Hi there! 👋

I started playing actively at the beginning of 2023 when I was 300 rapid and about 200 blitz...chess was my life that year so it was no wonder I ended it being about 1600 rapid, I'm so glad I finally crossed 1750 on 29-02-2024 (Leap day). I hope to be a titled player one day but for now, I'm just enjoying the journey.

A few facts about me:

I believe in Jesus Christ, I'm a Christian
I love this song: You are always There - Acoustic
Favorite colors: Navy blue/black
I play the Scandinavian as black, actually have a funny story where some dude insulted me after I won him with the Scandi, talking about how I need to learn a real opening 😂
You can find me on X

Question? do you ever speedrun losing your pieces in a winning position in bullet or blitz? (It's amazing how my brain can play an opening well enough to get a winning position and then just totally malfunction when it's time to convert the win *sigh*)

Anyway, feel free to send a friend request and/or write a note, cheers!

My most epic wins:

Rapid (10 min) -> I'm a d4 player but for some reason, I joined the May opening roulette on the Ruy Lopez opening which I have no prep for other than Gotham's recaps of top games. I lost my first couple of games in the arena including to some lower-rated opponents, and then I got paired with a 2350. I didn't know this for much of the game as I play on focus mode most of the time but from the quality of play, it seemed my opponent was just a cut above my rating (1700 at the time) so I was beyond shocked when I clicked out of focus mode to see my that he was 2350. I was shocked, to say the least and wondered how I held my own for that long. Anyway here's the game. I'm willing to bet he just underestimated me for too long and paid the price if not there is absolutely no world where I would beat a 2350 in the Spanish lol

Blitz (3 min) -> I managed my time and held my nerves so well in this game, I deserve a medal fr 😂

Bullet (1|1) -> My opponent essentially did what I usually do in bullet games and all I had to do was pick up free pieces. I'll update this soon with a game where I actually fought for the win.

Daily (3 days) -> This is by far my favourite daily game because I played quite well up until move 27 where I blundered my rook and was left with a slightly worse knight and 2 pawns vs rook position but I managed the endgame so well and my opponent resigned as I had an unstoppable promotion on the board.

My favourite puzzle so far ->

Another interesting puzzle (puzzle rating = 2369) ->

If I put every puzzle I liked, you would never reach my games, so I'll drop the remaining ones as links, feel free to pick your brain with them.

Cool rook endgame -> https://www.chess.com/puzzles/problem/43140

If you're still reading, here are my goals for 2025:

2100 Rapid

1900 Blitz

1700 Bullet

2800 Puzzles

And now, a cool chess picture

Thanks for reading!

themainsamuel