Avatar of Grace Ferguson

Grace Ferguson

Username: helmsknight

Playing Since: 2016-11-01 (Inactive)

Wow Factor: ♟♟

Chess.com

Rapid: 1946
11W / 16L / 2D
Blitz: 2208
528W / 437L / 35D
Bullet: 2461
796W / 742L / 39D

Grace Ferguson: Chess, Streaming, and Cheerful Chaos

Grace Ferguson is a dedicated chess streamer whose channel blends fast-paced games, playful commentary, and practical advice for players of all levels. Known for her warm persona and quick wit, Grace turns every game into a community event, where chat participation is as welcome as a good move.

On the board and online, she champions accessible chess, breaking down complex ideas into bite-sized, entertaining lessons. When a position looks grim, she shrugs with a smile and keeps the mood light—resilience, after all, is part of the game.

Follow her adventures here: graceferguson

Blitz, Banter, and Branding

Grace's preferred time control is Blitz, a format that showcases quick thinking, nerve, and tactical flair. Her streams blend live play with explanations of why ideas work, inviting chat to suggest plans and celebrate clever moves in real time.

  • Blitz-focused content with a friendly, educational vibe
  • Engaged community that asks questions and shares ideas
  • Humor-driven approach to both wins and missteps

On the Board: Highlights

  • Longest winning streak: 71 games; current winning streak: 4.
  • Peak Blitz rating: 2936 (2020-03-27); Peak Bullet rating: 2957 (2020-03-27); Peak Rapid rating: 2427 (2018-06-17).
  • Opening performance showcases breadth, with Bird Opening, Amar Gambit, Dutch Defense, and more featured across time controls.

For a quick snapshot of her peak performances, see the chart here:

Blitz Rating201620172018201920202021202220232024202526812218YearBlitz Rating

Additional highlights: 2936 (2020-03-27) 2957 (2020-03-27) 2427 (2018-06-17)

Looking Ahead

Grace continues to stream, teach, and experiment with new formats, always aiming to make chess more welcoming. If you drop into a stream, you’ll likely catch a lesson, a laugh, and perhaps a surprise puzzle that ends in a friendly victory for everyone involved.


Coach's Avatar

Feedback for Grace Ferguson

What you are doing well

  • Tactical alertness: In your win vs. Blunderfull711 you converted the …Nb4–Qa5–Nc2 idea flawlessly, demonstrating excellent calculation under a 60-second clock.
  • Piece activity over material: You routinely give back pawns (e.g. 20…exf3 in the same game) to keep the initiative. That dynamic style is a big part of your high blitz ceiling ().
  • Opening range: From Sicilian main lines to Bird’s Opening you are comfortable switching structures, which is useful in bullet where preparation is rare for opponents.

Most urgent improvements

  1. Early-queen adventures against the Réti / English family
    In the loss to FutureMaster18 you played 10…Qa5? and the queen became a target.
    • Guideline: when you have already advanced …g6 and …Bg7 the queen on a5 defends nothing. Prefer …Bg7–O-O first.
    • Exercise: analyse this micro-position for 15 minutes with an engine after the session:
    .
  2. King safety in From’s Gambit structures
    When you played 20.g4 against initiative you ignored Black’s threats, and 25…Qxh4+ finished the game. In double-edged gambits adopt the rule “I must threaten mate or prevent mate every move.” If not, simplify.
  3. Clock management
    Several losses (e.g. vs. ShinichiT) end with “…won on time” in completely playable endings. Your moves/minute is excellent in the opening (≈35) but drops below 20 in queenless middlegames.
    • Drill: play five ½-board endgame bots daily at 20-second increments to grow your pre-move repertoire.

Structured study plan

PhaseFocusTool
OpeningAdd one solid anti-Réti line (e.g. …d5 then …Nf6 …g6 vs. d4 Nf3) so you can avoid early queen excursions.Build a 15-move repertoire file.
MiddlegameImprove prophylaxis. Pause each game at moves 10 and 20 and ask, “What is my opponent’s next threat?”Self-annotation & blunder check.
EndgameReduce time scrambles by mastering standard rook-pawn vs. rook techniques that often arise after piece trades.120-position flash-card set.

Progress trackers

Use the dashboards below once a week to ensure the study plan is paying off:

  • Win rate by hour – when are you freshest?
    01234567891011121314151617181920212223100%0%Hour of Day
  • Consistency across the week – spot tilt days quickly.
    FridayMondaySaturdaySundayThursdayTuesdayWednesday100%0%Day

Mindset reminder

“Fast games reward sharp instincts. Training rewards calm instincts.” Make sure your practice sessions are slower than your competitive games so you can bring the calm with you.

Keep the energy and creative flair; just add a little more king safety and clock discipline and you’ll push beyond your current peak in no time!



🆚 Opponent Insights

Most Played Opponents
catask 674W / 824L / 15D
Janak Awatramani 449W / 829L / 5D
Daniel Yeager 569W / 644L / 11D
hisokacc 453W / 326L / 2D
Guillermo Vazquez 496W / 259L / 10D

Rating

Year Bullet Blitz Rapid Daily
2025 2414
2024 2389 2396
2023 2360 2359
2022 2461 2461
2021 2535 2526
2020 2311 2681 1946
2019 2201 2218 1916
2018 2387 2561 1811
2017 2050 2435 1903
2016 2065 2264
Rating by Year201620172018201920202021202220232024202526811811YearRatingBulletBlitzRapid

Stats by Year

Year White Black Moves
2025 2W / 1L / 0D 4W / 0L / 0D 0.0
2024 268W / 181L / 3D 321W / 184L / 4D 0.0
2023 14W / 8L / 0D 14W / 11L / 0D 0.0
2022 347W / 289L / 1D 362W / 343L / 1D 0.2
2021 88W / 23L / 1D 89W / 30L / 1D 0.0
2020 1358W / 1446L / 32D 1392W / 1415L / 20D 6.1
2019 3640W / 2577L / 53D 3626W / 2598L / 46D 10.3
2018 1574W / 834L / 8D 1545W / 862L / 5D 9.2
2017 691W / 202L / 7D 691W / 213L / 2D 7.1
2016 103W / 102L / 0D 103W / 100L / 0D 3.1

Openings: Most Played

Blitz Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Unknown 15312 9528 5749 35 62.2%
Bird Opening 103 67 32 4 65.0%
Bird Opening: Dutch Variation 98 61 35 2 62.2%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 79 46 30 3 58.2%
Sicilian Defense 68 37 28 3 54.4%
Sicilian Defense: Closed 58 30 26 2 51.7%
Amar Gambit 47 26 20 1 55.3%
Dutch Defense 46 29 16 1 63.0%
Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack 34 15 19 0 44.1%
Australian Defense 31 20 9 2 64.5%
Bullet Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Unknown 9115 4937 4122 56 54.2%
Bird Opening 299 155 136 8 51.8%
Amar Gambit 263 123 134 6 46.8%
Bird Opening: Dutch Variation 161 78 80 3 48.5%
Barnes Defense 143 71 70 2 49.6%
Australian Defense 90 45 41 4 50.0%
Dutch Defense 86 43 40 3 50.0%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 79 40 38 1 50.6%
Sicilian Defense 75 33 40 2 44.0%
Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation 73 30 41 2 41.1%
Rapid Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Bird Opening: Dutch Variation 5 1 3 1 20.0%
Amazon Attack 3 2 1 0 66.7%
Sicilian Defense 3 3 0 0 100.0%
Bird Opening 3 1 2 0 33.3%
Dutch Defense 2 1 1 0 50.0%
Modern Defense 2 1 1 0 50.0%
Australian Defense 2 1 1 0 50.0%
Unknown 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack 1 1 0 0 100.0%

🔥 Streaks

Streak Longest Current
Winning 71 4
Losing 49 0