Airat Sadubayev (Hope_6)
Meet Airat Sadubayev
Airat Sadubayev, the FIDE Master who competes online as Hope_6, is a study in persistence. He has played more than 30,000 rated blitz games, which is less a hobby and more a lifestyle. Though his preferred time control is listed as Rapid, his true home is the blitz arena, where he has climbed to a 3039 (2026-08-16) of 3039.
The Reluctant Resigner
Airat does not give up easily. His early resignation rate sits below one percent, and his comeback rate tops 90 percent. Even after losing a piece, he still wins more than 43 percent of the time, a number that makes opponents think twice before celebrating. With an endgame frequency near 87 percent and an average winning game stretching past 91 moves, he is happy to grind you down until the very last pawn.
- Comeback rate: over 90 percent
- Win rate after losing material: 43 percent
- Longest winning streak: 14 games
- Longest losing streak: 13 games, followed by more games
Opening Repertoire
Ask Airat what he plays and the answer will probably involve the Caro-Kann Defense. He has faced it thousands of times from both sides of the board, and he handles the Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation with the calm of someone who knows the endgame is coming. Against 1.e4 he also reaches for the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, where his win rate climbs above 47 percent. As White, his repertoire has evolved from an early devotion to 1.e4 toward 1.d4 and the London System, proof that even a veteran can learn new tricks.
His opening stats also show a fondness for the Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack, a line that appears in more than a thousand of his blitz games.
Rivalries
No profile of Hope_6 would be complete without his regular sparring partners. Kevin Bordi has faced him 154 times, with Airat winning 61 of those battles. Safal Bora has had the better of him, winning 68 of their 110 meetings, while honestgirl and PracticeMakesOK have each crossed paths with him nearly 100 times. These are not random pairings; they are ongoing sagas played out across years of online chess.
A Decade of Growth
From a 1935 blitz rating in 2016 to a peak above 3000, Airat's trajectory has been anything but linear. His monthly blitz ratings show the bumps and bruises of a player who never dodges a challenge. The chart below tells the story of a decade spent in the arena.