The Blitz Machine from Hungary
József Mátyás Herpai, known across the chess internet as GMShoti, is a Hungarian Candidate Master who treats blitz like a full contact sport. FIDE may know him as a titled player, but the online chess world knows him as the guy who never leaves the pool. With thousands of blitz games under his belt and a peak blitz rating of 2744 (2026-08-22), he has turned fast chess into an art form.
A Steady Climb
Herpai's rating story is one of relentless improvement. He entered 2023 with a blitz rating in the 1800s and spent the next few years climbing to 2744 (2026-08-22) in blitz and 2778 (2026-07-12) in bullet. His rapid rating may sit at a modest 2359 (2024-09-20), but that is clearly not where the fun happens.
Repertoire and Style
As White, GMShoti is a devoted 1.e4 player with a soft spot for the Caro-Kann Defense and the Scotch Game. His Scotch Game record in blitz is a strong 55% win rate, while his Caro-Kann results hover around 53%. As Black, he dives into the Sicilian Defense Taimanov Variation and the Alapin Variation with fearless regularity.
Known Rivals
No player reaches these heights without a few familiar faces across the board. Herpai's most frequent dance partner is kantor_roba, who has faced him 90 times and lost 77 of those battles. He also holds a lopsided 31 to 1 record against csupaszturkalo and a competitive rivalry with Rodrigo Casares over 60 games.
Quirks of a Night Owl
- Best time to play: 3 AM, because sleep is for the weak.
- Longest winning streak: 18 games, followed by a losing streak of 10 games. Balance.
- Comeback rate of 89%, so the game is never over until it is over.
- Win rate dips on Saturdays, likely due to weekend distractions.