I’ve played chess online since 2012, almost entirely at one to three minutes a game. The count is now close to 29,000 across Chess.com and Lichess, which is what happens when a game fits into the gap before a meeting or the wait for a build to finish.
The game above is one of my wins, chosen at random from recent history.
Rating history
Chess.com doesn’t expose rating history through its public API, so only Lichess data appears above.
The numbers
Chess.com (since 2012)
| Format | Rating | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blitz (3 min) | ~1607 | 17,654 | 8,360 W / 8,442 L / 852 D |
| Bullet (1 min) | 1635 | 162 | 80 W / 81 L / 1 D |
| Rapid (10 min) | 1274 | 66 | 25 W / 37 L / 4 D |
| Daily | 1402 | 336 | 198 W / 128 L / 10 D |
Lichess (since 2022)
| Format | Rating | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet (1 min) | 1938 | 553 | — |
| Blitz (3-5 min) | 1715 | 542 | — |
| Rapid | 1785 | 12 | — |
Lichess totals: 10,580 games, 4,410 wins / 5,723 losses / 447 draws
Win and loss counts that close together are what thousands of games against similarly rated opponents produce; the pairing system keeps doing its job. My Chess.com tactics rating reached 2485 at one point, which makes sense after seeing tens of thousands of positions.
How I play
Bullet and blitz, with ratings around 1600 on Chess.com and a bullet peak near 1900 on Lichess. I don’t pay much attention to either number. The appeal is the quick tactical fight, where there is only time to trust an instinct and commit to it.
As white I play the London System: d4, Bf4, solid and boring, exactly how I like it. As black I meet 1.e4 with the Scandinavian. I know both well enough to reach a playable position quickly, which matters more than theory when the clock is the real opponent. Given the choice between studying an opening and playing another game, I play another game.
Analysis of my games shows a predictable mix of good moves and time-pressure mistakes. Tactics I can usually find. Endgames are the weaker end of my game, and in bullet they arrive with the clock nearly gone anyway.
Play me
- Chess.com: slepp — challenge me
- Lichess: sleppistan