Rogier van Arkel: FIDE Candidate Master and Rapid Chess Specialist
Some players learn chess in a quiet room with a good book. Rogier van Arkel, the FIDE Candidate Master better known online as Kingroche, appears to have learned it by playing more than 13,500 games at high speed while the rest of us were still confirming which way the knight moves. His username translates roughly to "king of the rock," which is fitting: solid, composed, and very difficult to crack, with a winning streak that once stretched to 18 straight games.
From the Classical Board to the Fast Lane
The Candidate Master title from FIDE is the kind of credential that looks lovely on a profile and terrifying in a lobby. Rogier earned it the honest way over the board, then brought those skills to the online chess grind, blending the patience of a classical player with the mouse speed of a man who has clearly never feared a clock. With a name like van Arkel, one assumes canals, windmills, and a national chess tradition the rest of us simply accepted long ago. Whether or not he confirms the geography, the style is unmistakable: efficient, no nonsense, and quietly devastating.
Rapid Chess: Where Kingroche Shines
Here is a fun twist: a man with thousands of bullet and blitz games (peaking near 2800 in bullet) lists Rapid as his preferred time control, and the results explain the romance. He has compiled a 59-18-3 Rapid record, good for a score near 74 percent, including a flawless 7-0 mark with the Budapest Gambit as Black, plus perfect records against the Caro-Kann Defense and anyone brave enough to offer the Barnes Defense. His Rapid rating peaked at 2214 (2022-07-26) in July 2022, and the steady climb behind it tells the story well.
Openings and Repertoire: 1.e4 With a Twist
As White, 1.e4 is the foundation, played more than 1,600 times in a single recent year, which qualifies as a lifestyle. The Vienna Gambit is his signature party trick, the Nimzo-Larsen Attack is his palate cleanser at over 670 blitz games, and his most profitable line of all is the French Defense, Burn Variation, winning nearly 74 percent. That says less about the French and more about how thoroughly he has memorized the suffering of everyone who plays it against him.
- Vienna Gambit, Max Lange Defense: 58.6 percent in bullet
- French Defense, Burn Variation: 73.7 percent, his personal money printer
- Sicilian Defense, Moscow Variation: a dependable 55 percent
- As Black: Scandinavian Defense at 65.4 percent in bullet, plus his own French Defense
- The Najdorf Variation sits at 45 percent, the one relationship not currently working
- The Australian Defense, which is apparently real, sits at 44.7 percent. He plays it anyway. Bravery takes many forms.
Rivalries and Rematches
Nothing forges a bond like playing the same person thirty times. His longest running sparring partner is Sanjeev Mishra, against whom he stands 18-10-2, a rivalry with more sequels than most film franchises. Against Mark Kotliar the record is a dead even 10-10-1 across 21 meetings, the chess equivalent of a lawn-mowing feud with no resolution in sight. imm1977 has fared considerably worse at 5-13, and Stree Stree sits at 4-11 with one draw, presumably still drafting a plan.
Playing Style, Quirks, and the 1 AM Rule
- His comeback rate is 81.6 percent, meaning a lost position against him is a suggestion, not a verdict. He even wins nearly half his games after dropping a whole piece, which is less a statistic and more a personality trait.
- He resigns early in 65 percent of his losses, mercifully sparing opponents the awkward victory dance. A gentleman.
- His tilt factor is 11, so his emotional range during a losing streak spans from "calm" to "slightly calmer."
- His best hour is midnight (61.5 percent wins). His worst is 1 AM (25 percent). The data strongly recommends tea and sleep after twelve.
- He has checked with his queen 14,140 times and checks first in 61 percent of games. The queen is not a piece, it is a doorbell.
- He reaches the endgame in 77 percent of his games, and his average win runs about 69 moves. He will out-calculate you, then out-patience you.
- Saturday is his best day of the week, and he wins 63.6 percent against lower rated opponents while managing an honest 29 percent against higher rated ones.
- He plays 28 points better in casual games, meaning his most dangerous form arrives when nothing is at stake. Invite him to a money game at your own peril, but maybe do not.
The Final Word on Kingroche
Rogier van Arkel is what happens when a classically trained FIDE Candidate Master decides speed chess deserves the same respect as a four-hour classical game. Whether he is quietly going 7-0 in Rapid with the Budapest, grinding marathon endgames, or ringing your king's doorbell with the queen for the fourteen-thousandth time, Kingroche plays like a man who has seen every position twice and blinked at neither. Challenge him, by all means. Just check the clock first, and maybe the calendar.