Kocho_Shinobu_18 is a blitz-focused online chess player who blends sharp instincts with a fondness for long, grindy battles. Since joining the online scene in 2024, they have become known for creative openings, tenacious defense, and a knack for turning tight positions into winning ends.
Playing Style
Prefers Blitz and thrives on long endgames, where patient calculation and stubborn defense shine. A high comeback rate and a taste for drama keep opponents on their toes.
Preferred time control: Blitz
Longest winning streak: 38 games
Endgame frequency: 77.97%
Comeback rate after losing a piece: 83.37%
Playing strength across formats shows strong endgame technique and resilience
Rising peaks include a Blitz rating of up to 2794 (2025-10-07) and a Bullet peak near 2945 (2025-09-02).
Kocho_Shinobu_18 has demonstrated form across Blitz and Bullet, including a long-running winning streak and strong performance in Rapid events. The profile shows a consistent presence in online tournaments and a flair for creative, tactical play.
You show a willingness to enter dynamic, tactical positions and keep your pieces active. This creates practical chances and can pressure opponents who rely on solid, quiet play. You’re comfortable switching gears between quieter piece development and sharp, attacking ideas, which helps you seize moments when your opponent is in time trouble or misjudges a line.
You coordinate rooks and minor pieces on open files and diagonals when the position invites activity, which often creates practical winning chances even from slightly imbalanced positions.
You’re able to adapt your plans to the structure and opponent’s setup, switching between center control, flank play, and king safety as the game unfolds.
Your willingness to explore less common openings in blitz can surprise opponents and steer games into unfamiliar, practical terrains where they must think concretely.
Key areas to improve
Time management in sharp middlegames: practice keeping a steady pace and avoid long, uncertain forcing lines when the clock is tight. Develop a quick “rule of thumb” for when to simplify or switch to solid, incremental plans.
Calculation discipline in critical moments: focus on verifying each forcing line and ask, “What is my opponent’s best reply?” before committing to a long combination. When unsure, favor solid developing moves that maintain balance.
Endgame conversion: in many blitz games, an edge in the middlegame should translate into a clear plan or a simplified endgame. Practice standard endings (rook endings, minor piece endings with pawns) to improve conversion rates.
Opening consistency: while versatility is a strength, a concise, trusted blitz repertoire helps you avoid overreaching in unfamiliar lines. Build crisp plans for your main openings and have a few principled answers ready for common replies.
Resilience in slightly worse positions: when an opening or middlegame leaves you with structural concessions, focus on practical pawn breaks, activity, and creating traps or perpetuals rather than chasing exact material equality.
Practical drills and study plan
Daily tactical puzzles focusing on motifs you’ve encountered in blitz, 15–20 minutes per day, to improve pattern recognition and calculation speed.
Endgame fundamentals practice: 2–3 short rook or minor piece endings per week to improve conversion under time pressure.
Time-management drill: play short, controlled practice games (3+1 or 5+0) to develop a reliable pace and avoid sudden time scrambles.
Repertoire tightening: pick 2–3 openings to own in blitz (for example, [[Link|opening|Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation]], [[Link|opening|Caro-Kann Defense]] and [[Link|opening|Italian Game: Two Knights Defense]]), and prepare a clear middlegame plan for each. Review a recent blitz game in those lines and write a one-paragraph plan summary.
Post-game notes: after each blitz game, write down one or two concrete improvements you would apply next time in a similar structure or position.
Opening repertoire notes
Your openings show variety and willingness to deviate from main lines, which is a useful edge in blitz. Solidify a compact, reliable blitz core while keeping a couple of surprise options for specific opponents or time trouble.
Focus on known, solid systems that lead to clear middlegame plans, such as:
Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation — aims for solid central control with c3 and d4, offering a straightforward plan and good chances in the middlegame.
Sicilian Defense: Closed — a flexible, principled approach with pawns on the light squares and a potential kingside attack or central breaks.
Caro-Kann Defense — solid structure with clear development and endgame chances.
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense — active piece play and tactical chances for both sides; understand typical knight maneuvers and central tension.
Maintain a few offbeat choices (your Unknown Opening/Unknown Opening* results indicate comfort with unusual lines). Use them sparingly and only when you’re confident in the resulting plans. Prepare common replies so you aren’t caught in the weeds in the first 10 moves.
For each main opening, write a short “three-move plan” you aim for after the first 8 moves, so you have a concrete target in the middlegame rather than guessing.
Next steps and quick check-ins
Check in after two weeks: review 6 recent blitz games in the openings you’re focusing on, and identify one recurring mistake to fix in your next sessions.
Keep a short training journal: one important tactical pattern you learned, one endgame technique, and one opening improvement per week.
Consider pairing with a training partner for 30-minute blitz sessions to simulate time pressure and obtain quick feedback on decision quality.
If you’d like, we can tailor a one-page personal study plan focused on your top three openings and a precise endgame checklist.
Additional resources (optional)
You can explore targeted materials for your main openings, for example: [[Link|opening|Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation]], [[Link|opening|Sicilian Defense: Closed]], [[Link|opening|Caro-Kann Defense]], and [[Link|opening|Italian Game: Two Knights Defense]].
