About Sergei Lobanov
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.