ChessRise Game review pack Game Review Pack · USD 19
You lose on move 20 to 25, and almost always the same way
Twenty games reviewed. One mistake accounts for more lost rating than every opening problem combined.
You asked which opening to study. None of them. Across twenty games you lost eleven, and in nine of those eleven the losing move came between move 20 and move 25, in a position where you had equal or better material and under two minutes left on the clock.
You reach move 20 with a playable position in 17 of 20 games. You then average 42 seconds per move for the next five moves and hang something. The openings are not your problem, and studying more of them will not fix this.
Pattern
Where the games are actually lost
| Game | Position at move 20 | What you played | Time left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game 3 | Equal | Hung a knight to a fork | 1:48 |
| Game 5 | Better, plus 1.2 | Missed a back rank threat | 1:31 |
| Game 7 | Equal | Hung a rook | 0:54 |
| Game 9 | Better, plus 0.8 | Allowed a discovered attack | 2:10 |
| Game 11 | Equal | Hung a knight to a fork | 1:22 |
| Game 14 | Better, plus 1.6 | Missed a back rank threat | 1:05 |
| Game 16 | Equal | Hung a bishop | 1:44 |
| Game 18 | Equal | Allowed a discovered attack | 2:02 |
| Game 20 | Better, plus 0.9 | Hung a knight to a fork | 1:17 |
Four of the nine were positions where you were winning. Three of the nine were the same tactic: a knight fork you did not see. Every one of the nine had under two minutes and ten seconds on the clock.
Themes
Three tactics, not thirty
Training
The week, and the clock rule
| Focus | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Knight fork puzzles, 20 of them | 20 min |
| Tuesday | Knight fork puzzles, 20 | 20 min |
| Wednesday | Two rapid games with the clock rule | 25 min |
| Thursday | Back rank puzzles, 15 | 15 min |
| Friday | Knight fork puzzles, 20 | 20 min |
| Saturday | Three rapid games with the clock rule | 40 min |
| Sunday | Review your own losses from the week | 20 min |
Sixty puzzles on one theme in a week. That is deliberately repetitive. Pattern recognition on a single tactic responds to volume on that tactic, not to variety.
Over to you
Two questions and three positions
- In game 14 you were winning by 1.6 and had 1:05 left. What were you thinking about on that move? Try to remember honestly, because the answer is probably not chess.
- You play 10 minute rapid almost exclusively. Would you rather have a higher rapid rating or be a better player? Both are fine answers and they point at different plans.
- Replay game 5 from move 18 and find the back rank idea before looking
- Replay game 11 from move 19 and find the fork
- Replay game 20 from move 20 and find a move that keeps your advantage without allowing the fork
You are a stronger player than your rating, and you are losing to a six move window and a clock. That is genuinely good news, because openings take months and this takes weeks.
Coach note