From 800 to International Master
Dmitry Zilberstein, known online as dzil, is an International Master with a peculiar distinction: he once lost a Daily game at 800 rating, then went on to touch 2886 (2026-09-04) in blitz. His online journey started humbly in 2014 with a 1036 Rapid rating, and he spent years in relative quiet before exploding onto the blitz and bullet scene in late 2024. In a matter of weeks he jumped from 1702 to past 2500, and the climb never really stopped.
tells the story of a player who simply does not stop pushing.A Repertoire Without Fear
dzil is equally at home in theory-heavy main lines and absolute chaos. As Black he regularly wades into the Caro-Kann Defense, the Sicilian Defense, and the King's Indian Defense. As White he favors the Catalan Opening, the English Opening, and occasionally the Diemer-Duhm Gambit, a choice that suggests he values entertainment over safety. A typical expedition into the Najdorf might look like this:
.His opening stats show a player who is comfortable in nearly every structure, and
reveals that his best results come when he dictates the tempo.Rivalries and Grudge Matches
No profile of dzil would be complete without his rivals. His most frequent opponent is Paul Rohwer, with 33 meetings and a healthy winning record. Against Jesse James the scoreboard is tighter, with 12 wins and 19 losses in 32 games. Then there is Oscar Ardila, who has felt the full force of dzil's attacking play, losing 24 of their 30 encounters.
The Comeback King
dzil nominally prefers Rapid, but his thousands of blitz and bullet games tell a different story. He is a fighter above all: his comeback rate is 87.32 percent, and even after losing a piece he still wins 40.47 percent of the time. His longest losing streak was 13 games, and he answered it with a 9-game winning streak. He averages more than 73 moves per win, which is a polite way of saying he will outlast you, outgrind you, and then beat you in the endgame.