Raul Gonzalez: The Chessboard Biologist
Raul Gonzalez, often known in the chess ecosystem as Elessar336, has been making waves across the 64 squares with a playing style as dynamic as the cellular mitosis of a rapid organism. His journey through the ranks from 2021 to 2025 reads like a fascinating evolutionary tale, complete with peaks, dips, and a resilience that would make any organism proud.
Rating Evolution & Performance
Starting with a Rapid rating of 919 in 2021, Raul’s rapid rating peaked at 1324 in 2022, showing a growth spurt reminiscent of a young sapling stretching towards sunlight. Despite some setbacks in 2024 and 2025 with fewer games played, his average ratings reflect a solid and persistent contender:
- Rapid games spanned over 2,159 matches with a near-even win-loss ratio (1068 wins vs. 1024 losses), but a keen eye would note a slightly higher number of draws than expected – hinting perhaps at the occasional strategic pause or “hibernation.”
- In Daily chess, Raul shows remarkable endurance with 51 wins, showing an impressive ability to adapt over longer time frames.
- His Bullet and Blitz games may be fewer in number but highlight a tactical awareness that punches above weight, particularly in Blitz where his win rate and quick endgames reflect quick reflexes akin to a cunning predator.
Opening Strategies: Raul’s Genetic Code of Chess
Raul has a fascinating repertoire, often initiating games with well-studied openings that are like genetic markers in his chess DNA:
- Queen's Gambit Accepted (Old Variation): His strongest suit with over 62% win rate in Rapid - a go-to allele for success.
- French Defense (Normal Variation): Raul’s love for structure shows here with a 60% win rate, balancing offense and defense like a cell regulating its growth.
- Queen's Pawn Opening and King’s Pawn Opening: Both openings have earned him over 53% success rates, demonstrating his versatility and adaptability on different parts of the board’s genome.
His tendency to employ the Philidor Defense and Chigorin variations with respectable success suggests a strategic inclination that evolves with each encounter, much like nature’s finest experiments.
Psychology And Play Style
Raul's playing style is a careful balance of patience and aggression:
- With an endgame frequency over 51%, he clearly enjoys teasing out long, complex battles reminiscent of cellular respiration — methodical and energy-efficient.
- An early resignation rate of just above 5% suggests Raul doesn’t easily concede, embodying that famous resilience found in virus particles that keep on replicating.
- His comeback rate stands tall at nearly 74%, highlighting an uncanny ability to recover from setbacks, quite like DNA repair mechanisms kicking in after damage.
Tactical and Time Preferences
Raul seems to thrive in certain environments:
- Highest win rate occurs between 17:00 and 20:00 hours with a peak at 14:00 and 19:00 – it’s clear his cognitive mitochondria are firing at full power in these periods.
- Monday and Saturday shine as his best days, perhaps when his mental synapses are most aligned.
Opponent Records & Streaks
Some opponents seem to be his natural predators, while he dominates others with near-perfect success:
- Longest winning streak of 13 games reveals his capacity for chaining victories like a biochemical pathway.
- His overall opponent win rates show a fascinating mix, including clean sweeps against many challengers and a few tough competitors who have proven tricky.
Final Thoughts
Raul Gonzalez may not yet be a grandmaster, but his game plays out like a thrilling scientific experiment, full of calculated moves, unexpected twists, and strategic mutations. Whether he’s spawning complex endgames or performing rapid tactical strikes, Raul’s love of the game is infectious — clearly demonstrating that in the ecosystem of chess, he’s a player evolving with every match.
In a world where many resign early, Raul’s DNA is coded for persistence, comebacks, and the long, satisfying dance of checkmates. So watch your pawns and bishops — Raul’s next evolutionary move might just be his best yet!
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| Furia84 | 44W / 16L / 1D | |
| Cameron Shay | 5W / 4L / 0D | |
| higuer | 6W / 1L / 0D | |
| korefunmi | 4W / 1L / 0D | |
| bongmaster_420 | 3W / 1L / 0D | |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 992 | |||
| 2024 | 1101 | |||
| 2022 | 1225 | 1004 | ||
| 2021 | 426 | 805 | 1103 | 957 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0W / 0L / 0D | 0W / 2L / 0D | 41.0 |
| 2024 | 0W / 2L / 0D | 0W / 0L / 0D | 45.0 |
| 2022 | 284W / 240L / 18D | 273W / 263L / 18D | 55.7 |
| 2021 | 305W / 246L / 16D | 263W / 295L / 17D | 56.1 |
Openings: Most Played
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philidor Defense | 251 | 100 | 146 | 5 | 39.8% |
| Queens Pawn Opening | 242 | 129 | 106 | 7 | 53.3% |
| Queens Gambit Declined Chigorin Defense | 147 | 75 | 71 | 1 | 51.0% |
| Kings Pawn Opening | 111 | 60 | 47 | 4 | 54.0% |
| Queens Gambit Declined | 79 | 41 | 33 | 5 | 51.9% |
| Philidor Defense Exchange Variation | 78 | 41 | 36 | 1 | 52.6% |
| Queens Gambit Accepted Old Variation | 69 | 43 | 26 | 0 | 62.3% |
| French Defense Normal Variation | 68 | 41 | 25 | 2 | 60.3% |
| Englund Gambit | 54 | 29 | 24 | 1 | 53.7% |
| Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 51 | 24 | 24 | 3 | 47.1% |
| Daily Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 81.8% |
| Colle System | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 80.0% |
| Queens Gambit Declined Chigorin Defense | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 37.5% |
| Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 83.3% |
| Philidor Defense | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60.0% |
| Queens Gambit Declined Chigorin Exchange Variation | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Center Game | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Colle System Traditional Line | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Queens Gambit Accepted Classical Steinitz Variation Exchange Variation | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Italian Game | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queens Gambit Declined Chigorin Defense | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Kings Fianchetto Opening | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queens Gambit Declined Chigorin Defense | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Philidor Defense | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Kings Pawn Opening | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Queens Pawn Opening | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Englund Gambit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Center Game Accepted Normal Variation | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 13 | 0 |
| Losing | 9 | 4 |