chess.com / Player B · 1,570 games · Stockfish 19 on every one of them (Mar 1 – Sep 22 2026)

You are getting better. Now stop giving back the games you’ve already won.

Almost everything you play is 10+0 rapid. You went from 334 to 1,034 in six months, and the engine confirms the improvement is real. What is costing you points now is mostly one thing: what happens after you are winning.

84.3%your accuracy over the last 30 days. Opponents: 82.6%. You outplay them in 56% of games.

42%of your big mistakes are made from winning positions: 1,115 of 2,647

6:53median clock when you blunder a winning position. It isn’t time trouble.

263games lost after being +5 or better, 41% of all your losses

The short answer

Analysed: Player B’s chess.com rapid games: 1,570 games · Stockfish 19 on every one of them (Mar 1 – Sep 22 2026). Report date: September 22, 2026.

Verdict: Improving, and it shows in the moves themselves. Compared with March–June, your accuracy is up 3 points, your big mistakes are down 19%, and you punish more of your opponents’ blunders. All of this holds at p < 0.001. You are also winning fewer games from lost positions, so the gains aren’t luck. Your rating has sat around 1,030 since August for one reason: 83% of your recent games are unrated, all of them as White. In rated games you score 66% with White and 48% with Black.

Biggest leaks:

Giving back won games: Reached +5 in 1,044 games · lost 263 · drew 39
One-move oversights: ≈690 mistakes · 26% of all
Not taking what’s offered: 862 missed punishments · 94 free pieces · 10 mates

How to review your own games for free · Time pressure in chess, measured

Where you’re stuck

1000–1400

Typical at this rating

The r/chessbeginners rating guide describes this band as players who still sometimes hang pieces, don’t understand openings yet, and create weaknesses with random pawn moves. The next band up, 1400–1600, has stopped hanging pieces in one move but still overlooks the opponent’s threats.

Yours

You’ve mostly outgrown this band. As White you are +2.4 by move 10, and your big mistakes are down 19% since the spring. Your wall is the next band’s: missing the opponent’s threats, especially once you’re winning. 42% of your big mistakes come from positions that were already won.

Last 30 & 90 days vs. your first four months

Improving, or lucky?

Improving, and it shows in the moves themselves. Compared with March–June, your accuracy is up 3 points, your big mistakes are down 19%, and you punish more of your opponents’ blunders. All of this holds at p < 0.001. You are also winning fewer games from lost positions, so the gains aren’t luck. Your rating has sat around 1,030 since August for one reason: 83% of your recent games are unrated, all of them as White. In rated games you score 66% with White and 48% with Black.

Metric	Last 30d	Last 90d	Mar–Jun	Read
Results
Games	473	772	733
Rating, start → end	1035 → 1034	1072 → 1034	334 → 899	flat, because most games are unrated
Score	59.2%	59.7%	51.8%	up (p = 0.002)
Skill: what the engine sees
Your accuracy	84.3	84.0	81.1	up (p < 0.001)
Opponents’ accuracy	82.6	82.2	81.2	tougher opponents
Big mistakes per 40 moves	1.98	2.04	2.45	down 19% (p < 0.001)
Opponent blunders you punish	69%	69%	63%	up
More accurate than opponent	56%	57%	52%	up
Eval at move 10 as White	+2.4	+2.4	+1.4	1.b4 is working
Eval at move 10 as Black	−1.3	−1.0	−0.7	getting worse
Conversion & luck
Score after reaching +5	78.8%	77.3%	68.5%	better, still the biggest leak
Losses that were +5 at some point	34%	38%	44%	one loss in three is a thrown win
Wins that came from a lost position	15%	14%	21%	you win on merit more often
Losses on time	3%	5%	10%	clock is not a problem

Rating, rolling 50-game average

A fast climb from March to August, then a plateau once most games went unrated.

Accuracy, rolling 50-game average

In the spring the two lines moved together. Since July the blue line has stayed above the orange one, which means you are outplaying the people you face.

YouOpp

Your clock: wins vs losses

Time left on your clock after your move, in the games you won and the games you lost.

Move 20
Wins7:13
Losses7:07
Six seconds apart. Your losses are not decided by the clock.
Move 30
Wins5:23
Losses5:07
Still over five minutes either way. That is plenty for a 20-second blunder check on every move once you are winning.
Move 40
Wins4:05
Losses3:28
The only real gap: 37 seconds. Even in your losses you still have 3:28 left. Spend it.

If you want the rating to move, play rated games, including as Black. Your skill has already outgrown 1,030. The 133 rated games from the last 90 days are too few, and too many of them are Black games, for the number to catch up.

What the engine found · 2,647 big mistakes classified

Six leaks, ranked by rating points

Every position below is from one of your own games in the last 60 days. Decide on your move first. Then open the answer and step through what you played and what was best with the ← → buttons (or your arrow keys). Red arrows show what went wrong, green arrows what was best.

1 · Giving back won games

Reached +5 in 1,044 games · lost 263 · drew 39

From a practically won position Black finds himself with a lost game, and it has only taken three moves.

— José Raúl CapablancaProject Gutenberg

1,115 of your big mistakes (42%) happen when you are already winning. You have also lost 72 games after being up a queen’s worth (+9). There is plenty of time on the clock, a median of 6:53, when it happens. The usual pattern is that you keep attacking and never ask what the opponent is threatening. Most often that is a queen on the long diagonal to g2/h2, or a check on your back rank.

Coach’s notes

Why it happens: Winning makes you stop defending. 1,115 of your big mistakes (42%) come from won positions, at a median 6:53 on the clock. The shape repeats: their queen lined up with a bishop on g2 or h2, or a check on your back rank.
The habit: From +3, spend 20 seconds on every move. Ask what their last move threatens and what checks they have after yours. Dan Heisman calls skipping this Hope Chess. When their queen lines up on your king, block or trade before anything else.
The drill: 15 minutes a day of Lichess Defensive move puzzles. Then play your own +5 positions (below) against a level-5 bot until you win each one twice.
What success looks like: Score from +5 at 85% (now 77%). Fewer than one loss in five that was +5 at some point (now one in three).

White to move · Move 13 · 9:11 on your clock · you were +7.7You are a piece up. Time to castle? You played O-O??

White to move · Move 22 · 7:44 on your clock · you were +8.9You are +8.9. What is Black threatening? You played Qc3??

White to move · Move 31 · 6:21 on your clock · forced win on the boardYou have a forced win. What does the a5-queen see? You played Rxc2??

White to move · Move 30 · 5:44 on your clock · you were +16You are a rook up. Which check? You played Qa5+??

Study with

Lichess Puzzles: Defensive MovepracticeTrains the question you skip: what is my opponent threatening?
Dan Heisman: Thought Process Principles (Real Chess vs Hope Chess)articleThe source of “Hope Chess”: meet the opponent’s threats before they are made.
Lichess Puzzles: Back-Rank MatepracticeThe mate that ends the most amateur games, from both sides.
GM Daniel Naroditsky: Beginner to Master SpeedrunvideoThe late GM Naroditsky explained his thinking move by move. Watch what he does once he is ahead: that is the skill this leak is about.

Practice this: Converting a won game: trade pieces, not pawns →

2 · One-move oversights

≈690 mistakes · 26% of all

Mistrust is the most necessary characteristic of the Chess player.

— Siegbert TarraschWikiquote

306 times you moved a piece onto a square it could be taken on. 283 times you left an already-attacked piece where it was. 57 times you allowed mate in one. Your blunder rate is 5.6 per 100 moves with more than 90 seconds left, and 6.8 with under 10, so almost the same. You have the time. What’s missing is the habit of looking.

Coach’s notes

Why it happens: 306 times you moved a piece where it could be taken, and 283 times you left an attacked piece where it was. Your blunder rate barely moves with the clock: 5.6 per 100 moves with 90+ seconds left, 6.8 with under 10. It’s not time. It’s the habit of looking.
The habit: Heisman’s blunder check before you let go: is it safe? Can anything take the piece I just moved? Did moving it leave something else loose?
The drill: Ten Puzzle Streak runs a week, no clock. One wrong move ends the run, and that is exactly the discipline you need.
What success looks like: Big mistakes at 1.7 per 40 moves or fewer (now 1.98). No mates in one allowed in your next 60 games (57 in this sample).

White to move · Move 24 · 6:05 on your clock · you were +2.7There is a free knight on c3. Before you take it, what are the c6-queen and b7-bishop lined up on? You played Rxc3??

White to move · Move 20 · 7:07 on your clock · you were +3Black’s queen just landed on e2. List everything it attacks. You played Qd5??

Black to move · Move 22 · 6:42 on your clock · you were +3.8White’s knight just jumped to e5. What does it hit? You played …Bxc2??

White to move · Move 12 · you were +2.9Black’s queen on b4 attacks two of your pieces. Which ones? You played d3??

Study with

Dan Heisman: Is Your Move Safe?articleThe blunder check, explained by the coach who named it.
Lichess Puzzle StreakpracticeNo clock, one mistake ends the run. It rewards checking before you move.
GM Aman Hambleton: Building Chess HabitsvideoHabit rules staged by rating, from beginner to about 2000. The best fit for blunder habits.
IM John Bartholomew: Chess FundamentalsvideoEpisode 1 is “Undefended Pieces”, the exact thing to look for before you release a move.

Practice this: The blunder check →

3 · Not taking what’s offered

862 missed punishments · 94 free pieces · 10 mates

Among players of equal strength, it is always the last blunder, and the ability to see it, that determines who will win.

— Reuben FineChess Notes (Edward Winter)

You punish 69% of your opponents’ blunders, which is up from 63%. The ones you miss are mostly quieter: in 56% of them, the winning move was attacking a piece that had nowhere to go. The rest were plain free material that you passed on to play your own plan.

Coach’s notes

Why it happens: You punish 69% of your opponents’ blunders, up from 63%. The ones you miss are quiet: in 56% of them the winning move attacked a piece with nowhere to go. The rest were free material you passed up to play your own plan.
The habit: Look at checks, then captures, then threats (CCT), for both sides. When two pieces are hanging, take the bigger one.
The drill: Lichess Trapped piece puzzles two days a week. They train exactly the quiet win you miss. Do Mate in 2 on the other days.
What success looks like: Punish 75% of opponent blunders (now 69%).

White to move · Move 20 · 8:21 on your clock · you were +6.2The g4-knight has you in check. List every legal reply. You played Ke1??

Black to move · Move 20 · 7:10 on your clock · you were +3.9White’s queen and bishop are both hanging. Which one do you take? You played …Qxb5

White to move · Move 14 · 8:22 on your clock · you were +4.9Look at checks, then captures, then threats, in that order. You played Nd4??

Black to move · Move 33 · 6:08 on your clockWhite’s king is on f1 with no defenders. Find the mate. You played …Qh3+

Study with

Lichess Puzzles: Trapped PiecepracticeThe quiet win: attack a piece that has nowhere to go.
Lichess Puzzles: Mate in 2practiceThe next step once mate in 1 is easy.
Lichess Puzzles: CrushingpracticePositions where one move wins decisively. Train the instinct to finish.
ChessNetwork: Improve Your Chess RatingvideoPractical advice aimed squarely at rating improvement.

Practice this: Is it really safe? Counting attackers and defenders →

4 · Two-move tactics against you

≈850 mistakes punished by a short combination

Strategy requires thought, tactics require observation.

— Max EuweChess Notes (Edward Winter)

The most common punishments: capture sequences on pieces with too few defenders (306), attacks on pieces that had no retreat (228), checks (171), and forks (140). Each one is visible a move early if you check where the enemy knight and queen can land next.

Coach’s notes

Why it happens: Short combinations punish about 850 of your mistakes: captures on pieces with too few defenders (306), attacks on pieces with no retreat (228), checks (171), forks (140). Every one of them could be seen a move early.
The habit: Count attackers and defenders before you move. Remember LPDO: loose pieces drop off, the rule popularized by GM John Nunn. When an enemy knight or queen is near, none of your pieces stays undefended.
The drill: One theme every two days: Fork, Overloaded pieces, Discovered attacks. Do the Lichess Practice module first, then the matching puzzle theme.
What success looks like: Half as many forks against you (140 in this sample). You check every landing square of any enemy knight near your king.

White to move · Move 33 · 4:39 on your clock · you were +6.7Black’s knight is on g4. Where can it give check next move? You played Kg2??

White to move · Move 23 · level positionThe d3-knight is loose. You attacked it with Re3. What does …f4 do? You played Re3??

White to move · Move 11 · 9:26 on your clock · you were +5.9Black’s d4-knight and e8-rook both aim at e2. Count attackers and defenders. You played h3??

Study with

ChessBase: Loose Pieces Drop Off (LPDO)articleThe rule popularized by GM John Nunn: an undefended piece is a target waiting to happen.
Lichess Practice: The ForkpracticeThe tactic amateurs miss most, and fall for most. Short and interactive.
Lichess Practice: Overloaded PiecespracticeThe step from one-motif tactics to hitting the defender.
Lichess Practice: Discovered AttackspracticeDiscoveries are the tactic you are most likely to overlook from the opponent’s side.

Practice this: Forks: one piece, two targets →

5 · Two opening traps, and Black

White: +2.4 by move 10 · Black: −1.0, and ≥1.5 pawns down in 33% of games

You should keep in mind no names, nor numbers, nor isolated incidents, not even results, but only methods.

— Emanuel LaskerWikiquote

1.b4 is a real weapon for you: +2.9 by move 10 across 412 games of the main line. Keep it. It has two holes that keep costing you, and both are shown below. Black is the real problem. You score 44% in both the Scotch (−2.6 by move 10) and the French Advance (−1.7). Only 40 of your last 500 games were as Black, so those positions never get practice.

Coach’s notes

Why it happens: 1.b4 works: +2.9 by move 10 across 412 games. Keep it; its two holes are shown below. Black is the real problem: −1.0 by move 10, a 44% score in both the Scotch and the French Advance, and only 40 of your last 500 games as Black.
The habit: Learn one method per opening, not move lists. In the French Advance that means …c5, …Nc6, …Qb6 and pressure on d4, every time.
The drill: Play 20 rated games as Black this week. After each one, open it on the Lichess analysis board and find the move where you left your setup.
What success looks like: Eval at move 10 as Black of −0.5 or better (now −1.0). Half your rated games played as Black.

White to move · As White · 1.b4 · lost exactly this way in two September gamesYour b5 chased the knight to b4. With the f5-bishop helping, what is it aiming at? You played a3??

White to move · As White · 1.b4 e6 · played 3 times · costs 46 win-% each timeBlack copied you with …b5. Is the pawn free? You played Bxb5??

Black to move · As Black · move 7 · rated gameWhite’s knight sits on e5. Which squares does it cover? You played …Ng4??

Study with

Lichess Analysis board + Opening ExplorerpracticeCheck your own opening lines against master games. The explorer needs a free Lichess login.
IM John Bartholomew: Climbing the Rating LaddervideoHe plays opponents at each rating and names the mistakes typical of that band. Start with the games near your rating.
Lichess Puzzles: OpeningpracticeTactics from the first moves of the game, where cheap traps live.

Practice this: Opening rules that win games →

6 · Endgames: the last point

491 endgame mistakes · 77% in rook endings

The rooks belong behind passed pawns, behind their own in order to support their advance, behind the enemy's in order to impede their advance.

— Siegbert TarraschWikiquote

You convert 81% of winning endgames, which is solid. The losses come from forgetting what your king guards, grabbing pawns without counting a race, and leaving a piece where the enemy king can take it.

Coach’s notes

Why it happens: You convert 81% of winning endgames, which is solid. 77% of your endgame mistakes come in rook endings. The losses have three causes: forgetting what your king guards, grabbing pawns without counting a race, and leaving a piece where the enemy king can take it.
The habit: Before any capture in the ending, count every pawn race on the board. Before any king move, ask what the king stops guarding.
The drill: Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, the beginner through class C sections. Then Lichess Practice: Key Squares, and Basic Rook Endgames.
What success looks like: Winning endgames converted at 88% (now 81%).

White to move · Move 42 · 4:25 on your clock · you were +7.7Only your king guards the b4-bishop. Where can the king go? You played Kd2??

White to move · Move 47 · 3:58 on your clock · you were +7.8Should you check with the bishop or with the rook? You played Bd3+

White to move · Move 50 · 5:00 on your clock · you were +6.6There is a free pawn on a6. Before you take it, count how many moves Black’s pawns need to reach g1. You played Kxa6??

Study with

Jeremy Silman: Silman’s Complete Endgame CoursebookChapters are split by rating. Read your section and the one below it, nothing more.
Lichess Practice: Key SquarespracticeTells you whether a pawn ending is won before you trade into it.
Lichess Practice: Basic Rook EndgamespracticeLucena and Philidor ideas. Rook endings are the most common endings you will reach.
Lichess Puzzles: Pawn EndgamepracticeKing-and-pawn puzzles. Pairs with opposition and key squares.

Practice this: Converting a won game: trade pieces, not pawns →

Lesson plan · 8 weeks · ~30 minutes a day

The plan

Four rules, starting today

Winning? Slow down. From +3 on, spend 20 seconds on every move answering two questions: “What does their last move threaten?” and “What checks do they have after my move?” You can afford it. At move 40 you still have 3:47 on average.
Guard g2, h2 and your back rank. When their queen lines up with a bishop or knight on your king, block or trade before you do anything else. Nearly every mate you walked into had this shape.
Checks, captures, threats, both sides, every move. 94 free pieces and 10 mates went untaken in this sample.
Half your games rated, half as Black. Skipping Black doesn’t make the problem go away. It only moves it into your rated games, which are the ones that count.

Your in-game checklist

When you are winning

What does their last move threaten?
Is their queen lined up with a bishop or knight on g2, h2 or my back rank?
Checks, captures, threats: both sides.
Two pieces hanging? Take the bigger one.

Chess Goat · trychessgoat.com

Week by week

Each week has a board. Pick a tab, then step through it with ← → or your arrow keys. Every line was checked for legality, and the two basic mates are Stockfish’s own play.

Weeks 1–2 · Leak 1 + 2

Closing out won games

Start · White to move

Your game, move 35. You are winning. What is Black’s only counter-chance?

Daily 15 min: Lichess puzzle themes Defensive move, Mate in 1, Mate in 2. Untimed, and aim for 95% correct.
Daily 5 min: set up 5 of your own +5 positions (above) and play them out against a level-5 bot until you win each twice.
Games: 10+0 rated. After each game, find the first move where the eval dropped while you were winning, and write down which question you skipped.

Target: score from +5 ≥ 85% (now 77%)

Week 3 · Leak 5

A Black repertoire, and patching 1.b4

Start · White to move

Your worst Black opening (−1.7 by move 10, 44%). One plan fixes it: hit d4 and keep hitting it.

Step through all four tabs until you can play each line from memory.
Black vs 1.e4: the French only. Against 3.e5, play …c5, …Nc6, …Qb6, and put pressure on d4.
1.b4: keep it. When the knight lands on b4, play d3 before a3. When Black plays …b5, don’t take with the f1-bishop.
Play 20 rated games as Black this week.

Target: eval at move 10 as Black ≥ −0.5 (now −1.0)

Weeks 4–5 · Leaks 3 + 4

Two-move tactics

Start · White to move

King behind three unmoved pawns, no rook guarding the back rank.

Daily 20 min: puzzles by theme, one theme every 2 days. Cover Trapped piece, Fork, Pin, Overloading, Back-rank mate, Discovered attack and Kingside attack.
Learn the basic mate patterns: back rank, smothered, Légal, Greek gift, queen + bishop on the long diagonal.
In your games: when an enemy knight sits near your king or rook, check every square it can reach next move.

Target: punish ≥ 75% of opponent blunders (now 69%)

Week 6 · Leak 1

Finishing: mates and stalemate

Start · White to move

Box the king in with the queen a knight-move away, bring your king, mate. Drill until it takes under 30 seconds.

Drill K+Q vs K and K+R vs K mates until each takes under 30 seconds. Do it five times a day.
With a bare king opposite: before every move, ask whether he still has a legal move.
Rule: when you are up a piece or more, trade queens if you can.

Target: no draws from winning positions

Week 7 · Leak 6

Rook endings

Start · White to move

King on the 6th rank ahead of its pawn always wins.

Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, the beginner through class C sections. Cover opposition, the square of the pawn, rook behind the passed pawn, and the Lucena and Philidor positions.
Lichess Practice: Rook endgames and Pawn endgames.
Before capturing in an endgame, count every pawn race on the board.

Target: winning endgames converted ≥ 88% (now 81%)

Week 8 · Re-measure

Audit again

Play 60 rated 10+0 games, half of them as Black.
Re-run this exact analysis on them. You pass if you score 85% from +5 and your big mistakes are ≤ 1.7 per 40 moves. At that point 1,150–1,200 should follow.
If you don’t pass, repeat weeks 1–2. The winning-position habit is worth more than everything else combined.

Pass mark: accuracy gap vs opponents ≥ +3 (now +1.7)

Rough value of each fix, from your own numbers: converting +5 positions at 85% instead of 77% is worth about +35 Elo on its own, since you reach +5 in 69% of your games. Lifting your rated Black score from 48% to 55% adds roughly another +25.

Method

All games come from the chess.com public API. Stockfish 19 ran at 150k nodes on every position of all 1,505 games that lasted at least 10 moves (≈94k positions). A mistake is a single move that loses at least 20 win-percentage points (Lichess win-% model). Accuracy uses the Lichess formula, so the numbers differ slightly from chess.com’s CAPS. Motif tags are heuristic. Significance uses a Welch z-test comparing the last 30 and 90 days with March–June. Unrated games are included; the rating shown for them is your rapid rating at the time.