Who is Vasif Durarbayli?
Vasif Durarbayli, known online as Durarbayli, is an Azerbaijani Grandmaster with a serious love affair with blitz. Over the past decade he has turned online chess into a personal laboratory, testing sharp opening ideas and then immediately hitting "Play Again" before the ink on the result is dry.
Blitz Machine
Durarbayli lives in the fast lane. With thousands of blitz games on record, he has repeatedly climbed past the 3000 mark, peaking at 3058 (2025-08-15). His longest winning streak reached 21 games, followed by a very human 15-game losing streak just to keep things balanced.
He is at his best in the afternoon, with 15:00 being his magic hour, and he rarely panics even after losing material. His comeback rate is so high that opponents must treat every advantage as temporary.
Style and Openings
Durarbayli is a theoretical tiger. He is equally happy to play with the Sicilian Defense as Black or to push the French Defense: Advance Variation as White. He also has a soft spot for the Caro-Kann Defense, especially the Exchange Variation, which he punishes with ruthless efficiency.
His games tend to be long and instructive. He is comfortable grinding out endgames that would make other players fall asleep, and his white pieces have produced a healthy win rate over a huge sample size.
Rivalries
No online career is complete without familiar rivals. Durarbayli has faced several elite names hundreds of times combined. His most frequent opponent is Hikaru Nakamura, though that particular scoreboard has been tough. Against Daniel Naroditsky he has battled through 76 games of mutual respect, while he has enjoyed better fortunes against Alexander Rustemov and Murad İbrahimli, proving that some rivalries are friendlier than others.
Fun Facts
- Longest winning streak: 21 games. Longest losing streak: 15 games. Chess is a rollercoaster.
- His best time of day is 15:00, so schedule all important testing around lunch.
- He is slightly more dangerous with White than Black, but still a nightmare with either color.
- His favorite openings are the Sicilian Defense and the French Defense, with a side of the Scotch Game when he feels adventurous.