xu

Meet xu, the Midnight Blitz Specialist

If online chess had a patron saint of late-night blitz, xu (playing as KimSoeun) would be a leading candidate for canonization. Nearly a decade after their first rated game in March 2015, they have stacked up more than 3,500 blitz wins and climbed to a peak of 2742 (2026-09-13). Their preferred battlefield is Blitz, and their superpower is composure: a tilt factor of just 11, an early resignation rate under 1.5 percent, and a comeback rate of 85 percent. Down a piece? xu calls that a start.

The Long Climb

Nothing about this career was instant. xu debuted in blitz around the 1300s, spent the first years wandering the 1500s like a lost tourist, then surged past 2000 in mid 2018 at a pace of hundreds of games per month. The 2300s arrived in 2019 and the 2400s became home turf for most of the following years. Then came the breakthrough: in September 2026, xu played 318 blitz games (roughly ten per day, which is a lifestyle choice) and rocketed to a peak of 2742. There was also a bullet breakout in March 2021, a leap from 2251 to 2600 in just 44 games, plus a career best 17 game winning streak along the way.

The Opening Laboratory

The White repertoire is a story of evolution: nearly pure 1.e4 from 2015 through 2021, then a decisive switch to 1.d4 from 2022 onward. The deadliest weapon is the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense with the wild Ng5 attack, winning about 65 percent of more than 130 blitz games. As Black, xu leans on sturdy offbeat systems: the Czech Defense alone accounts for 350 blitz games at a 56 percent win rate, with the Pirc Classical chipping in at 61 percent. Sicilian loyalties run through Closed structures and the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, and they have voluntarily entered the Blackburne Shilling Gambit minefield over a hundred times. The Amar Gambit has also appeared forty times in bullet. Science requires sacrifice.

Nemesis Files

Every hero needs a villain. For xu, that is occultsar, the most played opponent at 114 games and holder of a crushing 72 to 37 head to head advantage. Not all rivalries are tragic, though: xu owns a winning record against tingispino at 14 wins to 7 losses, and sits perfectly balanced at 15-15-1 with Matthieu Midonet, a rivalry so symmetrical it deserves its own documentary.

The Slow Chess Paradox

Here is the fun part: a 2700+ blitz player whose rapid rating peaked at 1495. Add a couple of minutes to the clock and xu transforms into an entirely different player. Daily chess? Three games in eleven years, one win, two losses. The evidence is clear: some players are simply built for speed, and xu is one of them.

Style and Quirks

• endgame citizen: 77.5 percent of games reach the endgame, and the average win stretches 77 moves. Patience is a lifestyle.
• Clock assassin: 1,328 career wins by timeout, meaning opponents flag against xu more often than they resign.
• Queen on patrol: 8,093 checks delivered, with the Queen the favorite checking piece by a landslide.
• First capture around move 7: develop first, grab later.
• Best at midnight (58 percent win rate at 00:00) and on Fridays; Sundays are the danger zone at 44.5 percent.
• Takes rated play seriously: the win rate jumps roughly 22 points in rated games versus casual ones.
• 784 checkmate victories and only 36 stalemate draws: decisive endings preferred.

The Verdict

Whether grinding ten blitz games a day in September or torching bullet ladders with gambits few would dare touch, xu embodies online chess at its most addictive: endless improvement, endless clocks, and the quiet confidence of someone who knows the endgame is coming and plans to win it. Sleep is overrated anyway, at least during the 23:00 hour, where the win rate mysteriously dips to 44 percent.