Xiao Liu (leleliuhuidi): The Late-Night Speed Chess Surgeon
From 1500 to the Stratosphere
Xiao Liu, known across the chess board as leleliuhuidi, is a player who treats rating charts like a launch sequence. The account first appeared in May 2017 with a modest blitz rating near 1500, and for years the climb was steady. Then came 2025. Game volume exploded, streaks stretched, and by September 2026 leleliuhuidi had reached 2965 (2026-09-07) in blitz and 2822 (2026-09-11) in bullet.
Repertoire of a d4 Devotee
Liu's style is built on the quiet power of 1.d4. With White, the Colle System and the London System do the heavy lifting, while with Black the Caro-Kann Defense serves as the ultimate survival kit. The Caro-Kann appears hundreds of times in the database, and Liu scores especially well with it in rapid play. A typical exchange grind from the leleliuhuidi laboratory looks like this:
These are not quick handshakes. Average decisive games run past 75 moves, first captures land near move seven, and the comeback rate sits at an absurd 87 percent. Even after losing a piece, leleliuhuidi keeps fighting, which helps explain a 49-game winning streak and a longest losing streak of 11 that shows even the best have off nights.
Rivalries and Revenge
No online legend is complete without a nemesis or two. Liu's most frequent opponent is drcrimewatch, who faced leleliuhuidi 85 times and lost 79 of those battles, a rivalry that produced classics like this one. On the flip side, Safal Bora turned out to be the rare foil, beating Liu 16 times in 18 meetings. Even a 2900-rated grinder has a blind spot.
Legacy of the Night Owl
With hundreds of thousands of moves played and a best performance window around 23:00, Xiao Liu embodies the late-night speed chess spirit. The volume is staggering, with months containing more than 600 rated blitz games. Xiao Liu may not headline the classical circuit, but in the bullet and blitz arena, leleliuhuidi is a force of nature.