Šimon Šotek: The Czech Night Shift of Bullet Chess
Šimon Šotek, known on the leaderboard as CzechChessplayer17, is a FIDE Candidate Master from the Czech Republic who plays online chess the way Prague handles winter: relentlessly, and preferably after dark. The surname suits him, since a "šotek" is a mischievous imp from Czech folklore, and this particular one comes alive around 3 AM with a bullet board open and a Bird Opening ready.
The Climb
In May 2023, Šotek's bullet rating bottomed out in the low 1300s, a number he presumably remembers fondly, like an old apartment with bad heating. He then simply refused to stop playing. By June 2025 he had crossed 2000, and by August 2026 the same clock format had him at a peak of 2539 (2026-08-23). Rapid chess followed the same arc, from 1367 in his first month to a peak of 2532, while blitz eventually touched 2660 (2026-06-02).
- FIDE Candidate Master
- More than 4,100 rated wins across all time controls
- Longest winning streak: 22 games
- Longest losing streak: 9 games, promptly erased by the streak above
Style: Grind First, Sleep Never
Šimon is an unapologetic 1.e4 player; his d4 games appear about as often as a snowless Czech January. His wins are not sprints either, averaging over 72 moves with an endgame reached in nearly 73% of his games. He resigns early only 2.35% of the time, gets blown off the board in just 3.08% of his losses, and somehow still wins more games than he loses even after dropping a piece (54.57%). If you beat Šotek, you earned it, and you are probably tired.
The Opening Fridge
As White, the house specialties are the Batavo Gambit (500 games and counting), the Scandinavian Defense, and the Caro-Kann Defense. As Black, he happily accepts Alapin Sicilians and Taimanov American Attacks like a man collecting debts. There is one anomaly on the shelf: the Czech Defense, the only opening with his homeland in the name, is statistically his worst idea at just 42% wins. Patriotism, it turns out, has limits.
Rivalries and Recurring Guests
Every grinder has a rotation. lorenc1382 has faced Šimon 192 times and lost 159 of those games, which is less a rivalry than a subscription. bombardak321 is close behind at 155 meetings and 98 Šotek wins. The true nemesis is mates29, who actually leads their head-to-head 27-22, proof that the chess gods keep the books balanced. And then there is queensacrifice22, against whom Šotek has 29 wins, 3 losses, and a remarkable 18 draws, the queen almost never actually being sacrificed, merely offered refreshments until both players agree to stop.
Live From 3 AM
His best time of day to play is listed as 03:00, and the hourly numbers read like a vampire's diary: perfect win records in the small hours he has actually played, and a still absurd 94% around 4 AM. Sunday (58.94% wins) is his strongest day, Saturday (51.47%) his weakest, suggesting weekend mornings are for recovery, not rook endings. He also plays nearly 17 percentage points better in casual games than rated ones, evidence that titles are stressful and so is watching your own rating graph.
The Mental Game
With a tilt factor of just 9 and an 88.42% comeback rate, Šotek is about as flammable as a wet match. His most common checking piece is the queen, followed closely by the rook, because in the Šotek household checks are delivered on schedule and the rook clocks in for overtime. In his entire recorded history he has never won or lost by stalemate, only drawn two of them, the only mutually acceptable outcome of running low on clock with a full point on the line.
What's Next
The ceiling keeps rising. After surviving a winless March in 2026, when the calendar owed him absolutely nothing, Šimon rebounded to a 2539 bullet peak in August and continues grinding toward 2600 with the Batavo Gambit in hand and the Alapin in reserve. Whether you meet him at noon or at 3 AM, the advice is the same: develop quickly, respect the gambit, and whatever you do, do not let the game drift into a long endgame, because that is where the Czech night shift does its best work.