Helgi Gretarsson is an accomplished chess Grandmaster recognized by FIDE, demonstrating exceptional skill and tenacity in the fast-paced world of chess. Known for his strategic depth and resilience, Gretarsson shines particularly in rapid and blitz formats—a perfect match for his preferred rapid time control style.
Playing Style & Strengths
Helgi is a versatile player who favors deep strategic battles with an average game length around 78 moves in wins, showing his preference for drawn-out tactical skirmishes rather than quick knockouts. His remarkable endgame frequency (85.52%) underscores a solid mastery of late-game techniques, often turning small advantages into decisive victories.
Favorite Openings: In blitz battles, he favors various Modern Defense structures, especially the 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 a6 variation where he boasts a 55% win rate.
Tactical Resilience: An impressive comeback rate of 81.51% shows he rarely throws in the towel prematurely, often fighting back when down material.
Psychological Edge: Has a noted tilt factor of 9, so opponents might want to keep it friendly to avoid triggering his fighting spirit!
Career Highlights & Achievements
Helgi's peak blitz rating skyrocketed to 2764 in October 2024, a testament to his lightning-fast decision-making. His bullet skills are no less sharp, reaching a peak of 2717—all of which underline his speed chess expertise. In rapid format, he peaked at a strong 2400 rating in August 2020.
Over 3,000 blitz games played with slightly over 50% win rate, proving endurance and consistency.
Long winning streaks include an impressive 27 consecutive wins — quite the hot streak!
Has demonstrated dominant performances against numerous top opponents, including a 16-4-1 score against gm_robertomogranzini.
Fun Facts
His best time of day to play is bright and early at 7 AM, proving even the sunrise can’t outshine his moves.
Helgi’s opponents beware: he boasts 100% win rates against a surprising number of players—a chess snuggle bear or fierce lion?
When losing a piece, Helgi still wins almost 45% of those gladiator matches—talk about never giving up!
Coach Chesswick
Coach's Advice
It's been a while since you played. Play a few more games so we have more positions and decisions to review — then I can provide you with clearer, more actionable advice.
