Avatar of Thomas Vincent

Thomas Vincent

Username: ForkToKnight

Playing Since: 2016-09-06 (Active)

Wow Factor: ♟♟♟♟♟

Chess.com

Daily: 1451
49W / 76L / 8D
Rapid: 1335
215W / 196L / 15D
Blitz: 1120
5013W / 4954L / 366D
Bullet: 945
913W / 907L / 47D

Thomas Vincent - The Relentless ForkToKnight

Thomas Vincent, better known by his chess moniker ForkToKnight, is a stalwart of the online chess battlefield. Starting modestly with a daily rating around 800 in 2016, Thomas has demonstrated considerable persistence and growth, reaching a peak daily rating of 1474 in late 2017. Not one to shy away from a challenge, his blitz and rapid ratings have consistently hovered around the 1200–1300 range, with a bullet rating recently spiking up to a solid 1170 in 2025.

Style and Strategy

Known for his meticulous endgame prowess, Thomas boasts an impressive endgame frequency rate of 62.53%, clearly favoring long, strategic battles over quick skirmishes. With an average game lasting over 60 moves, he likes to wear down his opponents patiently, proving that sometimes slow and steady really does win the race.

His tactical awareness is highlighted by an exceptional 77.55% comeback rate, showing he’s not just a brute force player but a true tactician who can bounce back from setbacks — the Exeter of “I lost a piece but I’ll win the match anyway!”

Opening Preferences

Thomas is something of a mystery, playing many games with the enigmatic "Unknown Opening" in both daily and blitz formats, possibly to confuse his opponents or simply because he enjoys venturing down the path less traveled. When he reveals his cards, he's fond of the Pirc Defense - Modern Defense Geller System, an opening that fits his flexible and resilient playing style.

Streaks and Psychological Fortitude

With a longest winning streak of 13 games and a tilt factor of just 12, Thomas manages to keep his cool even when the pressure’s on. When the going gets tough, he keeps calm, collects his thoughts, and continues his assault — hardly one to throw the knight across the room in frustration.

Recent Battles

His latest recorded victory was on June 4, 2025, where playing White, Thomas maneuvered masterfully through the Pirc Defense, forcing his opponent to resign after 17 moves. Quick, clean, and effective — a snapshot of his chess personality. The game showed his typical calm, positional play enriched with timely tactical shots.

Fun Facts

  • Thomas’s win rate is highest in the evening around 7 PM — clearly, the best time to avoid him unless you want a nightmare.
  • He’s equally reliable playing White or Black, boasting nearly a 50% win rate with White and a respectable mid-40s win rate as Black.
  • Despite being a patient player, Thomas does not suffer from "one-sided losses" often, maintaining a low rate of 4.06%, meaning when he loses, he often goes down fighting.

Putting it bluntly: Thomas Vincent aka ForkToKnight is the embodiment of patience, persistence and a sneaky tactical eye, making him a formidable opponent both in bullet time scrambles and marathon matchups. Just remember: never leave your pieces undefended... or you might just get forked!


Coach's Avatar

Constructive feedback for Thomas Vincent

What you already do well

  • Active piece play: Your bishops often hit the board early (e.g. 3.Bc4 against the Pirc and Sicilian) and you are not afraid to seize open diagonals. In the win vs. Snowy2022 you punished …d5 with 12.Bxd5!, keeping the initiative all game.
  • Tactical alertness: 20.Nd6+!! against mwa1998 showed good pattern-recognition; you spotted a fork with only seconds left and forced resignation.
  • Simple, repeatable repertoire: Whether White or Black you stay inside a small family of openings (Pirc/Scandinavian as Black, Italian-style systems as White). That is excellent for bullet time-controls because you avoid long think-tank moments.

Key areas to improve

  1. Time-outs & clock handling
    Four of your last six losses were on time, often in won or equal positions. Bullet rewards pre-moves and quick, safe decisions more than perfect ones.
    • Adopt a “no move over 3 seconds” rule until the position simplifies.
    • Practice premove drills (e.g. king recaptures, forced exchanges).
  2. King safety in the middlegame
    Games vs. Topsellers2 (12.Bxh7+) and maoistao (Kf1-Ke2 wandering in the centre) illustrate how quickly uncastled kings get hunted.
    • Castle by move 8 in 90 % of games. When you cannot, ask “Is the centre closed enough to be safe?”.
    • If you do play …f6 or …f5 in the Scandinavian, back it up with …g6 or …h6 to deny Bxh7+ ideas.
  3. Conversion of winning positions
    The loss to WalkerAS reached a totally won rook end-game, yet you were mated on the back rank.
    • When up material, trade queens first, then rooks, then minor pieces— in that order.
    • Give the king an escape square (h7/h2) the moment heavy pieces remain.
    • Spend 5-10 minutes per day on basic rook end-game technique (Philidor, Lucena).
  4. Unnecessary queen adventures
    Early Qd8-b6 in the Pirc and Qf6 in the Sicilian cost tempi and leave the back rank weak. Follow the “three minor pieces before the queen” guideline and your positions will play themselves.

Sample moment to review


This fragment vs. Topsellers2 shows why leaving g7 loose after …f6 invites a direct king hunt.

Action plan for the next two weeks

ThemeDaily drill
Bullet clockPlay 5 one-minute games focusing only on moving in <3 s.
King safetyDo 10 puzzle-rush positions where the side to move mates an exposed king.
Rook end-gamesWatch one 5-minute lesson, then win Lucena vs. engine three times.

Stats & trends

Your current peak bullet rating: 1170 (2025-05-04). For a visual of when you play best, open the win-rate graphs:

01234567891011121314151617181920212223100%0%Hour of Day
– see which hour of the day gives you the highest score.
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun100%0%Day of Week
– track performance swings during the week.

Glossary term of the week

Study the idea of the zwischenzug – many of your tactics already rely on it, but recognising it one ply sooner will save clock time.


Keep the pieces active, the king safe, and the clock healthy. Good luck in your next session, Thomas!



🆚 Opponent Insights

Recent Opponents
beepollawr88 0W / 1L / 0D
theprince581 1W / 0L / 0D
aia7177 2W / 0L / 0D
miki9798 0W / 1L / 0D
wilburgorn 0W / 1L / 0D
alvarotyk 1W / 0L / 0D
memin51 0W / 1L / 0D
thegamingmousey 1W / 0L / 0D
emptytea84 1W / 0L / 0D
13np13 0W / 1L / 0D
Most Played Opponents
wehmsen 18W / 59L / 7D
yalinov 2W / 10L / 0D
matthewthe 5W / 3L / 0D
charles-love-maeanne 3W / 2L / 0D
fuji86 2W / 3L / 0D

Rating

Year Bullet Blitz Rapid Daily
2025 945 1119 1335
2024 965 1102 1231
2023 1019 1055 1314 1451
2022 602 1036 1206 1336
2018 1284 1390
2017 1259 1380 1434
2016 1211 1354 1322
Rating by Year20162017201820222023202420251451602YearRatingBulletBlitzRapidDaily

Stats by Year

Year White Black Moves
2025 841W / 830L / 43D 829W / 841L / 49D 63.5
2024 286W / 308L / 25D 294W / 293L / 24D 63.3
2023 1082W / 1000L / 89D 1031W / 1058L / 75D 63.0
2022 278W / 262L / 21D 255W / 291L / 12D 63.4
2018 3W / 8L / 0D 3W / 7L / 0D 55.0
2017 314W / 276L / 22D 292W / 308L / 23D 64.1
2016 356W / 311L / 27D 325W / 343L / 27D 63.8

Openings: Most Played

Blitz Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Scandinavian Defense 2342 1114 1151 77 47.6%
Blackburne Shilling Gambit 1354 677 624 53 50.0%
Sicilian Defense 562 263 278 21 46.8%
Philidor Defense 408 190 199 19 46.6%
Barnes Defense 351 175 165 11 49.9%
Caro-Kann Defense 349 180 155 14 51.6%
Amazon Attack 315 152 148 15 48.2%
Sicilian Defense: Closed, Anti-Sveshnikov Variation, Kharlov-Kramnik Line 288 133 149 6 46.2%
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense 283 140 129 14 49.5%
Benoni Defense: Benoni Gambit Accepted 270 124 133 13 45.9%
Bullet Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Scandinavian Defense 606 309 280 17 51.0%
Blackburne Shilling Gambit 141 59 77 5 41.8%
Amazon Attack 116 55 58 3 47.4%
Amar Gambit 100 47 51 2 47.0%
French Defense 85 45 39 1 52.9%
Caro-Kann Defense 80 36 40 4 45.0%
Barnes Defense 56 34 21 1 60.7%
Barnes Opening: Walkerling 54 31 23 0 57.4%
Sicilian Defense 53 30 21 2 56.6%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 42 14 26 2 33.3%
Rapid Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Blackburne Shilling Gambit 54 30 22 2 55.6%
Sicilian Defense: Closed, Anti-Sveshnikov Variation, Kharlov-Kramnik Line 40 17 23 0 42.5%
Scandinavian Defense 37 15 20 2 40.5%
Sicilian Defense 37 20 17 0 54.0%
Philidor Defense 20 9 10 1 45.0%
Elephant Gambit 15 8 6 1 53.3%
Caro-Kann Defense 14 6 6 2 42.9%
Amazon Attack 12 8 4 0 66.7%
Barnes Defense 11 7 4 0 63.6%
Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation 11 4 7 0 36.4%
Daily Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Blackburne Shilling Gambit 12 4 7 1 33.3%
Sicilian Defense 11 3 6 2 27.3%
Scandinavian Defense 10 3 6 1 30.0%
Sicilian Defense: Closed, Anti-Sveshnikov Variation, Kharlov-Kramnik Line 7 3 3 1 42.9%
Barnes Defense 7 3 4 0 42.9%
Elephant Gambit 5 2 3 0 40.0%
Pirc Defense: Classical Variation 4 1 3 0 25.0%
Bird Opening: Dutch Variation, Batavo Gambit 4 1 3 0 25.0%
Czech Defense 4 2 2 0 50.0%
Modern Defense: Pterodactyl Variation 3 1 2 0 33.3%

🔥 Streaks

Streak Longest Current
Winning 13 0
Losing 12 1