Janko Radovic: The 5am Blitz Menace
From Kornelone99 to International Master
Janko Radovic, better known online as Kornelone99, is a FIDE International Master with a serious blitz habit. His online journey began in 2017 with a modest rating below 2000, but it did not take long for the chess world to take notice. By November 2022 he reached a peak blitz rating of 2739 (2022-11-17), a number that would make many grandmasters think twice before accepting a rematch. He prefers blitz above all else, and his rating graph tells the story of a player who simply refuses to stop improving:
A Repertoire Built on 1.e4
Janko is a man of principle. That principle is 1.e4. In thousands of analyzed games, he has opened with the king pawn an overwhelming majority of the time. When opponents try to avoid the main lines, he is ready. He has faced the Caro-Kann Defense hundreds of times as White and scores a healthy 54 percent. Against the Sicilian Defense, he is equally at home, whether he is playing the Alapin, the Moscow, or the razor sharp Najdorf Variation when he sits on the Black side.
He also has a soft spot for openings with personality. He has played the Dresden Opening: The Goblin more than 500 times as White, and as Black he has ventured into the Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack. It is safe to say the man enjoys the weird and wonderful corners of chess theory.
Rivalries That Define a Career
You cannot play this much blitz without making enemies, or friends, or both. Janko's most frequent dance partner is Guill. Vallin, with 47 meetings and a perfectly balanced 20 wins, 20 losses, and 7 draws. Against ErnestoGuevaraLynch the score is dead even too, 18 wins apiece. But against Eric Kurtz, Janko holds a commanding 22 to 6 advantage. Some opponents just bring out the best in him.
The Numbers Behind the Madness
- Longest winning streak: 14 games. Longest losing streak: 8. Nobody is perfect.
- Comeback rate of 87.84 percent, so even when he drops a piece, the game is far from over.
- Friday is his lucky day with a 52.37 percent win rate, but his true power hour is 5:00 AM, where his win rate hits a perfect 100 percent.
- He grinds out marathon games, averaging around 79 moves per win. Early resignation is simply not in his vocabulary, with a tiny 0.46 percent early resignation rate.
- His rapid record is a flawless 5 wins and 0 losses. Small sample, but still perfect.