John Thomas (bimbaq): The Unofficial King of the Blitz Grind
John Thomas, known to his online rivals as bimbaq, is the kind of chess player who treats the clock as an attacking piece. Since late 2015 he has played tens of thousands of rated Blitz games, building a career that reads like a love letter to fast chess. He even owns a perfect 1-0 Rapid record with a 2400 rating, yet spends nearly all his energy in the Blitz arena.
Career Arc: From 1300 to the 2400 Club
bimbaq's Blitz rating has seen it all. He dipped as low as 1323 in his first month, then began a steady ascent past 2000, through 2200, and eventually into the 2400 club. His career peak in Blitz stands at 2457 (2026-08-05), and his year-end ratings climbed from 1976 in 2015 to 2457 in 2026. The chart below tells the story of a player who simply never stopped hitting Play Again.
The Great Rivalry
Every marathon needs a rival, and bimbaq's is Henrik Dalsgaard. In 327 head-to-head Blitz battles, the two have produced one of the most balanced scorelines on the platform: 155 wins for bimbaq, 156 for mightymove, and 16 draws. Their games are the closest thing online chess has to a scheduled heavyweight retatch every time.
Opening Repertoire
With White, bimbaq is a 1.e4 believer. He faces the Sicilian Defense constantly and steers it into closed, maneuvering battles. He also meets the Caro-Kann Defense and the French Defense on a regular basis and scores comfortably in both. With Black he is happiest in the Slav Defense, and he has spent thousands of games taking on the London System. The opening chart below shows where his points come from.
Streaks, Comebacks and Quirks
bimbaq's numbers are full of personality. His longest winning streak hit 16 games, while his longest losing skid stretched to 15, proving he plays fearlessly in both directions. He also wins a stunning share of games after falling behind, with a comeback rate near 81%, and more than 11,500 of his victories arrive by timeout. The data even suggests his best hour is 4 a.m., which either means he is a night owl or the server is full of sleepy opponents.
- Longest winning streak: 16 games
- Longest losing streak: 15 games
- Comeback rate: 81%
- Wins by timeout: over 11,500
- Preferred home: Blitz, with 42,000+ rated games