Damian Śliwicki: The Candidate Master Who Plays Chess at Ludicrous Speed
Some players savor slow, positional chess. Damian Śliwicki, known online as eCztery, took one look at the clock and decided it was still far too generous. A FIDE-titled Candidate Master with more than 25,000 online games to his name, Damian is a speed chess specialist whose preferred battlefield is blitz, backed by a truly heroic amount of bullet chess on the side. If a world record exists for games played while arguing with a clock, he is a strong candidate for it, which is fitting, because he is literally a Candidate Master.
From Humble Debut to Speed Chess Machine
Damian's recorded journey began in 2012 with a single blitz loss, the kind of quiet origin story every future grinder secretly shares. From there, the volume only climbed: certain months of his career feature game counts north of a thousand, a workload suggesting his mouse deserves its own pension plan. Along the way, his ratings rose steadily to a blitz peak of 2616 (2021-01-26) and a bullet peak of 2853 (2026-07-13), numbers earned one frantic click at a time.
An Opening Menu With Something for Everyone
Damian's repertoire reads like a restaurant menu written by someone gloriously unable to decide. The Scandinavian Defense is his signature dish, served thousands of times across every format. He has gone pterodactyl hunting with the Modern Defense: Pterodactyl Variation, rolled out the wonderfully obscure Amar Gambit to a flawless record in daily chess, and kept things spicy with the Sicilian Defense: Chekhover Variation and the appropriately aggressive Amazon Attack. The Caro-Kann Defense appears constantly as well, because apparently one rock-solid opening is never enough.
Rivalries Worthy of a Soap Opera
No legend is complete without a nemesis, and Damian has a whole rogues' gallery. His most frequent opponent is Patryk Mrozowski, with 303 meetings in which Damian holds a narrow overall edge, a rivalry so long it may qualify for an anniversary special. Play_Late_No_Sleep and Lucas Do Valle Cardoso have both given him serious trouble over the years, their usernames practically announcing the 2 a.m. sessions that produced them. Three hundred games against one person implies either deep friendship or a grudge of historic proportions, and honestly, it is probably both.
Style: A Marathon Runner in Sprinter's Clothing
For a speed player, Damian is remarkably patient. His endgame frequency sits near 78%, his average win stretches past 70 moves, and his early resignation rate is under 2%, meaning he will absolutely make you prove the win. Down a piece? His comeback rate of 88% says that is merely a suggestion. Here is the opening he has drilled more than any other, in action:
He also loves to be the first to check, with queen and rook checks dominating his highlight reel.
Fun Facts
- His longest winning streak reached 21 games; his longest losing streak hit 25. Perfectly balanced, as all grinders are.
- His best hour to play is 13:00, admirable self-knowledge for someone whose game logs include hours that politely should not exist.
- Wednesday is statistically his strongest day of the week. Challenge him on a Monday at your own risk.
- He almost never resigns early, so if you beat him, you will have earned every last move of it.
The Legacy Continues
Whether he is blasting out a Scandinavian Defense in two seconds flat or grinding a rook ending long past the point where opponents wonder if he fell asleep, eCztery plays chess his way: fast, stubborn, and always one more game away from a new winning streak. The Candidate Master title is already on the wall; the next blitz arena is already open.