Road to 1600 Rapid, trying to improve after every game.
Just found this thread, and it is extraordinarly interesting. Although you are on a bit of a losing streak, I definitely think you should get to 1600 soon. My suggestions would be to be very focused during the games that you play and try to anticipate what your opponents should or will play. I also think it is important to try and create middlegame plans in the opening and try to develop your pieces with a purpose. I also find myself playing too quickly so sometimes I just slow down and consider other options, and I like to analyse the position and calculate even when it is not my turn; using some of your opponent's time rather than your own is not a bad idea!
This is exactly what I should be doing, but somehow I`m becoming too impatient and I play stupid moves. If i try to be patient, my opponent gets to think about his move and can slam one out instantly when I play, then I get into time trouble. It seems like a catch 22
Check out my blog! I do the Road to GM series, I am currently 1500 rapid. https://www.chess.com/blog/GMKENNYJI
How do you lose on time in 15 min game lol
It rarely happens, 15/10 is some kind of weird format where you actually have time to think, but I keep encountering opponents who are hell bent on keeping the timer above 15 minutes. I don`t understand it, what is the point of playing longer time control games if you`re not going to use that time? I`ve had opponents writing "MOOOVE" and "??????" in the chat when spending more than 2 mins on a move in 15/10. I play in focus mode so I don`t see it until after the game, but it`s quite funny really.
Yes, even in one of my games, an opponent managed to get over 20 mins
Sometimes they even play amazingly good moves too.. I`m thinking if they can calculate good moves in less than 10 seconds, if they actually took the time to think they would be GM
This is a pattern which can arise quite frequently, especially in situations where an opponent is completely hell-bent on keeping a +1 pawn advantage even though it means keeping the king in the centre and falling behind in development.
I think as 1600 approaches closer, I really need to work on my positional and endgame skills, because this loss came as a result of accumulated positional concessions, and having no clue how to defend in a worse endgame.
Yeah I think that was the most instructional loss I`ve played so far. I had a thought process behind every move until that queen exchange, which sort of happened on autopilot. It would have been far better to bring a rook over, defending, and at the same time adding more pressure to the backward pawn. Tempo and piece activity is everything in rook endgames, and that goes for rook and minor piece endgames too.

I think as 1600 approaches closer, I really need to work on my positional and endgame skills, because this loss came as a result of accumulated positional concessions, and having no clue how to defend in a worse endgame.
Do you see which one is critical mistake?. At move 19. Bc1 is super passive, you say. But it is the only move to defend your pawn structures. And after Bxc4, black is already better. ( The strategy of the game changed immediately, from play for win ------》》》play for draw as the best chance)
Do you see which one is critical mistake?. At move 19. Bc1 is super passive, you say. But it is the only move to defend your pawn structures. And after Bxc4, black is already better. ( The strategy of the game changed immediately, from play for win ------》》》play for draw as the best chance)
Indeed, when looking at the position objectively, it becomes clear that I should have remained calm, defended my pawn with the bishop and looked to kick the knight away later. Only then should I have thought of my own attacking plans. As played, I just gave black an easy attacking plan. The rooks and the c-pawn were already well placed to pile up on my b-pawn.

@Giasira You really have to analyze more carefully.
In game 65 I cannot see enough compensation for the pawn you lost/sacrificed. Only white's strange moves afterwards gave you compensation (like 12. h3 instead of a useful developing move as Nc3 or Bd2)
For example in your game 66 of course 11. Nxe7 is immediately winning.
But also later you had the chance to win with 21. Dxe5 Db6 22. fxg4 Tc8 23. Td7 De6 24. Dc7 f5 25. Txe7+ Dxe7 26. Dxc8+ Kf7 27. Dc4+ Kg7 28. exf5 (Sorry, Computer line, I just felt there must be something and 24. Qc7 is difficult to see...). Hope you found both in analysis, however, you did not mention it.
What I am missing in almost all of your analyses is any comment or variations for your opponent's moves. E.g. in game 69 black could have easily equalized playing 11 ... d5, which indicates that your previous play lost the advantage of the first move. You must try find the best moves in a position for yourself and your opponent, how can you calculate and judge the resulting positions otherwise?
Besides, to me it seems that the quality of your play varies a lot (not mentioning your opponents...). Sometimes the games look more or less clean, sometimes your opponents blunder and sometimes you do. These blunders are often very significant or even losing on the spot. First thing you should do is figure out why your blunders happen and then try eliminate that. This will be a really big step in reaching your goal.
Edit: Sorry for the yellow background. I have no idea how to remove that.
@Giasira You really have to analyze more carefully.
In game 65 I cannot see enough compensation for the pawn you lost/sacrificed. Only white's strange moves afterwards gave you compensation (like 12. h3 instead of a useful developing move as Nc3 or Bd2)
For example in your game 66 of course 11. Nxe7 is immediately winning.
But also later you had the chance to win with 21. Dxe5 Db6 22. fxg4 Tc8 23. Td7 De6 24. Dc7 f5 25. Txe7+ Dxe7 26. Dxc8+ Kf7 27. Dc4+ Kg7 28. exf5 (Sorry, Computer line, I just felt there must be something and 24. Qc7 is difficult to see...). Hope you found both in analysis, however, you did not mention it.
What I am missing in almost all of your analyses is any comment or variations for your opponent's moves. E.g. in game 69 black could have easily equalized playing 11 ... d5, which indicates that your previous play lost the advantage of the first move. You must try find the best moves in a position for yourself and your opponent, how can you calculate and judge the resulting positions otherwise?
Besides, to me it seems that the quality of your play varies a lot (not mentioning your opponents...). Sometimes the games look more or less clean, sometimes your opponents blunder and sometimes you do. These blunders are often very significant or even losing on the spot. First thing you should do is figure out why your blunders happen and then try eliminate that. This will be a really big step in reaching your goal.
Edit: Sorry for the yellow background. I have no idea how to remove that.
I have a bunch of bad chess habits, one of them is playing way too many games in one session. On 29.7 I had vacation and could spend the entire day playing chess, so that is what I did. That is why I sometimes just make horrible blunders due to inattention. I`m playing when I`m tired or frustrated, so I`m missing obvious threats. Today I went for many hours on a fishing trip in a boat surrounded by beautiful Norwegian nature, so chess just completely vanished from my mind. Then I played game 69 when home, and I felt much more concentrated and relaxed. You are right in that I should make a more thorough analysis, and include what I think my opponents plan might be. I will start playing fewer games and try to get quality over quantity.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/3919624581
OK, please tell me how my opponent is rated 1440. If he is, then why am I rated so low?