Evgeny Degtiarev, the Online Gladiator
Evgeny Degtiarev, who plays under the name AEMEffi, is a FIDE International Master with an online chess personality built on speed, volume, and stubbornness. His preferred time control appears to be bullet, where time is scarce and every click matters. His bullet rating reached 2391 (2021-12-26) in December 2021, and he once packed 794 bullet games into a single month. In blitz, he has climbed even higher, touching 2569 (2025-12-09) in December 2025.
Playing Style and Opening Taste
Degtiarev is a devoted 1.d4 player. His white repertoire frequently produces the Slav Defense, Queen's Gambit structures, and a mix of practical and unusual setups. As Black against 1.e4, he returns again and again to the Scandinavian Defense, a line he has played hundreds of times in blitz. Add the Amazon Attack, Australian Defense, and a taste for rare gambits, and you get a player who is difficult to prepare against.
His style is not built on early handshakes. He reaches the endgame in a large share of his games, and his decisive battles often stretch beyond move 70. Even after losing a piece, he keeps fighting, with a comeback rate close to 88 percent and a win rate after material loss that remains respectably high.
Known Rivals
His most frequent online rival is freezypopsicle, who has faced AEMEffi 36 times. That series is razor thin, with 15 wins for Degtiarev, 17 for freezypopsicle, and 4 draws. Another regular opponent is TheKingOfTheForest, whose head-to-head record tilts against Degtiarev, 5 wins to 14 losses with 5 draws. These recurring battles give his profile the feel of an ongoing online chess saga.
Streaks and Resilience
The data paints a picture of a streaky but resilient competitor. Degtiarev once won 13 games in a row, and he also survived an 11-game losing streak. He feasts on lower-rated opposition, winning about 65 percent of those games, and he scores 56.8 percent against equal-rated players. His best results arrive on Sundays, and his win rate after midnight suggests he is comfortable making tough decisions when the clock is low.
The blitz chart below tracks his rise through years of constant play:
. His opening performance, shown in , reflects both his main lines and his willingness to venture into strange territory.