Week 125: two rapid wins without blunders

Week 125, July 7 to 9, 2026, ended with two rapid wins without blunders: 1200 → 1216, an average accuracy of 92.7% and four inaccuracies across the two games. In 125 weeks of this series, it is the only week with zero blunders and the highest weekly average accuracy.

For the evergreen question about the time needed to reach 1200, see my 800-to-1200 guide. This diary records one particular week, rather than a timetable for other players.

Two rapid wins without blunders: the week in numbers

Both opponents were rated a little below me, Arunasx at 1184 and kensiuuuuuu at 1181, and both made two blunders each. That matters: a clean game is easier when the other side gives you chances. But the engine found nothing worse than an inaccuracy from me in either game, which hadn't happened in a full week before.

Where the series ended

I started this series at 631, on January 10, 2024. The first time my rating reached 1200 or more was after game 1237, on December 24, 2024, at 1205: about eleven and a half months and 1,237 games later. It didn't stay a straight line. I peaked at 1385 on November 23, 2025, and by the start of this week I was back at exactly 1200. By the end of this week the series counted 2,116 games, with 989 wins, 1,068 losses and 59 draws, and my rating stood at 1216.

This week ended above the level where it began. The earlier peak and the weeks before this one show how much the rating had moved in between; these two wins closed that stretch.

Two small moments from two clean games

With no blunders to show, the key positions this week are the two biggest inaccuracies, one per game.

Game 2115: a pawn push before castling

White against Arunasx (1184), Accelerated London. On move 11 I was clearly better (+1.53). My king was still on e1 and my bishop on f1 hadn't moved.

r n b q . r k .
p p . . . p p .
. . . . p . . p
. . N p . . . .
. . . P . . . .
. . . . P . . .
P P P . . P P P
R . . Q K B . R

Pawn to c4 lets Black hit back in the center at once: the engine's best answer is pawn to e5, and my edge dropped to +0.76. Bishop to e2 first, then castling, kept +1.59 in the engine's line. In the game Black played b6 instead, I traded queens on move 17, and Black's pawn push on move 18 was a blunder that left me winning. The game ended on move 24 (game 2115).

Game 2116: which piece to attack

Black against kensiuuuuuu (1181), Pirc Classical. On move 15 I was clearly better (−1.66). My knight on e4 had two attractive squares.

r . . q . r k .
p . p b p p b p
. . . p . . p .
. . . P . . . .
P N . . n . . .
. P . Q B N . .
. . . . . P P P
. R . . . R K .

Attacking the queen feels strongest, but a queen can simply step away, and in the engine's line it goes to c4 and attacks my knight back: about equal. Knight to c3 attacks the rook instead, and with a pawn push to a5 next against the white knight on b4, Black stays clearly better (−1.53). In the game, though, White didn't move the queen at all. White played a pawn to h3, my knight took the queen on d3, and the game ended on move 16 (game 2116).

The lesson of the week

The lesson of this week is the opposite of most of the others: clean chess is mostly the absence of gifts. In this series some weeks averaged close to four blunders per game, and a couple of very short weeks averaged five. This one had none, and both games ended before move 25. The engine's notes on these two games show four inaccuracies and not one move that gave material away. If I had to keep one habit from this whole diary, it's that blunder check before every move: what's undefended, what can they capture, what checks do they have.

All games this week

The next one is week 126, a single game in October 2026. The one before is week 124, and the whole story, from 631 to 1385 and back to 1216, is on the journey hub. If you want the same review for your own games, this is how Chess Coach's analysis works.