Bragi Thorfinnsson GM

A Grandmaster Is Born

Bragi Thorfinnsson, known to the online chess world as B-man, is a FIDE Grandmaster who plays as if he were born with a chess clock in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. His online journey began in 2014 with a humble blitz floor around 1324, but it did not take long for the world to realize this was not a typical beginner. Within a single month he was already crossing the 2000 mark, and by 2016 he had reached the 2500s. From there, the climb became a Viking saga: 2600s in 2020, 2700s by 2021, and a peak blitz rating of 2818 (2026-07-01) in 2026.

Although his preferred time control appears to be bullet, his true kingdom is the blitz arena. With more than 11,900 rated online games logged, B-man has essentially built a small nation of chess data.

shows the dramatic, volcano-like arc of a player who refuses to stay calm for long.

Opening Repertoire: Mythical and Menacing

Bragi is an opening omnivore, but his heart belongs to the unusual, the sharp, and the oddly named. He loves the Amazon Attack, the Siberian Attack, and the Nimzo-Larsen Attack, making his opening books read like fantasy novels. With White, he scores exceptionally well in the Sicilian Defense: Closed, and he has faced the Caro-Kann Defense and the French Defense hundreds of times without losing his taste for battle.

With Black, the Scandinavian Defense is a trusted shield, and the Czech Defense also makes frequent appearances. The chart below,

, shows that B-man is at his most dangerous when the opening is slightly weird and the position is full of traps.

Rivals and Mind Games

No profile of B-man would be complete without his regular dance partners. He has faced Nebojsa Djordjevic 44 times, a rivalry so close it could power a small country. Against Paul Szuper he holds a healthier edge, while Vladimir Burmakin has given him nightmares with a losing head-to-head record. These rivalries are the fuel for B-man's endless rematch button.

Psychologically, he is a streaky competitor. His longest winning streak reached 15 games, but his longest losing streak hit 10, which means he can also self-destruct in spectacular fashion. His tilt factor is off the charts, yet his comeback rate sits at 91.25. Losing a piece is rarely the end of the story when B-man is still at the board.

Chess DNA

• Favorite time control: bullet, with blitz as the devoted second love.
• Playing style: patient and dangerous, with an endgame frequency above 83%.
• Average decisive game length: over 80 moves, so bring a snack.
• Best hour to play: 06:00, according to the data. A dawn match against B-man is a terrible idea.
• Rated vs casual: his win rate jumps by more than 16% when the game actually matters.

Bragi Thorfinnsson is a grandmaster, a grinder, a streak artist, and a one-man highlight reel. Whether he is winning a 15-game hot streak or losing a 10-game cold snap, he remains one of the most entertaining players on the platform.