Anaiy Somalwar: National Master and Blitz Grinder
Anaiy Somalwar, known online as Anaiy, has built a reputation as one of the most entertaining and persistent grinders on the platform. Earning the National Master title was just one stop on a journey that started with casual games near 1400 and ended with a blitz rating that towers above 2600.
A Long Road Upward
Anaiy's online chess story started in 2011, with early rapid ratings around 1400 and plenty of growing pains. The numbers bounced around for years, but the real breakthrough arrived in late 2019, when the rapid rating jumped past 2000. The blitz graph tells a story of pure persistence. After crossing 2000 in 2019 and surviving swings between 2100 and 2300, Anaiy unleashed a stunning run in 2026, climbing past 2400, then 2500, and finally reaching a peak of 2609 (2026-09-01).
Style and Strengths
Anaiy is a fighter who rarely resigns early. The stats show an endgame frequency above 80 percent, a comeback rate near 85 percent, and the ability to keep winning roughly half the time even after losing a piece. As White, Anaiy almost always opens with 1.d4, steering into Queen's Gambit Declined and Slav Defense structures. The Queen's Gambit Declined line with an early Bb4 has been especially venomous, winning around 80 percent of blitz games. With Black, Anaiy is happy to land in the Scandinavian Defense or take on the Sicilian Defense with the Taimanov setup.
There is also a playful side. Anaiy has played hundreds of games in offbeat lines like the Amazon Attack and the Australian Defense, often outscoring opponents in the resulting chaos.
Rivalries and Milestones
No biography is complete without rivals. Anaiy's most frequent battleground has been against timeless limitless, with 30 meetings and 21 wins, while thegoldenfrog has also been a regular sparring partner, suffering 21 losses in 27 encounters. Other regulars include sigesqchess, liveandletdie, and default_lag.
Milestones include the National Master title, an 11 game winning streak, and the ability to bounce back from an 11 game losing streak without losing faith.
Habits and Quirks
Anaiy prefers blitz as the main competitive format, with bullet as the outlet for pure volume. The numbers suggest sharp focus in the early afternoon, with the best results around 13:00. Curiously, Anaiy performs better in casual games than rated ones, which makes every rated match feel like a duel. When the pieces are flying, Anaiy is usually the one delivering checks, and the queen is the favorite checking piece.