Nemanja Zivkovic IM

Recent Game Highlights

Nemanja, reviewing your recent blitz games shows solid fundamentals and good strategic play.

• Your win against Kyrie2012 with the King's Indian Defense smyslov variation featured strong positional play, good use of minor pieces, and effective pawn pushes on the queenside creating pressure.
• You showed good patience and solid defense even under pressure, especially in complex endgame positions.
• In your losses, you encountered strong attacking play from opponents leveraging open lines and tactical threats, especially in the English Opening and Ruy Lopez games.

Strengths

• Good understanding of positional concepts and piece coordination.
• Competent and calm handling of transitions to the endgame.
• You demonstrate the ability to capitalize on opponents' inaccuracies and pressure weaknesses effectively.
• Consistent play with a nearly even strength-adjusted win rate around 50% at your high rating level (~2600+).

Areas for Improvement

• Opening Repertoire: Your results with the Sicilian Najdorf and other Sicilian variations suggest your opponents often gain the upper hand. Consider revisiting key theoretical lines, especially the Najdorf, to reinforce your preparation and increase your win rate above the current 40%. Target understanding common tactical themes and counter-attacking plans.
• Handling Defensive Challenges: In losses, tactical shots by your opponents like quick attacks on your king appeared decisive. Work on improving your tactical vision to identify and neutralize threats earlier.
• Convert Opportunities More Frequently: In drawn or close positions, find ways to press and increase winning chances—tighten endgame technique and exploit subtle weaknesses better.
• Reacting to Time Pressure: Implementation of your plans under time constraints sometimes wavered. Practice blitz-specific time management strategies to maintain accuracy in sharper time controls.

Looking at Your Rating Trends

Your recent rating change over 1 to 3 months shows a slight upward trend (+3 points) and a positive slope (~+3.8), indicating stable performance improvements. However, the 6 and 12 month trend slopes are slightly negative, suggesting some fluctuations or stagnation over longer periods.

Focusing on consistency and strengthening your opening preparation might help reverse the longer-term slight decreases and raise your peak rating further.

Practical Recommendations

• Review your most played openings, especially the Sicilian Najdorf and related systems. Deepen your theoretical knowledge and practice common plans against popular variations.
• Analyze losses focusing on tactical oversights or missed defensive resources to minimize repeated errors.
• Work on endgame studies to enhance technique in tight positions where you can convert or hold more often.
• In blitz, practice managing time effectively, combining speed with accuracy under pressure.
• Continue playing regularly to maintain rating momentum and incorporate lessons from your game reviews.

Keep Up the Great Work!

Your disciplined approach has kept you near the 2600+ rating level—a strong achievement. With targeted preparation and sharpening of key areas, you can push your performance higher.

Keep analyzing your games and learning from each experience. Happy training and good luck in your next games!