ivan alonso

Overview

ivan alonso, known online as ialonsoal, is a pure blitz animal. With more than 17,000 rated games in the database and almost all of them played at blitz speed, Ivan has turned online chess into a full-time sport. The preferred time control is clearly blitz, and the rating chart shows a player who never stops grinding. Ivan first appeared in March 2020 at 1197, then immediately went on a monster run, touching 2150 in the same month and crossing 2200 by April. The rise since then has been steady, with a peak blitz rating of 2404 (2026-01-08) reached in January 2026. If you face Ivan, expect a long, tense firefight even in the fastest time control.

The Grind

Ivan's rating graph tells the story of a player who simply refuses to stop playing.

From sharp climbs in 2020 to the massive volume years of 2024 through 2026, the overall trend is upward. Ivan spent much of 2025 and 2026 bouncing around the 2100 to 2400 zone, with a new personal ceiling reached in January 2026.

• Started 2020 near 1200 and ended the year near 2178.
• Peaked at 2404 in January 2026.
• After a longest losing streak of 11 games, Ivan simply started another winning streak of 11 games.

Opening Repertoire

As White, Ivan is a 1.e4 believer. Ivan has faced the French Defense more than 780 times with solid winning numbers, and the score is even better against the Caro-Kann Defense, where the win rate sits near 55%. Ivan's White repertoire also runs deep into the Italian Game and the Sicilian Najdorf.

As Black, the Sicilian Defense is Ivan's identity. The Four Knights Variation, Cobra Variation alone appears in over 1,500 of Ivan's blitz games, mostly with the black pieces. Ivan also regularly plays Alapin, Closed, and Rossolimo lines, often reaching razor-sharp positions from move one.

Favorite Rivals

Ivan has built some real online rivalries. haman mottaghi is the most frequent opponent with 61 meetings and just about a coin flip between them. Oleksandr has played Ivan 45 times, and Jean-Christophe Martine 44 times. But the most satisfying fixture for Ivan is red-tomatoe: red-tomatoe has been beaten 31 times while winning only 4. When the pairings put Ivan across from old foes, the games tend to be intense and personal.

Style and Quirks

Ivan plays with a stubborn, resourceful style. The games are surprisingly long for blitz, with decisive games often stretching past 70 moves. Ivan almost never resigns early, and the fight continues even after losing material: the win rate after dropping a piece is still a remarkable 46.6%.

• Ivan delivers the first check in nearly 59% of games, and that initiative matters: the win rate after checking first is about 51.5%, compared to 41.2% when Ivan is checked first.
• The rook is Ivan's favorite checking piece, with more than 15,000 player checks delivered by rooks.
• The best hour of the day is 19:00, where Ivan's win rate climbs above 53%.
• Balance is the theme: a longest winning streak of 11 and a longest losing streak of 11.

Final Word

ivan alonso is the kind of player who treats blitz like a chess marathon. Tough, experienced, and almost impossible to discourage. Opponents should bring a full bottle of water and a working clock, because ialonsoal is likely to make them sweat for all 70 moves.