ben tal

Ben Tal - The Chess Conqueror

Meet Ben Tal, a spirited chess enthusiast whose battlefields are the 64 squares where intellect and wit collide. Not just your average player, Ben has danced with the chess clock for over a decade, traveling through time controls like a grand master of Blitz, Rapid, and Bullet games alike.

A Decade of Digital Duels

Since 2012, Ben has played a staggering over 75,000 Blitz games, showing tremendous resilience with nearly equal wins and losses but an enviable fighting spirit — never one to draw much! His ratings have seen peaks near the 1900 mark, with a blitz rating bouncing around the mid-1600s to 1800s over the years, proving he’s no one-trick pony.

Bullet isn’t just fast food for Ben—it’s a fast-paced battlefield. While his bullet play is a touch more volatile with ups and downs near 1400, those quick hands have netted him plenty of wins and more than a few brilliantly frantic victories.

Playing Style & Personality

Ben is the kind of player who thrives in long, intricate struggles. With an average of 62 moves per win in Blitz, he clearly loves a dramatic, drawn-out fight rather than quick skirmishes. His endgame frequency tops 70%, meaning he’s always ready to battle until the very end—with a phenomenal 78% comeback rate when the chips are down! Talk about a fighter. He’s got a 100% win rate after losing a piece, so watch out if you’re the one who thought you had him cornered.

Meanwhile, Ben might sometimes be a little hard on himself, exhibiting a “tilt factor” of 17, but hey, what’s chess without a little emotional spice? His psychological resilience holds strong in time-pressure games too, often fighting through to snatch victories on the wire.

The Master of the “Top Secret” Opening

No, this isn’t a Cold War thriller—it's just Ben’s trademark opening strategy, humorously labeled “Top Secret.” It’s been the cornerstone of his impressive record across all game modes, with nearly a 50% win rate in Blitz and a perfect 50% in Rapid. His opponents can never quite crack his secret sauce.

On The Board - Recent Notable Games

In his most recent games, Ben demonstrated fearless aggression in a fiercely contested Caro-Kann Defense, relentlessly pushing his opponent until victory by resignation after a 35-move battle that showcased deep strategic ideas and a flair for the dramatic.

He also blends classical and sharp modern openings, moving gracefully between the Center Game and the Benko Gambit, often winning on time, a testament to his strong time-management skills under pressure.

Off The Board

Besides his masterful moves and endless dedication, Ben embodies the true spirit of the game—a blend of patience, humor, and relentless determination (not to mention an endless supply of knight puns). Whether he’s hunting down a tricky mate or scrolling through opening ideas, his journey reminds us all that chess is as much about passion as it is about calculation.

In short: Ben Tal is the player who outwits, outlasts, and outsmarts—sometimes against all odds, but every single time with a smile on his face and a cheeky move up his sleeve.

Looking forward to many more brilliancies and occasional blunders from one of chess’s most engaging competitors!