Zoran Velickovic: The Late-Night International Master
Zoran Velickovic, known online as LakijemaloNervozan, holds the FIDE title of International Master and plays like a man trying to find calm in the middle of a storm. His username roughly translates to "a little less nervous," which is either a personal mantra or a quiet warning to opponents. His chess suggests it is mostly a mantra.
From Calm to Chaos
Velickovic has built an enormous online footprint. His blitz career alone includes more than 11,000 analyzed games, and his blitz rating has reached a towering 2618. His rapid play has also become a strength, with a rapid peak of 2452 and a strength-adjusted win rate near 68 percent.
His opening fingerprint is unmistakable. As White, he plays 1.Nf3 with the devotion of a monk who has found his forever move. The Réti Opening has no more loyal disciple. As Black, he regularly dives into the Benko Gambit and the sharp Pterodactyl Variation. The result is a repertoire that can look quiet and then explode within five moves.
Rivalries and Rollercoasters
No player is an island, and Velickovic has a full archipelago of online rivals. His longest-running feud is with Ignacio Raviolo, who has faced him 50 times. It has not always gone his way, with 15 wins against 34 losses, but he keeps coming back for more. That stubbornness defines his competitive spirit.
The emotional arc is extreme. At his best, Velickovic won 11 games in a row. At his lowest, he lost 13 straight. That combination suggests a fearless attacker who will keep firing no matter how many pieces come back at him.
The Numbers Behind the Chaos
His rating chart shows climbs, crashes, and more climbs. He has a comeback rate of 81.5 percent, and even after losing a piece he still wins 44.26 percent of the time. He has won 5,258 blitz games and lost 5,591, making him a rarity: a titled player who is not afraid of losing.
- Longest winning streak: 11
- Longest losing streak: 13
- Best time of day: 1:00 a.m., with a 85.71 percent win rate in a small sample
- Worst time of day: 7:00 a.m., with a 34.25 percent win rate
His typical win lasts about 71 moves, so he does not believe in quick handshakes. When he loses, it is often on time rather than by checkmate, a classic sign of the late-night flag hunter.
The Opening Bazaar
Openings matter to Velickovic, but not in a boring way. As Black, he has played the Modern Defense: Pterodactyl Variation 748 times and scored 38.37 percent, which is the definition of a labor of love. The Benko Gambit occupies 631 games and a healthier 47.07 percent. As White, he leans on the English Opening: Caro-Kann Defensive System with almost 600 games, winning half of them.
Add a sprinkling of the Sicilian Defense, the King's Indian Attack, and the Hungarian Opening's Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit, and you have a repertoire that could only belong to a person who genuinely enjoys chess.
The Verdict
Zoran Velickovic is a true online chess character. He is an International Master with a gambler's spirit, a blitz addict with a rapid redemption arc, and a man whose username begs for calm while his stats roar. LakijemaloNervozan might mean "a little less nervous," but the evidence says he is exactly nervous enough to make every game worth watching.