Giovanni Amaro: The Bullet Fiend Known as Insalvbre
Giovanni Amaro, better known on the board as Insalvbre, is a bullet specialist with a résumé that reads less like a chess career and more like a warning label. Since first appearing in 2019 with a bullet rating of 844, he has turned the fastest time control in online chess into a personal laboratory, playing tens of thousands of games and climbing past the 2400 mark. Few players combine that much volume with that much improvement, and even fewer do it while seemingly refusing to slow down for anything as civilized as a Rapid game.
His preferred battlefield is bullet, and the numbers back it up: more than 8,200 bullet wins against roughly 4,700 losses, with only a few hundred draws sprinkled in. If a position can be simplified, traded, or simply outrun, Insalvbre has probably already tried it, usually twice, usually before the opponent finished thinking.
The Long Climb From 844
The early record is humble. A single bullet game in September 2019 ended in a loss, and the following year was spent bouncing around the 900s and low 1000s. Then something clicked, or perhaps something snapped, and the rating curve turned into a staircase. By 2021 he was regularly crossing 1500, by 2023 he had broken 2000, and by late 2025 he was knocking on the door of 2300 in the fastest format on the site.
His career peak in bullet, 2422 (2026-07-01), arrived in July 2026 and confirmed what the game counts already suggested: this is not a casual speed merchant but a genuinely strong practical player who happens to prefer chaos with a clock attached.
An Opening Repertoire Built for Speed
Insalvbre's repertoire is remarkably consistent for someone who plays this much. As White, he leans heavily on the Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, steering the game into structures where quick, principled moves beat deep preparation. The idea suits bullet perfectly. He also plays the Caro-Kann Exchange, the Scandinavian, and the French Exchange, all openings that cut down on theory and get straight to the part where someone blunders.
With the black pieces he is even more aggressive, meeting 1.e4 with the Sicilian Defense and the Scandinavian Defense, and happily entering sharp lines like the Najdorf when the mood strikes. There is also a recurring guest star in his games: the Amar Gambit, an opening whose name sits delightfully close to his own surname and which he has played hundreds of times as Black with a win rate north of 60 percent.
- White weapons: Sicilian Alapin, Caro-Kann Exchange, Scandinavian Defense, Scotch Game
- Black weapons: Sicilian Defense, Scandinavian Defense, Amar Gambit, Modern Defense
- Signature trait: trading early and asking questions later
The Rivalries: Friends, Victims, and One Very Bad Matchup
No biography of a bullet grinder is complete without the people he has played several hundred times. Insalvbre's most frequent opponent is Thorsten Broda, a rivalry spanning over 500 games that has gone decisively in Giovanni's favor. Similar dominance shows up against danieloff33 and Andre, both of whom have spent a lot of time on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
Then there is James Canty, the bogeyman of the account. Nearly 300 games, and only a couple of dozen wins to show for it. Every bullet player has that one opponent whose mouse speed seems to come from a different dimension, and for Insalvbre, this is that player. The rivalry with Jorge Herrera is closer but still leans the wrong way, which makes the handful of wins there worth celebrating.
How He Wins
The playing style profile is telling. Roughly three quarters of his games reach an endgame, and his average winning game lasts around 69 moves, which suggests that despite the bullet label he is not simply flagging people in the opening. His first capture typically comes around move six, so expect trades early and often.
His tactical resilience stands out too. He converts a healthy share of games after losing material, and his comeback rate after a bad turn is well above what you would expect from a player with this much raw speed and this little patience. The clock may be fast, but the calculation is real.
- Win rate as White: about 63 percent
- Win rate as Black: about 58 percent
- Favorite checking piece: the queen, by a wide margin
- Best time of day to play, statistically: around 2 PM
A Sample of the Style
A short Alapin sketch, exactly the sort of position Insalvbre reaches by the dozen every session.
For a taste of the rivalry that defines the account, there is also a representative bullet game. Win or lose, it will be over quickly.
Legacy in Progress
Giovanni Amaro is still very much in his playing years, and the trajectory suggests the peak is not final. Whether he eventually slows down long enough to take Rapid seriously, or simply keeps grinding bullet until the servers complain, one thing is clear: anyone queueing into Insalvbre should expect a fast game, an early trade, and a long, slightly uncomfortable endgame.