Nick Raptis FM

Overview

Nick Raptis (username: ibutterurbread) is a spirited and inventive chess player who holds the FIDE Master title. Known for marathon online sessions and a taste for unusual sidelines, Nick blends deep endgame knowledge with a willingness to tinker in the opening — sometimes to the bewilderment of opponents and sometimes to their despair.

Preferred time control: Daily — perfect for long thoughts, creative plans, and the occasional heroic blunder that becomes a teaching moment.

Career Highlights

From early Daily outings in 2009 to peak performances across Bullet and Blitz in 2025, Nick’s career reads like a modern online success story: relentless practice, adaptive openings, and an appetite for sharp tactical complications.

• Title: FIDE Master (recognized by FIDE)
• Longtime online handle: ibutterurbread — a name opponents learn to both fear and chuckle at
• Consistent presence across all time controls with standout peak months in 2025
• Favored for long, decisive games — often averaging above 75 moves in wins

For a quick visual of his Bullet rating arc:

Playing Style & Strengths

Nick is a grinder with a high endgame frequency and a remarkable comeback spirit. Opponents who exchange into endgames often find themselves facing deep technique and stubborn defense.

• Endgame-focused: plays long, often winning in technical positions.
• Tactical resilience: strong comeback rate and decent performance after material loss.
• Psychological edge: best results late at night — "prime time" around 23:00 according to play patterns.

Favorite Openings & Repertoire

Nick mixes mainstream ideas with quirky choices. He has large sample sizes in several lines, making him both prepared and unpredictable.

• French Defense and its Burn and Advance branches — a reliable battleground: French Defense
• Amazon Attack and the Siberian Attack — unorthodox but battle-tested in his hands: Amazon Attack
• Caro-Kann and Czech Defense when he wants solidity and counterplay
• When the mood strikes, he’ll spring a gambit — and feed the spectators: Amar Gambit

Sample illustrative game (classic Spanish-ish early tension):

Notable Streaks & Opponents

Nick has shown both epic runs and realistic slumps — the longest documented winning streak reached 35 games, while the heat of competition produced a longest losing streak of 17. He’s logged many repeated matchups against familiar rivals online.

• Longest winning streak: 35 games
• Longest losing streak: 17 games
• Frequent foes include: eilyisum, jlandaw, somepatzer, gmjoey1, silvermiracle
• Notable head-to-head: an impressive 35–1 record vs. jjnear — a rivalry with a decidedly lopsided ledger

View a tidy profile link: Nick Raptis

Personality & Fun Facts

Nick is the rare player who can deliver a tenacious endgame and a dry joke in the same postgame chat. He appreciates deep theoretical lines but will happily experiment with offbeat openings just to keep things entertaining.

• Known to favor long games — expect an average decisive length around 80 moves in many years.
• Often plays best late at night; beware the midnight storm of creativity.
• Likes to annotate games and occasionally writes posts that mix chess insight with humor about coffee consumption.

Quick Links & Extras

Useful placeholders for viewers and site features:

• Recent Bullet trend:
• Replay a sample position:
• Look up an opening term: French Defense or Amazon Attack