Who Is Arnau_Sanchez?
Arnau_Sanchez is living proof that you do not need a respectable opening repertoire to become a genuine menace in online blitz chess. Since first appearing in August 2021, Arnau has logged more than 4,400 blitz games (2,392 wins, 1,853 losses, 190 draws), ground the rating from the low 2000s up to a peak of 2733 (2026-02-28), and done it all while playing openings that would make an engine file a formal complaint.
Preferred time control: blitz. Preferred victim: your expectations.
The Great Blitz Ascent
For the first two years, Arnau simmered quietly around the 2100 mark, collecting games and biding time. Then 2024 happened: monthly averages above 2500, a 2619 peak in August 2024, and by February 2026 a lifetime best of 2733 (2026-02-28). The bullet board is nearly as frightening, peaking at 2683 (2026-01-20) in January 2026. The graph tells the story of a slow burn that turned into a rocket:
An Opening Repertoire Straight Out of the Zoo
Most strong blitz players memorize theory. Arnau apparently chose chaos and made it work:
- Scandinavian Defense: the workhorse, 348 blitz games at about 51%. Respectable, sturdy, and the only entry here a normal person might play.
- Australian Defense: 1.d4 Na6, the corner knight walkabout. 305 games, a 58% win rate. The joke is that it keeps working.
- Barnes Defense: yes, 1...f6, tried 203 times and somehow broken even. That is less an opening statistic and more an act of defiance.
- Amar Gambit: 158 games, 59% wins. The line begins Nf3, Nh6, e4, g5, and no, that is not a typo. Witness the madness:
- Bird Opening: Dutch Variation, Batavo Gambit: the real money maker at nearly 63%. Sometimes the weird stuff is just good.
- Caro-Kann Defense and the Czech Defense round out the menu, because even zookeepers need a vegetable now and then.
- The most mysterious entry: a Colle System line whose name appears redacted in the archives, surviving only as the Rhamphorhynchus Variation. Rhamphorhynchus was a pterosaur, which tracks, because it drops on opponents from great heights.
For the non-believers, the win rate by opening:
Rivals, Nemeses, and Reliable Victims
The ledger of recurring opponents reads like a telenovela:
- isavelvettt: the most frequent dance partner, 116 games and a stunning 105-8-3 score. At this point it is less a rivalry and more a subscription.
- nephilim-slayer: 92 games, and the score sits at a bruising 18-72-2. Some usernames are prophecies.
- ajedrezlogico: 80 games, 12-65-3. Being owned by a rival named "chess logic" is almost too on the nose.
- Colombattismo: 52 meetings and a losing score, another recurring headache in the archives.
- Then there are the regulars who never cracked the code: juanchoperezdos at 19-0-1, dedication at 16-0-0 (the dedication is admirable, the results are not), mefolloarnau at 17-0-1 (a username best left untranslated), and dirty_flagger67 at 8-8-2, an ironic scoreline given the 674 wins on time below.
- Finally, Roc Boix Redorta: 15 games, seven draws. The human peace treaty.
Style, Habits, and Dangerous Hours
- Comeback machine: a 90.34% comeback rate, with wins in over half the games where material was lost first. Being down a piece is a mood, not a verdict.
- Endgame enjoyer: endgames show up in about two thirds of games, and the average win drags on for roughly 67 moves. Opponents should bring water.
- Tilt proof: a tilt factor of 12 out of 100. Even a 12 game losing streak could not stop the 27 game winning streak on record.
- Weekend warrior: Saturdays produce a 59.74% win rate, Mondays a grim 47.11%. The Monday blues are real and measurable.
- Dawn patrol: officially sharpest at 06:00, with the 5 AM hour at 0% and 6 AM at 66%. Whatever happens in that hour involves coffee or a pact.
- Clock bully: 674 wins by timeout against only 96 losses, so the flag is a strategic resource, not a defeat.
- Early resignation rate around 1.12%: the resign button is purely decorative.
- Queen enthusiast: 5,308 lifetime queen checks, the favorite piece for delivering unpleasant news.
The Verdict on Arnau_Sanchez
Right now the ledger shows a modest 7 game losing streak, which by historical standards is the safest possible time to queue up against Arnau_Sanchez. The longest losing streak ever recorded here is 12, and the longest winning streak is 27, so treat any skid as the calm before a very aggressive storm.
If you sit down expecting a normal game, be advised: 1...f6 has happened, Na6 has happened, and somewhere a redacted Colle waits patiently for the d4 crowd. Until the theory books catch up, Arnau_Sanchez remains one of the most entertaining profiles in online blitz chess.