Simplify when above 85%
Once you're clearly winning, spend each move trading pieces or removing counterplay, not collecting pawns like 20.Rxa7.
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English Defense
Winning almost every game against 1...b6, then letting the clock take 7 of them.
Score57%+8% vs your average
Win chance after move 1252%same as your average
Blunders per game1.25same as your average
Clock left at move 102:44+5s vs your average
8
76
5
4
3
2
a1
bc
d
efgh1. d4 b6 2. Bf4 Bb7 3. e3 e6
What it says about you
Opponents try the offbeat 1...b6 and ...Bb7 against you, and you meet it with a calm London setup rather than chasing refutations. You clearly out-understand them positionally. What goes wrong is your pace: you play these positions as if you had a 10-minute clock.
How you play it
You come out level (move-12 win chance 51.6) and then take over, reaching move-20 win chance 62.4, well above your 54.1 baseline. Remarkably, 27 of your 28 games reached a winning position (85%+), but you won only 16, and all 12 losses came from there. Games are long (45.2 moves on average), and 7 of your 12 losses were timeouts. You even arrive at move 10 with more time than usual (164.1s against 159.2), so the clock gets burned in the middlegame. That is where 6 of the losses were decided, with the other 3 in the endgame.
What you're missing
- 01
Conversion is the story: 16 wins from 27 winning positions. That is your 59%-conversion leak in its purest form.
- 02
You missed Nxg5 on two consecutive moves (17.a3 and 18.Bg3, dropping from 80% and 92% to 60% each time). The tactic sat there while you made quiet moves.
- 03
20.Rxa7 grabbed a pawn and walked into a combination, going from 94% to 12%. Greedy pawn grabs when you're already winning are the worst risk-to-reward trade in blitz.
- 04
Seven timeouts in 12 losses means you are losing on the clock in positions you've already won. Your 45-move average game length means simplification isn't happening.
How to improve it
- 01
Against 1...b6 the most direct answer is 2.e4 Bb7 3.Bd3 or 3.Nc3, which uses the tempo to build a big centre that the b7 bishop runs into. With the London, keep e4 under control and consider an early Bd3, Nbd2 and a timed e4 break.
- 02
The b7 bishop's long diagonal aims at your king, so in any exchange sequence check what opens toward g2 and h1. A lot of 1...b6 players' tricks come from there.
- 03
When you're winning, trade pieces (especially queens) and cut the game short. You don't need the a7 pawn, and you don't need 45 moves.
- 04
For tactics, drill knight forks and knight sacs on g5 and f7. Nxg5 was the recurring miss.
Where it goes wrong
Your losses in this opening, by where and how the decisive mistake happened.
Phase of the decisive mistake
What the mistake was
Variations you reach
| Main line | 28 | 57% |
Winning positions converted here: 59% (16 of 27).
Recent mistakes in this opening
Your move in red, Stockfish's in black.
8
76
5
4
3
2a1b
c
de
fgh
vs danielghe (1550) · 27-05-26 →
8
76
5
4
3
2
a1b
c
d
e
fgh
vs danielghe (1550) · 27-05-26 →
87
65
4
3
2a1b
c
d
e
f
gh
vs omaralisouri (1295) · 05-05-26 →
87
65
4
32
a1b
c
d
e
f
gh
vs omaralisouri (1295) · 05-05-26 →
Next steps
Budget clock for move 30
Aim to have at least 60 seconds at move 30. Seven of your 12 losses here were timeouts.
Try 2.e4 against 1...b6
Take the free centre with 2.e4 Bb7 3.Bd3 so the opponent's bishop has nothing to bite on.
Drill it
Puzzles built from your own mistakes in the English Defense, and every game you've played in it.