About Charistes Nikolaos
Charistes Nikolaos, known online as howlz27, is a Greek chess player who has carved a niche in fast time controls. A Blitz specialist with a taste for tactical skirmishes, he blends solid fundamentals with creative flair, often punishing slow setups with sharp counterplay. He embraces variety across openings and enjoys testing ideas deep into the clock. He is as comfortable grinding endgames as launching surprise gambits, and his fans know to expect the unexpected when the clock starts ticking. His preferred pace is Blitz, where he truly shines.
Playing style and strengths
His games reveal a strong endgame sense and a high tactical awareness. Endgames feature prominently in his Blitz battles, and his ability to come back after a material swing is notable. He rarely eases off the gas and tends to fight to the last move. A night owl by practice, his best time of day to play is around 03:00, when the boards seem to glow with extra clarity.
- Endgame frequency is high, with many Blitz battles reaching lengthy, technical finales.
- Tactical awareness supports frequent comebacks, especially after material changes.
- Clear preference for Blitz as the main arena, with strong results across fast formats.
- White and Black win rates in Blitz show balanced, resilient play.
Opening repertoire highlights
Charistes Nikolaos builds a dynamic repertoire suitable for rapid play. Notable performance across time controls includes:
- Blitz: Petrov’s Defense — 133 games, 93 wins, 37 losses, 3 draws; win rate 69.92%.
- Blitz: Sicilian Defense: Closed — 267 games, 141 wins, 116 losses, 10 draws; win rate 52.81%.
- Blitz: Amar Gambit — 68 games, 49 wins, 17 losses, 2 draws; win rate 72.06%.
- Bullet: Petrov’s Defense — 49 games, 38 wins, 10 losses, 1 draw; win rate 77.55%.
- Bullet: Scandinavian Defense — 37 games, 27 wins, 8 losses, 2 draws; win rate 72.97%.
- Bullet: Sicilian Defense: Closed — 44 games, 31 wins, 11 losses, 2 draws; win rate 70.45%.
Milestones and memorable moments
His rating journey features impressive peaks and hard-won lessons. A Blitz peak of 2562 was reached on 2025-02-19, and a Bullet peak of 2573 followed on 2025-08-26, underscoring his rapid ascent in fast chess. He logged a longest winning streak of 28 games and is currently riding a 2-game winning streak, with an 11-game losing streak in the past as a reminder that growth comes with its share of bumps.
- Longest Winning Streak: 28
- Current Winning Streak: 2
- Longest Losing Streak: 11
- Current Losing Streak: 0
- Peak Blitz rating: 2562 (2025-02-19)
- Peak Bullet rating: 2573 (2025-08-26)
A visual evolution of his rating over time can be explored with this chart:
Profile and quick links
Fans and fellow players can dive deeper into his profile here: Charistes Nikolaos.