Chris Atkeson (catkeson) - National Master Extraordinaire
Meet Chris Atkeson, the National Master whose blitz games sometimes look like breathtaking chess carnivals - full of thrills, spills, and a dash of wizardry. Earning the prestigious National Master title, Chris has been grinding on the battlefield of 64 squares with relentless passion and a mix of strategic cunning and occasional flair.
Rating Adventures
Chris’s chess rating journey is a tale of grit and perseverance. Rocketing from sub-1000 ratings in early 2014, they have soared past the 2400+ mark in blitz and rapid, peaking at an impressive 2554 in blitz as of May 2025. The bullet rating peaked near the 2400s, proving Chris is no stranger to lightning-fast—and often heart-stopping—games.
Style & Stats
- Average moves per win: about 75 moves, because patience is definitely a virtue.
- Win rate with White is close to 47%, nearly edging out Black wins at 44%.
- Known for a comeback rate of 87.67%, Chris rarely stays down—and wins almost half the games even after losing a piece!
- Endgame fanatic: 77.24% of games see Chris battle deep into the endgame trenches.
- Warning: Early resignation rate sits at a feisty 0.8%, so no quitters here.
Opening Repertoire
The Caro Kann Defense’s Fantasy Variation is Chris’s favorite playground, with almost 50% win rate in blitz here. The Giuoco Piano and various Sicilian Defense lines round out a versatile repertoire that keeps opponents guessing and often a move or three behind.
Recent Triumph
In their most recent victory, Chris masterfully handled the Caro-Kann Defense Fantasy Variation, waltzing to a clean resignation from their opponent despite some audacious sacrifices and king maneuvers that would make Houdini proud. The game lasted 31 intense moves—an epic mini-drama! You can relive the magic here.
Personality & Fun Facts
Chris isn’t just a machine of moves; they’ve got a tilt factor of 20, which means they keep their cool better than most—unless someone steals their queen, then all bets are off. They seem to perform best around 11 AM, so maybe it’s their chess coffee kicking in.
With thousands of games logged and tens of thousands of wins, Chris Atkeson combines the persistence of a marathon runner with the quick wit of a cat burglar on a chessboard, always looking for that winning combination, or at least a good feast of forks, pins, and skewers.
Whether blitzing bullets or slinging witty queen sacrifices, Chris continues to build a legacy on Chess.com with a dedicated fanbase and a knack for turning tricky positions into sweet victories.