Cirilo Bustamante: The Long-Grind National Master
Cirilo Bustamante, better known online as C_Busta, earned his National Master title through persistence and raw volume. His recorded career starts in March 2013 below 1400 and eventually reaches a Blitz peak of 2412 (2025-06-07). In his preferred time control of Rapid, he peaked at 2388 (2023-08-21), showing he can thrive with a bit more thinking time too.
Bustamante is most dangerous at noon, where his win rate reaches 67.39%. If you see him online at lunchtime, prepare for a difficult afternoon.
A Repertoire Built on the Unusual
Cirilo loves steering games into sharp and less charted territory. As White, he leans heavily on the Amazon Attack, where he scores an excellent 63.38% in Blitz. The Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack and the London Poisoned Pawn Variation also appear hundreds of times in his record. As Black, he favors the aggressive Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense and does not mind accepting the Blackburne Shilling Gambit when it creates chaos.
- Favorite White weapon: Amazon Attack (63.38% Blitz win rate).
- Favorite Black setup: Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense.
- Endgame frequency: 77.07%.
His opening chart shows just how wide his repertoire reaches across both colors.
Familiar Foes
Rivalries define online chess, and Cirilo has a few. His toughest personal demon is dimych01, who leads their 17 game series 14 to 3. If there is a rematch spirit in chess, Bustamante might be chasing it.
Against HenrytheCat, Patrick Perry, and bill pennucci, the story flips: all three sit on the wrong end of the score. His most frequent dance partner, Cliff Hart, has split 23 games with him almost evenly, with Cirilo holding a slim 12 to 11 edge.
Never Count Him Out
The stats paint a picture of a fierce competitor. Cirilo's comeback rate is 85.98%, and he still wins 53.41% of games after losing a piece. He delivers the first check in 54.55% of his games, and when he does, his win rate jumps to 62.54%. His queen has delivered 6,989 checks in his recorded career, making it his favorite checking piece.
His longest winning streak is 19 straight wins. Even his longest losing streak of 8 could not break him. He simply returned and started a new run, the mark of a true National Master.
Marathon Man
Over more than 7,000 recorded games, Bustamante has proven that volume plus study equals progress. He wins 57.65% as White and 52.72% as Black, and he is especially clinical against lower rated opposition, taking 63.82% of those games. Against players rated above him, he still manages a 32.22% win rate, a reminder that titled opponents have to work for every point.
His career is a marathon, not a sprint, and every section of the race has made him harder to beat.