Meet Sergey Kornilov, aka BugSerge
Sergey Kornilov, known online as BugSerge, is a blitz specialist with a wonderfully obsessive streak. Since August 2020 he has played more than 76,000 rated blitz games, climbing from the 1300s to a peak blitz rating of 2595 (2026-06-04). His preferred time control is blitz, and the data suggests he rarely sleeps in when a fast game is waiting.
His style is direct and attacking. With White he loves the Bird Opening, while as Black he answers 1.e4 with the razor sharp Schliemann Defense of the Ruy Lopez. The French Defense Advance Variation and the Caro-Kann Defense round out a repertoire built around early tension and quick punches.
A Repertoire Built for Blitz
BugSerge has played the Bird Opening's Batavo Gambit more than 7,300 times, which is remarkable loyalty to a single offbeat line. The Sicilian Defense Alapin, the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, and the Scandinavian Defense also show up thousands of times in his record. He wins roughly half of his games in most lines, and the occasional disaster is simply part of the fun.
Old Rivals and Repeat Battles
No one has faced BugSerge more often than purpleberry22, who leads their marathon 112 game series. The list of regular sparring partners also includes Asa Hoffmann, onlyc6, Knyaz13, Jura Ochkoos, and Evgeniy Khain, all of whom have traded dozens of blitz battles with him.
Quirks, Streaks, and Superpowers
- A comeback rate of 89.05% after being worse in the endgame.
- A 44.02% win rate even after losing a piece.
- Perfectly balanced streaks: 14 consecutive wins and 14 consecutive losses.
- His sharpest hour is 08:00, according to win rate by time of day.
- Over 7,400 checkmate wins, with the queen delivering the final check more often than any other piece.
- Only 16% of his games end in early resignation; he prefers to fight until the flag falls.
Here is a typical Bird Opening showdown from his collection:
. To see a real duel against his oldest rival, revisit this blitz classic.