Profile
Nicolas Kulik, known online as kulik2007, is a National Master who built his game the hard way. He started in 2016 with a blitz rating near 650, and through years of marathon sessions he pushed his favorite time control, blitz, all the way to 2532 (2026-08-14).
The Long Climb
Early Nicolas played like a player with nothing to lose, because he usually did lose. In 2017 he was still below 1000 in blitz and bullet, but the volume was enormous. The turning point came around 2020, when his rating began to surge during months of heavy play.
There were setbacks too. A legendary 59-game losing streak, mostly in daily games in late 2021, would have retired most players. Nicolas absorbed it, kept playing, and later rattled off a 24-game winning streak. His rapid game also climbed to 2418 (2026-07-13), proving he is more than just a speed demon.
Style and Repertoire
As Black, Nicolas is a regular customer of the French Defense and the Scandinavian Defense, with a healthy side of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation. His French Defense results in blitz are strong, and in bullet he scores close to 74 percent as Black against the Closed Sicilian.
Nicolas is also a fighter in the endgame. His endgame frequency is over 72 percent, his comeback rate is 78 percent, and he wins nearly 43 percent of games after losing a piece. Opponents who grab material early should keep both hands on the board.
Rivals and Records
His most played opponent is hshshs73hshshs, with 141 meetings and a dominant 123 wins for Nicolas. He also built long rivalries with ariel miller and isma_1899, proving he thrives on familiarity.
A few fun stats: Nicolas plays his best chess at 10:00 in the morning, Mondays are his strongest day, and his 36 checkmate wins and 51 timeout wins show he finds ways to finish. For someone who started under 700, the trajectory is frankly absurd.