Avatar of Shanmukha Meruga

Shanmukha Meruga NM

Username: BuyBoxBandit

Location: Atlanta, GA

Playing Since: 2024-06-04 (Active)

Wow Factor: ♟♟♟♟♟

Chess.com

Blitz: 2459
1199W / 1465L / 249D
Bullet: 2550
1979W / 2551L / 396D

Shanmukha Meruga - The National Master with a Blitzing Bullet

Meet Shanmukha Meruga, a National Master who has mastered the art of fast-paced chess almost as well as they master the art of making their opponents cry over the 64 squares. Whether it's blitz or bullet, Shanmukha's rating rockets high, soaring from 2336 to 2422 in blitz and zooming from 2537 to a sprightly 2571 in bullet chess in just a year. Clearly, slow chess is so last century.

With a whopping 1381 blitz games and 2023 bullet games played in 2024 alone, this player has managed to squeeze in enough matches to make a caffeine addict blush. Winning streaks may have their limits, but Shanmukha's longest winning streak clocks in at a respectable 9 games – enough to make any opponent nervously eye their pieces for hidden threats (and maybe a secret wizard).

Openings? Top Secret. Literally. Shanmukha's preferred opening performance is shrouded in mystery, although we do know they’ve won about 40% of their games with it across both blitz and bullet – a solid strike rate when your moves fly as fast as their mouse clicks.

Don't be fooled by the blazing speeds; Shanmukha boasts a tactical awareness that’s no joke. A comeback rate of 93.29% and a perfect 100% win rate after losing a piece make this player something of a phoenix rising from the ashes — or, you know, a chess ninja pulling sneaky moves from behind the curtain. Also, an early resignation rate of 0.63% proves they rarely throw in the towel unless it’s absolutely checkmate or the coffee kicks in.

Psychologically, Shanmukha battles through a tilt factor of 10 but still keeps their cool better than most – well, except for the occasional 59% difference in wins when switching between rated and casual games, proving that sometimes, the pressure of making every move count fuels their fire (or stress-eats their snacks).

Outside the board, we imagine Shanmukha to be a master strategist of life who might joke, “If you can survive bullet chess, you can survive Monday.” Their peak blitz rating of 2583 and bullet pinnacle at 2696 hint at an aspiring chess Grandmaster who’s simply playing the long game - or maybe just too fast to be caught!

In summary: A National Master with lightning reflexes, iron nerves, and a mysterious opening repertoire, Shanmukha Meruga is the kind of player who proves that chess isn’t just a game of brains — it’s a fast, furious, and frankly fun battle of wits and speed.


Coach Chesswick's Profile Photo
Coach Chesswick

Hi Shanmukha Meruga!

Great job steadily pushing your blitz rating up to [Stat|PeakRating|Blitz] and maintaining an ambitious schedule (see

01234567891011121314151617181920212223100%0%Hour of Day
and
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun100%0%Day of Week
). Below is a personalized review of your recent games together with concrete action items.

1. What You Are Doing Well

  • Dynamic pawn play. In several wins you created connected passers (e.g. the c- and d-pawns in your win vs. memer5334) and knew when to shift from restraint to acceleration.
  • Piece activity over material. You often allow doubled pawns or give up pawns temporarily to seize the initiative, a key blitz skill.
  • End-game conversions. Your rook-and-pawn technique against elstranger shows calm accuracy even with seconds on the clock.

2. Key Areas to Improve

2.1 Clock Management

Five of the last six losses were timeouts. Your average remaining time in winning games is ~23 s, but in losses it drops below 5 s. The following routines will help:

  • Adopt a “1-2-3” rhythm: 1 second to notice the opponent’s threat, 2 seconds to pick candidate moves, 3 seconds to decide.
  • Use the first 10–12 moves of your repertoire as automatic sequences; rehearse them with a physical board or an opening trainer until you can pre-move confidently.
  • Add 5-minute no-increment games to training. They punish slow habits without promoting reckless pre-moves.

2.2 Opening Depth

StructureTypical SlipFix
Scandinavian as Black 3…Qe6+?! gives White tempo. Adopt the main line 3…Qa5 or 3…Qd6; study 15-min video & create flash cards.
Old Benoni as Black (loss vs. bugasasnug) 14…b5 weakened c6-square and fixed the queenside. Follow the modern plan …exf4, …Ne5, …Re8 and strike in the center first.
King’s Indian Attack / Catalan setups as White You occasionally repeat piece moves (e.g. Nf4-h5-f4). Use the concept of Prophylaxis: ask “what if I leave this knight on f4?” before redeploying.

2.3 Tactical Alertness

Both sides missed intermediate blows in the bullet games. Add 15–20 daily puzzles at 3-4 sec each; focus on forcing moves first (checks, captures, Zwischenzug, threats).

3. Concrete Game Exercise

Replay your crisp win vs. memer5334 (Scandinavian, 1 June)

Identify three moments where you kept tension instead of cashing in material.

[[Pgn| 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nf3 Qe6+ 4.Be2 Nf6 5.O-O c6 … 47.R5e2 1-0]]

4. Training Plan (Next 2 Weeks)

  1. Opening Drill: 30 minutes/day with your main lines until you can play first 12 moves in <30 s.
  2. Tactics Sprint: 150 puzzles at <10 s each; track accuracy percentage.
  3. Practical Sessions: 10 games of 5|0; review only three critical moments per game.
  4. End-game Ladder: Play 5 rook-and-pawn endings vs. engine set to 1800 and convert.

5. Mind-set Tips

  • Blitz rewards clarity more than perfection; once a position is winning, trade complexity for certainty.
  • Give yourself one timeout-free streak goal: 15 games without losing on time, regardless of score.
  • Review losses with curiosity, not blame—every blunder is hidden rating points.

Keep the momentum going, Shanmukha! With sharper time management and a bit more opening discipline, breaking the next rating plateau is well within reach. Feel free to send me any tricky positions you encounter.

—Your Chess Coach



🆚 Opponent Insights

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Vesna Bogdanovic 13W / 17L / 0D View Games

Rating

Year Bullet Blitz Rapid Daily
2025 2556 2459
2024 2537 2336
Rating by Year2024202525562336YearRatingBulletBlitz

Stats by Year

Year White Black Moves
2025 929W / 1092L / 193D 862W / 1178L / 178D 84.3
2024 734W / 823L / 142D 652W / 920L / 132D 84.7

Openings: Most Played

Bullet Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation 330 157 150 23 47.6%
Scandinavian Defense 327 130 170 27 39.8%
Amar Gambit 238 91 122 25 38.2%
Caro-Kann Defense 236 93 127 16 39.4%
Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit 200 80 100 20 40.0%
Czech Defense 197 71 114 12 36.0%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 193 86 85 22 44.6%
Indian Defense: Przepiorka Variation 166 71 83 12 42.8%
Döry Defense 120 49 63 8 40.8%
Australian Defense 110 41 59 10 37.3%
Blitz Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Scandinavian Defense 152 52 85 15 34.2%
Caro-Kann Defense 125 55 63 7 44.0%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 100 41 47 12 41.0%
Sicilian Defense: Closed 67 29 34 4 43.3%
Döry Defense 62 34 23 5 54.8%
Amar Gambit 59 23 24 12 39.0%
Czech Defense 54 29 19 6 53.7%
Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation 54 22 27 5 40.7%
Alekhine Defense 47 22 21 4 46.8%
Sicilian Defense 46 17 26 3 37.0%

🔥 Streaks

Streak Longest Current
Winning 9 0
Losing 11 2
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