Ahmad Al Fadhli: The Rapid Chess Grinder Who Never Resigns
Ahmad Al Fadhli, known across the online chess world by the username Ahmadalfadhli, is living proof that a chess career can start at rock bottom and still end up somewhere scenic. In February 2022, Ahmad Al Fadhli's first bullet games produced a rating of 100. Not a typo. One hundred. The rating system looked at those games and gently suggested trying checkers. Four years and 11,837 games later, Ahmad Al Fadhli had clawed up to a rapid chess peak of 1906 (2026-02-26), with supporting peaks of 1752 (2026-09-16) in blitz and 1703 (2026-02-27) in bullet.
The Four-Year Glow-Up
Within five months of that humble debut, the rapid rating cracked four digits. By October 2022 it had breached 1,200. By the end of 2023 it sat in the 1,700s, which is when the universe decided to run a small experiment in patience.
For all of 2024, Ahmad Al Fadhli's rapid rating read exactly 1,701. Every single month. Same number. Seventy-two games were played that year. Games were won, games were lost, blunders were blundered, and when the dust settled the scoreboard simply said 1,701 again. Ahmad Al Fadhli did not stay at the 1,701 hotel. Ahmad Al Fadhli WAS the 1,701 hotel.
Then the ice finally broke. Early 2025 brought 1,786, then 1,806, and in February 2026 the rapid rating exploded to 1,906. Fittingly, the bullet peak of 1,703 landed the very next day, back-to-back personal bests like a chess-themed awards weekend. The full journey is better seen than described:
The Repertoire: d4, the London System, and Weapons With Silly Names
Ahmad Al Fadhli opens with 1.d4 the way other people open the fridge: automatically, and thousands of times. In 2022 alone, d4 appeared as the first move 2,261 times. e4 showed up 63 times, which statistically means it happened on a dare.
The resulting positions are pure brand identity. The London System, often spiced into the Poisoned Pawn Variation, has logged 280 rapid games at a 57.5% win rate. The Amazon Attack is even deadlier in rapid, winning 60.8% of 250 games, with the Siberian Attack line on standby for extra chaos. And yes, those are the real names. Ahmad Al Fadhli did not choose them. Even the Australian Defense has been dispatched 159 times in rapid at 56.6%.
Here is the position Ahmad Al Fadhli has probably seen in dreams:
As Black, things get spicier. The Blackburne Shilling Gambit has been trotted out 451 times in blitz, landing at almost exactly a coin flip (47.2%). And when someone unearths the ancient Amar Gambit, it goes badly for them: better than a 60% rapid win rate and a flawless 4-for-4 in daily chess. Speaking of daily chess, the overall record there is 23 wins against 6 losses, which raises the honest question of why it is not the main format.
Rivalries: Victims and Walls
Nothing reveals a chess player like head-to-head ledgers, and Ahmad Al Fadhli's ledgers are gloriously uneven. On the friendly side sit boba_bees (56 wins to 37 losses across 95 games), Chessi-G (46 to 31), Kiwhiskey (40 to 26), and Elaynah (29 to 24). Summer occupies the awkward middle: 58 games, 23 wins, 32 losses, and presumably endless trash talk.
And then there are the walls. Sarah Jean Joanis has faced Ahmad Al Fadhli 41 times and won 38 of them. Three wins. Thirty-eight losses. That is not a rivalry, that is a subscription. tkbtsxu is somehow worse: 1 win, 26 losses, 2 draws. Agnė Semonavičiūtė (8 to 23) and eveanastasia (7 to 22) round out the support group. Some players have a nemesis. Ahmad Al Fadhli has an entire ecosystem of them.
Playing Style: The Endgame Marathoner
Ahmad Al Fadhli does not do quick meals. Roughly 75% of games reach an endgame, wins average a leisurely 68 moves, and the early resignation rate sits at a microscopic 1.1%. Resigning is simply not on the menu. Losing a piece? Still wins 44% of those games anyway, and the overall comeback rate is a stunning 71.7%.
The tilt factor is a zen-like 16 out of 100, so bad beats roll off like water off a London pawn chain. There is even a schedule: peak form arrives at 8 p.m. with a 54.4% win rate, while 5 a.m. dips to 41%, making Ahmad Al Fadhli a creature of prime time rather than sunrise.
One quirk: opponents check Ahmad Al Fadhli more often than the reverse (2.9 checks per game against 2.2), yet when Ahmad Al Fadhli lands the first check of a game, the win rate jumps to 58.7%. The queen does most of the poking, with 10,657 queen checks and counting.
Ahmad Al Fadhli by the Numbers
- 11,837 recorded games and counting across bullet, blitz, rapid, and daily chess.
- 3,590 blitz wins, which is more games than most people have had hot dinners.
- Longest winning streak: 12 games. Longest losing streak: 16 games, survived with dignity (mostly).
- Current winning streak at press time: 6 games and counting.
- Record against lower-rated opponents: 67.6% wins. Against higher-rated opponents: 28.5%. The ladder serves, Ahmad Al Fadhli eats.
- First capture typically arrives around move 7. Development before violence.
- Preferred format: rapid, because good chess, like good tea, should not be rushed.
Legacy (So Far)
The story is still being written, and the rapid arrow points up. Whether the next milestone is 2,000 or simply a long overdue win over the wall at the top of the nemesis list, one thing is certain: Ahmad Al Fadhli will play all 68 moves, decline every resignation prompt, and check with the queen, because that is simply how Ahmad Al Fadhli does chess.