A Lifelong Online Warrior
Michael Aigner, better known to the chess internet as fpawn, is a National Master with a perfectly fitting username: he has spent a career preaching the power of the f-pawn. His online journey started with Daily games in 2009 before he fell hard for faster time controls, especially Blitz, where he reached a peak of 2481 (2026-07-15).
With tens of thousands of games logged, fpawn is one of the most active and durable competitors on the platform.
Trademark Repertoire
Ask fpawn what he plays and the answer is simple: the Bird Opening with White and the Dutch Defense with Black. In recent years he has pushed 1.f4 thousands of times in bullet and blitz, turning a once rare opening into his personal brand.
He also loves the rich closed lines of the Sicilian Defense, both as a Closed Sicilian specialist with White and as a flexible defender with Black. A typical fpawn setup runs something like this:
The Long Climb
fpawn did not become a National Master overnight. He started around 1700 in the early 2010s and climbed steadily through years of heavy play, eventually crossing well beyond 2400 in Blitz.
- A peak Blitz rating above 2400, with Rapid and Bullet not far behind.
- Consistent growth across a career spanning more than a decade.
- A rating curve that still shows new peaks in recent seasons.
A Grinder's Delight
Volume is fpawn's true superpower. He has played more than a thousand games in a single month more than once, and his longest winning streak hit 35 straight wins. Even a 21-game losing streak could not keep him off the board for long.
No opponent has crossed paths with fpawn more often than aurex79. Their 392-game rivalry is one-sided on paper, with fpawn winning 321 times, but the rematch queue never seems to end.
Want to test him at his sharpest? Queue up on a Monday around 10:00, his personal power hour.
Resilience and Fighting Spirit
fpawn does not go down quietly. His comeback rate sits at an incredible 86.92 percent, and he still wins about half of his games even after losing a piece. With a low tilt factor of 21, he keeps his cool in chaotic bullet and blitz battles.
He records a 53.59 percent win rate with White and 48.01 percent with Black, making him a dangerous opponent from either side of the board.