Nirish Kumar Siva Kumar: FIDE Master, Bullet Shark, Comeback Artist
Nirish Kumar Siva Kumar, known to opponents simply as dannyings83972, is a FIDE Master whose online chess career reads like a speedrun. Since his first rated games in April 2021, he has racked up nearly 1,900 wins across blitz and bullet, turned a humble 965 starting rating into a peak of 2855 (2026-09-24), and made a habit of looking completely calm while everything around the board catches fire.
The Climb: From Beginner to the Stratosphere
Most players inch up the ladder. Nirish strapped the ladder to a rocket. The blitz rating started at 965, crossed 2000 within three months, cracked 2300 by early 2022, and kept climbing through the 2400s and 2500s into the 2700s by 2026. Meanwhile, bullet became a personal playground, peaking at 2820 (2026-09-23), which is impressive in the most chaotic format known to humankind.
Opening Repertoire: Classics, Curiosities, and One Pterosaur
The repertoire mixes solid fundamentals with weapons you will absolutely not see coming:
- The Sicilian Defense in Rapid: a flawless 3 for 3. Some people only know one way to say goodbye.
- A sturdy Caro-Kann Defense partnership in blitz, 48 games and counting.
- A 76% score when opponents dare to try the Barnes Defense against him. That is not a win rate, that is a public service announcement.
- In bullet, the Amar Gambit, opening with 1.Nh3 as though it were a perfectly normal thing to do, good for a 74% score with White:
His most-played bullet line is the Colle Rhamphorhynchus Variation, named after a flying dinosaur, which is fitting for a player who spends his evenings swooping down on prey. There is also a soft spot for the King's Indian Attack, winning 76% of the time with it as White, and a 71% score with the Australian Defense, proving that whatever happens in Australia apparently stays in the winning column.
The Rivalry Ledger
Every grinder has dance partners, and Nirish has danced with martimhernandez3 martimhernandez3 26 times, holding a 14-10-2 edge in a series that has surely decided several evenings. adoubleedgedgame adoubleedgedgame discovered that double-edged positions only cut one way, dropping 9 of their 13 meetings. The true nemesis is alexrustemov Alexander Rustemov, who leads the head-to-head 6 to 3, a scoreline Nirish is presumably treating as a to-do list item. korean1988 korean1988 leads 11 to 7 and has earned a spot on that same list.
Playing Style: The Comeback Machine
The numbers paint a portrait of a player who simply does not do doom:
- Early resignation rate of 2.46%. Nirish does not quit; the opponent merely gets advance warning that the comeback is loading.
- Comeback rate of 83.86%. Losing a piece against Nirish is not an achievement, it is a countdown.
- Tilt factor of 8, which is to say ice water where most people keep emotions.
- endgame frequency above 82%, with wins averaging 83 moves. He grinds like a coffee shop at rush hour.
- First capture around move 7 on average. Patience first, snacks later.
- 3,168 checks delivered with rooks, plus a staggering 21 checks with the king itself, which is either bravery or a clerical error.
- A longest winning streak of 15 games, after which the victims presumably formed a support group.
Time Controls: Rapid First, Everything Else Whenever
Officially, Rapid is the preferred time control, and the record backs it up: a tidy 17-8-3 and a peak of 2277 (2026-03-22). It is just that blitz and bullet keep being extremely fun. Opponents beware anyway: the win rate hits 65% on Mondays and a perfect 100% around 7 pm, while midnight chess drags it down to 20%. If you must beat him, bring coffee and wait for the clock to strike twelve.
The Final Boss: Daily Chess
Every hero has a weakness. For a FIDE Master who never resigns, it turns out to be simply having too much time to think: four Daily games in 2024, zero wins, four losses, and a rating quietly locked in a drawer where no one will ever discuss it again.