Ken Arnold: The Speed Chess Marathoner
Ken Arnold, known online as Jahonas, is a National Master who turned speed chess into a full-time passion. For over 15 years he has flooded online boards with tens of thousands of games. His Blitz peak of 2654 (2026-09-11) and Bullet peak of 2582 place him firmly in the upper tier of online players, and his 51 game winning streak shows just how dangerous he can be when the clock is ticking.
From 1438 to Master
Ken's first recorded Blitz rating in March 2011 was 1438. He won 15 of his first 16 Blitz games and never looked back. By July 2011 his Bullet rating had jumped past 2000, powered by 50 wins in 51 games. The foundation for a National Master title was already visible in those early marathon sessions.
The Blitz Machine
Blitz is Ken's preferred time control, and he plays it with remarkable volume. In March 2022 alone he played 2,686 Bullet games. Across his entire career he has collected more than 13,000 Bullet wins and over 4,200 Blitz wins. His rating graph shows a player who keeps pushing higher year after year.
Opening Repertoire
Ken has a clear love for the Caro-Kann Defense. It is his most played opening across nearly every time control, and he has used it thousands of times with strong results. As White he frequently reaches the London Poisoned Pawn Variation, a sharp system that has served him well in Blitz. He also enjoys the Scandinavian Defense as Black and regularly drags opponents into deep, grinding endgames.
Fierce Rivalries
No player has faced Ken more often than spirals5, with 92 meetings. That rivalry is remarkably tense: Ken has 24 wins, 29 losses, and 39 draws, making it a true coin flip every time. Khoa Bui is another frequent foe, with 85 battles and a nearly even score, while Jesse Davidson rounds out a trio of familiar names with 72 games.
Fun Facts
- Ken's comeback rate is 89.75%, meaning he rarely lets an early setback end the story.
- He keeps winning even after losing material, with a 49.56% win rate after dropping a piece.
- His best hours are early morning: he posts a 72% win rate at 6:00 AM and 71.65% at 5:00 AM, making him the ultimate early bird.
- In Daily chess he is nearly untouchable, with 69 wins, 9 losses, and a perfect 10-0 record in one Queen's Gambit Declined line.
- His games go deep, with an average of 82 moves per win and endgames appearing in 84.89% of his games.