Stanojoski Zvonko GM

Constructive Feedback for Stanojoski Zvonko

Your Current Strengths

• Dynamic opening repertoire. As White you score well with aggressive 1.e4 lines such as the Austrian Attack (see the recent win vs FMchesstrainer). As Black you handle Benko/Benoni and Modern-type set-ups confidently, which often lead to rich middlegame play.
• Tactical alertness. Several wins show decisive combinations (e.g. 26.Rxf6+!! against Suryaputr), demonstrating good pattern recognition and courage to calculate.
  
• Practical fighting spirit. You frequently convert unclear positions into full points by keeping pieces active and posing problems for the opponent.

Main Areas to Improve

1. King safety during pawn storms.
   Losses against Edgar_Karagyozyan reveal that early g- and h-pawn pushes left your king exposed once the attack fizzled. Before advancing wing pawns, double-check:
   • Is my own king completely safe (castle, flight square, piece cover)?
   • Can the centre open suddenly (…c5, …e5, …d5)?
   Practical drill: play training games where you are forbidden to push a wing pawn until move 15; this nurtures patience and board-wide evaluation.
2. Calculation discipline.
   In the English loss you missed 31…Bxc3! and 39…Qxd4, both simple two-to-three-move tactics. Adopt a quick “SCAN” routine before every move:
   • Seize: Your forcing moves (checks, captures, threats).
   • Check: Opponent’s forcing replies.
   • Assess: Resulting position.
   • Narrow: Compare and decide.
   Daily puzzle rush or rated tactics (10–15 min) will steadily raise this ceiling.
3. End-game technique.
   Several games reach rook-and-pawn phases where you allow unnecessary counterplay (e.g. vs Tamrik2 and yarosavich). Focus on:
   • Lucena & Philidor positions.
   • Cutting off the enemy king before pushing passed pawns.
   Recommended: play “pawn + rook vs rook” drills against an engine until you can win/draw with < 30 seconds on the clock.
4. Time management.
   You often enter critical middlegames with < 1:30 left (3|0 time control), increasing blunder risk. Suggestions:
   • Use opening bookmarks to play first 10 moves almost instantly.
   • During opponent’s turn, rehearse your candidate list so move 11+ still gets 10–15 seconds.
5. Broadening the repertoire against English/Catalan setups.
   In the A13 loss you played an early …Bd6 and …Be8, leading to passive piece placement. Investigate:
   • The solid Reversed Benoni structure with …c5, …d6, …e5.
   • The King’s Indian set-up (…g6, …Bg7, …d6, …e5) which mirrors openings you already like.

Action Plan (Next 4 Weeks)

Week	Focus	Exercises
1	King Safety & Centre Control	Review 5 personal games; annotate every pawn move beyond the fourth rank.
2	Tactics	40 Puzzle Rush runs / 400 rated puzzles.
3	Rook Endgames	Play 20 engine drills from start positions with R+P vs R.
4	Anti-English Repertoire	Create a 15-line mini-file with your preferred responses; test in sparring games.

Reference Game to Model

The following victory encapsulates your strengths. Re-visit and ask yourself “Which decisions were universally sound, and which relied on opponent error?” [[Pgn|1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 a6 5.Nf3 b5 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.e5 c5 8.Be4 Rb8 9.exd6 exd6 10.O-O Ne7 11.dxc5 dxc5 12.f5 gxf5 13.Bf4 fxe4 14.Nxe4 O-O 15.Bxb8 Nxb8 16.Qe1 Ng6 17.Kh1 Qb6 18.Qf2 Nd7 19.c3 Bb7 20.Ng3 c4 21.Nf5 Qxf2 22.Rxf2 Nc5 23.N3d4 Nd3 24.Rd2 Be4 25.Nd6 f5 26.Ne6 Rf6 27.Nxe4 fxe4 28.Nxg7 Kxg7 29.Re2 Re6 30.g3 Ne7 31.Kg2 Nd5 32.Rf1 e3 33.Rf3 Re5 34.h4 a5 35.a3 Kg6 36.Kh3 Rf5 37.Kg2 Rxf3 38.Kxf3 Kf5 39.g4+ Ke5 40.h5 Nf4 41.Re1 e2 42.g5 Ne7 43.Rg1 Nxh5 44.Kxe2 Ng6 45.Ke3 Nhf4 46.Rh1 Kf5 47.Rxh7 Nd3 48.Rb7 Nxb2 49.Rxb5+ Ne5 50.Rxb2 Kxg5 51.Rb5]

Motivation & Tracking

Your blitz peak is already impressive – 2430 (2016-05-02). Maintaining a progress diary and periodically checking will spotlight improvement zones.

Keep the pieces active and the king safe, and the results will follow. Good luck with your training, Zvonko!