Sergei Lobanov is a Grandmaster renowned for his swift and sharp blitz skills. With a peak blitz rating touching an astounding 2995 as of mid-2024, he stands as a titanic force in the rapid-fire format of chess. Playing with a style that cleverly balances tactical fireworks and solid endgame expertise, Sergei is a player who can outwit you before your coffee even cools.
Playing Style & Strengths
Sergei's games are a blend of strategic depth and tactical sharpness. His endgame appearances are incredibly frequent—happening in more than 84% of his games—and he tends to maintain long, intense battles averaging about 83 moves in his wins. Not one to resign early, he keeps fighting on, evidenced by a moderate early resignation rate of around 4%. A comeback artist, his win rate after losing a piece is just shy of 50%, demonstrating resilience even under pressure.
Highly tactical with a flair for comebacks (87.8% comeback rate)
Prefers long strategic games (average 83 moves per win)
Evenly matched success with both White (53.4%) and Black (48.6%) pieces
Peak blitz rating: 2995 (June 2024)
Favorite Openings
Sergei’s opening repertoire is diverse and practical, especially in blitz where he shines. He often favors complex and dynamic systems, showing a strong affinity for the Sicilian Defense and Neo-Indian structures that allow for rich tactical play. His blitz success is notable in these lines:
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Adams Attack – a striking weapon with a 67% win rate over 43 blitz games
Queen’s Pawn: Neo-Indian – solid and tricky, yielding 62.5% wins in 48 blitz games
Caro-Kann Defense – a fortress in his blitz arsenal with nearly 52% wins
Reti: King's Indian Attack (KIA) – a flexible, less common system, scoring well in Blitz and Bullet
In rapid, he experiments with classical lines and Neo-Indian variations, showing balanced results and a touch of creativity.
Career Highlights & Records
With thousands of games played, Sergei has amassed a substantial scorecard. His blitz prowess is especially prominent, with over 1,700 wins in nearly 3,200 games, including a fearsome longest winning streak of 15 straight games. His competitive spirit is relentless:
Blitz: 1717 wins, 1196 losses, 314 draws
Rapid: Solid performer with 54 wins, 49 losses, 48 draws
Bullet: Agile and quick-fingered with 570 wins over 1,200 games
Peak Rapid rating recorded at 2786 (January 2025)
Known for resilience: manages to avoid one-sided losses, keeping them under 5%
Sergei's psychological tenacity is notable, although his "tilt factor" suggests that even this grandmaster is human, keeping fans on edge during intense duel moments.
Fun Facts
His best hour to play is surprisingly at 2 AM—alert enough to trick opponents into thinking he’s an insomniac chess wizard.
Despite peak ratings, Sergei loves a good challenge and has faced some of the world's finest players multiple times.
He has a soft spot for complex openings that allow for creative play over dry theoretical lines.
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