Zbigniew Pakleza: Grandmaster of Bullet Chess
Zbigniew Pakleza, known to victims and admirers alike as Byniolus, is a FIDE-titled Polish grandmaster who chose to make his name in the fastest corner of online chess. Since 2014 he has played nearly 35,000 bullet games, amassing over 18,700 wins in that format alone, plus another 9,350-plus in blitz for dessert. His philosophy is simple: take a game that already has no time for thinking, and make it even less forgiving.
From 1400 Rookie to Bullet Royalty
In July 2014, Byniolus entered the bullet pool rated around 1400 and promptly won his first two games, presumably concluding that this chess thing was easy. The chess gods laughed. By the spring of 2016 he was playing over 1,300 bullet games in a single month, a pace of roughly 40 a day, and the rating graph began its long, scenic climb.
A decade later, his peak bullet rating stands at 3146 (2026-08-27), a number the 2014 version of him would have assumed was a typo. The full journey, complete with plateaus, cliffs, and stubborn recoveries, is preserved below:
An Opening Repertoire With a Dinosaur in It
Ask his opponents what to expect and they will sigh, because they already know. As White, he opens 1.d4 and steers toward the London System Poisoned Pawn Variation, a pet line he has driven for nearly 4,800 bullet games at a 58.5% win rate. As Black, the calling card is the Czech Defense, good for over 6,000 bullet and blitz games combined, roughly 60% of them wins.
- London System Poisoned Pawn Variation: 4,760 bullet games, 58.5% wins
- Czech Defense: 6,289 bullet and blitz games, about 60% wins
- Barnes Defense: a blitz ambush weapon with an 81.2% win rate
- Amazon Attack: a 94.7% win rate in rapid chess, which is simply showing off
- The Amar Gambit: he refutes it 51.9% of the time as Black, but plays it himself at a tragic 36.7% as White. Even grandmasters have a guilty pleasure they should not have
- The Colle Rhamphorhynchus Variation, which sounds like a pterosaur and grinds opponents down just as patiently
The Nemesis File
Every legend needs a wall to headbutt, and for Byniolus that wall is Jan-Krzysztof Duda. They have clashed 367 times. The record: 62 wins, 292 losses, 13 draws. And still he queues up for more, which is either a rivalry or the internet's most committed subscription. Balance does exist: against Piotr Brodowski he stands 133-62 with 18 draws, living proof that the reflexes still fire.
Playing Style: The Endgame Tarpit
Forget the stereotype of the bloodthirsty speed player. More than 81% of Byniolus's games reach an endgame, his first capture usually waits until move 8, and his average win takes about 79 moves. Even his losses are marathons, running five moves longer than his wins on average. He resigns early only 2.5% of the time, and after dropping a piece he still wins 54.6% of those games. If it looks lost, remember the comeback rate: 81.7%.
- Longest winning streak: 79 games
- Longest losing streak: 49 games, which he reportedly files under "research"
- Tilt factor: 49 out of 100, suspiciously well balanced
- Do not challenge him at 5 AM, when his win rate peaks at 71.8%. The climb from his 4 AM low of 39.7% apparently takes exactly one hour
- Mondays are his best day at 60.1%; Saturdays are his designated rest
- Career check count: roughly 139,000, mostly delivered by rooks, because subtlety is for slower time controls
The Daily Chess Confession
Now, the one blemish. In December 2022, Byniolus tried daily chess exactly eight times. Wins: zero. Losses: eight. He was never seen in that pool again. Interpretations vary: the slow pace disagreed with him, correspondence chess lacks premove buttons, or he simply refuses to play without a stopwatch. Whatever the truth, the lesson stands. If you want a game with the grandmaster, bring a clock. A very short one. Dawn optional, but ill advised.