Viktor Neustroev (aka Gertsog)
FIDE Master Extraordinaire
Viktor Neustroev, proudly wielding the FIDE Master title, is a chess force to be reckoned with. Known in the chess circles as "Gertsog," Viktor’s journey through the 64 squares has been nothing short of a strategic saga. Starting with a modest blitz rating in the mid-1300s back in 2012, Viktor's relentless pursuit of excellence propelled him beyond the 2400 mark in blitz by 2025—a feat that demands both cunning and stamina.
Specializing in rapid and blitz formats, Viktor exhibits a razor-sharp tactical vision with a stunning 70.85% comeback rate, proving the motto: “Never give up until the king is toast.” This resilient champion doesn’t just play games; he stages chess comebacks worthy of Hollywood scripts. When faced with setbacks, his tilt factor remains impressively low at 8, meaning he keeps his cool better than most can keep their pawns.
Viktor has a penchant for the Sicilian Defense: French Variation and other Sicilian flavors, maneuvering through the complexities with practical precision. His best rapid performances boast near-perfect scores in openings like the Italian Game and English Opening with a immaculate 100% win rate. Notably, his blitz game demonstrates a formidable mastery of the “Undefined” opening category, where he dazzles with a remarkable 73.81% win rate.
When asked about his playing style, Viktor’s approach is all about perseverance. He thrives in endgames, engaging in battles that last an average of 55 moves in wins—a true marathoner among sprinters. Viktor also favors playing with white, enjoying a winning smile painted on the board with a 63.54% success rate.
Ever the night owl, Viktor’s optimal playing window is around midnight, where his win rate soars as high as 86.67% at the witching hour. So if you ever want to challenge Gertsog, it’s best not to disturb his midnight musings over a chessboard.
Not just a player but a friendly rival, Gertsog has a rich history of fierce battles with regular opponents like parralax2000 and kr1stinas, boasting impressive win rates of over 67% and 75% respectively. Fans admire Viktor’s ability to stay cool, craft victories, and even smile jokingly when losing—proof that chess, for him, is both a battlefield and a playground.
Latest Victory Highlights
Recently, Viktor clinched a blistering win against La_Gale with the Sicilian Defense French Variation, demonstrating his deep preparation and nerves of steel by forcing resignation in the late middle game. [View Game]
In Conclusion
Viktor Neustroev, the FIDE Master known online as Gertsog, combines tenacity, tactical brilliance, and occasional cheeky humor to make each game a thrilling tale. Whether blitzing, rapid-firing, or playing daily, Viktor’s story continues to unfold with every move—proving once and for all that in chess, as in life, it's not just the destination but the checkmates along the way!
Recent Game Strengths
Viktor, your recent blitz games show a solid grasp of strategic concepts, particularly in middlegame maneuvering and endgame technique. Key highlights include:
- Effective use of the Pirc Defense and Italian Game openings to create active play and pressure on your opponents.
- Good handling of piece activity and timely exchanges, enabling you to seize initiative.
- Strong execution in conversions leading to wins by both checkmate and time pressure, indicating good pressure application during critical moments.
Areas for Improvement
There are some opportunities to further sharpen your play and boost consistency:
- Time Management: Some games ended with your opponents losing on time; improving your clock awareness will secure more wins and reduce pressure on your calculation.
- Opening Selection: Your win rates vary across openings, particularly in the Sicilian Alapin Sherzer Variation and French Burn Variation, where your win rates dip below 46%. Focusing on refining your repertoire here could improve overall results.
- Handling Counterattacks: Losses in your recent games suggest better anticipation and defense against counterplay is needed, especially in pawn structure and king safety.
- Conversion in Advantageous Positions: There were a few cases where you lost more games than desired despite material or positional edges. Practicing endgame technique could help turn these into wins.
Development Suggestions
- Deepen Opening Preparation: Study key lines in the openings with lower success like the Sicilian Alapin Sherzer and French Burn to refine your understanding and surprise opponents.
- Practice Time Management: Use training tools that simulate blitz time pressure to strengthen instincts for quick, accurate decisions.
- Endgame Training: Regularly review common endgames—especially rook and pawn endings—to improve conversion rates.
- Analyze Lost Games: Review your defeats focusing on tactical oversights and strategic misjudgments to avoid repeat mistakes.
- Maintain Momentum: Your recent rating trend is positive and steady, with an impressive six and twelve month slope indicating improvement. Keep the focus on incremental gains.
Summary
Overall, your performance demonstrates solid skill and competitiveness in blitz. By optimizing your time use, bolstering your opening repertoire in specific lines, and sharpening your endgame technique, you can increase your winning consistency. Keep leveraging your strengths in dynamic positions and continue learning from each game to maintain upward progress.
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Recent Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| robson196 | 1W / 0L / 1D | |
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| parralax2000 | 23W / 8L / 3D | |
| kristina s | 24W / 3L / 5D | |
| bracetd | 14W / 1L / 1D | |
| rook_fianchetto_37 | 12W / 3L / 1D | |
| panterrra | 13W / 2L / 0D | |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2421 | 2036 | 2051 | |
| 2024 | 2220 | 2301 | 1803 | 2036 |
| 2023 | 2201 | 1803 | 1986 | |
| 2022 | 2214 | 1801 | 2056 | |
| 2021 | 2217 | 1796 | 1903 | |
| 2020 | 2000 | 2200 | 2044 | 1827 |
| 2019 | 2147 | 2139 | 1693 | |
| 2018 | 2171 | 2194 | 1693 | |
| 2017 | 2160 | 2049 | 800 | |
| 2016 | 2063 | |||
| 2013 | 1877 | |||
| 2012 | 1871 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 84W / 78L / 4D | 78W / 87L / 12D | 68.0 |
| 2024 | 49W / 38L / 10D | 70W / 65L / 19D | 62.2 |
| 2023 | 41W / 22L / 0D | 48W / 16L / 1D | 62.3 |
| 2022 | 82W / 22L / 1D | 91W / 28L / 2D | 59.5 |
| 2021 | 73W / 22L / 8D | 78W / 24L / 11D | 64.6 |
| 2020 | 116W / 42L / 5D | 102W / 41L / 5D | 37.7 |
| 2019 | 27W / 5L / 4D | 14W / 4L / 2D | 59.1 |
| 2018 | 26W / 2L / 1D | 27W / 2L / 2D | 51.1 |
| 2017 | 93W / 43L / 8D | 78W / 57L / 10D | 64.3 |
| 2016 | 23W / 23L / 3D | 33W / 21L / 2D | 72.0 |
| 2013 | 12W / 14L / 0D | 15W / 11L / 1D | 67.9 |
| 2012 | 64W / 45L / 2D | 62W / 46L / 1D | 64.3 |
Openings: Most Played
| Daily Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 93.3% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Amazon Attack | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 83.3% |
| Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 90.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Knight Variation | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 88.9% |
| Petrov's Defense | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fegatello Attack, Leonhardt Variation | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 87.5% |
| Scandinavian Defense | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 85.7% |
| Evans Gambit: 5...Ba5 6.d4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.3% |
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 128 | 95 | 32 | 1 | 74.2% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed | 76 | 40 | 32 | 4 | 52.6% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation | 51 | 30 | 16 | 5 | 58.8% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation | 47 | 20 | 27 | 0 | 42.5% |
| French Defense: Burn Variation | 46 | 20 | 25 | 1 | 43.5% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 43 | 25 | 17 | 1 | 58.1% |
| French Defense: Advance Variation | 43 | 26 | 16 | 1 | 60.5% |
| Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation | 42 | 24 | 17 | 1 | 57.1% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 41 | 24 | 14 | 3 | 58.5% |
| Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Knight Variation | 40 | 19 | 19 | 2 | 47.5% |
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Opening* | 62 | 36 | 15 | 11 | 58.1% |
| Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Knight Variation | 30 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 83.3% |
| Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 75.0% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 75.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 57.9% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 63.2% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 77.8% |
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 92.9% |
| Sicilian Defense | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 40.0% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Hastings Variation | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 70.0% |
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Sicilian Defense | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 22 | 0 |
| Losing | 8 | 0 |