Christoph Curtius

Christoph Curtius (Curtius21)

Meet Christoph Curtius, a tenacious chess enthusiast known online as Curtius21. Christoph’s journey through the 64 squares is one marked by highs, lows, and a dash of humor when the queen starts dancing uncontrollably.

Rating Adventures

With a blitz peak rating of 372 achieved in May 2025 and a rapid peak rating of an impressive 1028 from 2021, Curtius21 has proven that lightning-fast thinking and solid strategy can coexist. Although his blitz rating danced around the low 200s most months in early 2025, his average game count per month shows he’s no stranger to the board – a whopping 900+ blitz games at one point!

Playing Style and Strengths

Christoph is a careful and gritty fighter, with an endgame frequency of about 40%, proving he’s not just a flashy opening specialist but a resilient warrior when the board empties. His early resignation rate is a modest 8%, because sometimes even the bravest surrender before the inevitable.

As white, Curtius21 claims victory just over half the time (50.8% win rate), while as black, he holds steady at 46.57%. His comeback rate of 31.61% is quite impressive, showing that when the going gets tough, the tough get curious about sacrificial gambits.

Openings - His Chess Toolkit

Known for his affection towards the Van 't Kruijs Opening in blitz (almost 1500 games!), Christoph shows a nearly balanced win rate there, close to 49.5%. He also does well with the French Defense and the Caro-Kann Defense, wielding these classical openings with a winning finesse. For the rapid format, he’s fond of the Van 't Kruijs Opening with a solid 66.7% win rate—quite the weapon of choice in faster games.

Recent Highlights

Christoph’s recent triumphs include a sharp victory by checkmate using the Van 't Kruijs Opening, as well as a solid resignation win exploiting a Queen’s Pawn Horwitz Defense scenario. But even champions stumble: his latest loss to PickleWrangler2 by resignation is a reminder that in chess, every piece fall could be a plot twist.

Psychological Notes

Christoph’s tilt factor sits at 12—definitely room for improvement, but who couldn’t use a breather after losing the queen to a sneaky knight? His best time to play is right at midnight, when the rest of the world sleeps, and his tactical awareness is at its peak.

Fun Facts

• Longest winning streak: 11 games — clearly, this guy knows how to ride the wave.
• Longest losing streak: 12 games — even chess heroes have their off days.
• Favorite time to score wins: the mysterious 00:00 hour. Night owl vibes?

Whether facing a rapid-fire blitz battle or strategizing a slow-burning rapid game, Christoph's chess journey is as educational as it is entertaining. Here's to many more rook sacrifices and unexpected knight forks on the horizon!

“In chess, as in life, sometimes you have to risk the queen to win the game.” — Curtius21’s unofficial motto