Nova Daily - 21 April 2026: My game statistics
Hi!
It's been a fair bit since I've started writing my Dailies. Initially I had some time starting up, but just before the year 2025 hit, I managed to get into a rhythm of really writing daily. Since 30 December 2024, I've had a consistent streak of daily posts. Sometimes they take a bit longer to finish, which means that I catch up the next day. But I'm always in the process of writing.
Because I still have a quick round to fill, I've decided to delve a little deeper into my 2026 game history and see how I'm doing overall. I'm approaching my 500th Daily blog, and through my work I've gotten to know myself quite well.
I like to think that I made significant progress as a chess player. Judging by the numbers, I have no other choice but to believe that. Three of my ratings are at their overall peak: my CC blitz, my CC rapid, and my FIDE rating.
My game statistics
I've changed a significant part of my black repertoire at the start of this year. Before 2026, I had decided to play the Nimzo-Indian against 1.d4. I have some material on it, it's a strategically very rich opening, and I really wanted to learn this system because I know that it's a high-reward opening system. I genuinely think that it's an opening that can carry players very far once they master it. However, I happened upon some unwelcome challenges with this opening.
My issues with the Nimzo
Much as I love the Nimzo, it's not exactly been easy for me to get the necessary reps in. White's choice after 1.d4 Nf6 is enormous, and the number of my opponents who prefer to play the London system has become larger than the number of players who allowed me to play the Nimzo after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6. And even after 3.Nc3 Bb4, how many different opening lines should black be ready to face? I genuinely don't know. And that's the point.
I can't say that the Nimzo has failed me, but it has certainly overwhelmed me. Maybe I failed the Nimzo. Then again, there's no such thing: if something is a misfit, it's the more mature thing to acknowledge that things don't work in the way they might have. Ending mismatched relationships can save you years of grief, and that was certainly the case for me. It's comparable to a relationship in which both sides have fundamental differences that can't be worked out: terminating such a relationship may save a lot of pain in the long run. That's what the Nimzo and I decided to do, and we each went our separate ways.
I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to have something ready for my first OTB encounters this year, I needed to find something that's easy enough to get the basic hang of. And so I decided to disregard any preconceived notions and genuinely look at the options that I had at my disposal, and what kind of a player I really am. I figured that I prefer something that's as rock-solid as it can get, and that's how I landed on the Semi-Slav. I've had a few minor successes in the past with the Semi-Slav, and I had already started my work on the Caro-Kann last year, so I decided to rekindle my relationship with this system of c6/d5 and rely upon it against 1.d4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3.
You get to play three moves for free.
I can't know for certain, but I genuinely believe that this change of repertoire has been a very wise decision. The statistics back me up on this.
I've played 12 Classical OTB games with black this year. Out of those games, my score has been 7 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses, and in both lost games I had been much better at one point. The work has been paying off: my blitz rating improved from 2521 to above 2600. My rapid rating improved past 2400, with six wins this calendar year.
This repertoire is doing its work, and I'm happy about it. I still need to do some work on my games, but so far the results have been genuinely favourable. I'm liking what I see, and I no longer have that sense of "I don't know what to do" whenever 1.d4, 1.c4 or 1.Nf3 is involved. I used to struggle a lot with this, and if I can say one thing about my progress this year is that I've been better equipped against these lines. And what's more: I feel more comfortable.
My improvement is not only the result of my opening work. Daily workout on and off the chess-board has been a tremendous help as well. And if that's not enough, I have found the motivation to improve thanks to the realisation that one day I will be dead. If I want to accomplish things, then no-one is here to do it for me. Only I can. I want to be able to look back in awe, and have that as my guide.
I have to get going.
I have stuff to do.
