4-week)

1. French tune-up (Week 1)
   • Watch a GM French playlist; build a mini-repertoire vs 3.Nc3 & 3.Nd2 including …h6/…c5 ideas.
   • Annotate your loss to poszvald; note where …c5/…f6 could have equalised earlier.
2. Middlegame calculation (Weeks 2-3)
   • 30 puzzles/day filtered for “hard” rating & themes: deflection, clearance, defensive resources.
   • After solving, replay the full solution to internalise hidden motifs.
3. Endgame refresh (Week 4)
   • Study 20 classic rook endings from Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual.
   • Play 10 engine sparring sessions starting from an equal R+4 vs R+4 position; aim to win/draw vs 3200-elo defence.

Quick reference

• Your current peak: 2154 (2023-10-12)
• Activity patterns:

Game of the week (annotate it!)

Keep up the fighting spirit, pace yourself on the clock, and refine those French structures. I’m confident you’ll break 2100 soon—good luck!