Eshan Guha: The BigPiano Maestro of the Chessboard
Rising From 1200 to National Master
Eshan Guha, known to online opponents as BigPiano, is a National Master with a story built on stubborn improvement. He entered the online rating pool in 2015 with a 1200 rapid rating and a losing record. Instead of staying there, he treated every game like a measure of a jazz tune: increasingly confident, occasionally chaotic, and always moving forward.
His rapid rating climbed past 1600 in 2017, crossed 2000 in 2020, and peaked at 2309 in August 2023. In blitz, the format he clearly prefers, his rise is even more striking. The chart below shows the long climb from 1200 to the mid 2600s.
Style, Openings, and the Art of Not Resigning
BigPiano plays a fearless, fighting brand of chess. He almost never resigns early, and over 80 percent of his games reach the endgame. His average winning game lasts nearly 79 moves, so opponents should pack a lunch. Even after losing a piece, he still wins about half the time, and his comeback rate sits near 83 percent.
As Black, Eshan is deeply comfortable in the Sicilian Defense, especially the sharp Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation. In blitz he wins 32 of 46 Sicilian games. When his opponents avoid 1.e4, he often reaches for the Benko Gambit, where his rapid play has produced a 75 percent win rate. As White, he has shifted from a youthful 1.e4 approach to a more flexible repertoire built around 1.d4, 1.Nf3 and 1.b3.
Marquee Opponents
No player has faced BigPiano more than robotguy, who has challenged him 60 times. It is a genuine rivalry: robotguy leads with 36 wins against Eshan's 22. Against Sounak Bagchi, Eshan has the upper hand with 19 wins to 13 and 11 draws in 43 meetings. These frequent battles have helped shape his ability to handle both aggressive attackers and patient positional players.
Milestones and Quirks
- Earned the National Master title.
- Reached a blitz peak of 2660 (2026-06-30) and a bullet peak of 2686 (2026-01-27).
- Put together a 31-game winning streak, one of the longest seen in his stats.
- His win rate at 12:00 is nearly 70 percent; Wednesdays are also kind to him at about 62 percent.
- His playing style is remarkably balanced: a 53.3 percent win rate with White and a 52.7 percent win rate with Black.