Artem Shagaev is a chess player who has carved out a reputation as a calm, durable competitor in online time controls. Starting from local clubs, he now treats Daily games as his playground, building a logbook of battles where endgames often decide the fate of the game. His daily perseverance and love of long, thoughtful sequences have earned him respect among peers and a growing online following.
His peak Blitz rating climbed to 2133 in September 2025, and his Rapid and Bullet performances hover around the 2000-mark, reflecting a fearless, practical style under pressure. Artem enjoys strategic maneuvering in the middlegame, then converts tiny advantages into clean finishes with disciplined technique.
[[Chart|Rating|monthly|2020-2025]]
Playing Style
Endgame mastery: endgames feature frequently in his games, with a high frequency of long, intricate sequences.
Resilience: strong comeback potential when under pressure, often turning rough positions into drawing chances or wins.
Pragmatic risk-taking: in Daily and Rapid, he chooses practical lines that keep pressure high while avoiding unsound complexity.
Openings and Performance
Blitz favorites include the Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation and Petrov's Defense, where steady, forcing lines suit his style.
Scotch Game and Four Knights Game appear in his repertoire, providing dynamic counterplay when the position demands it.
Coach Chesswick
Overview of Artem's recent daily games
You’ve shown solid progress across several openings and a willingness to play actively in the middlegame. Your recent games include long tactical battles where you were able to seize initiative and convert advantages, as well as some sharp lines where precise calculation mattered. The data suggests a healthy upward trend in rating momentum over multiple months, with particular strength in open or semi-open structures.
What you’re doing well
Opening choices that lead to active play. You perform well in dynamic lines such as the Scotch Game, Four Knights, and Alapin variations, where piece activity and early pressure are common themes.
Ability to generate and convert initiative. In several daily games you created threats and kept your opponent on the back foot, especially in the middlegame transition from opening to middle game.
Endgame resourcefulness in extended battles. You’ve shown resilience in longer sequences and kept fighting chances even after exchanges, which is important in daily games with longer time controls.
Consistency across multiple openings. Your performance is not limited to one line; you’ve achieved meaningful results across several openings, showing versatility in your repertoire.
Areas to improve
Improve clock management in longer games. Some long sequences show wide time gaps between moves; practice setting a flexible plan for each phase (opening, middlegame, endgame) and use a steady tempo to avoid time pressure-driven inaccuracies.
Refine middlegame plans after opening goals are reached. When you win a key tempo or exchange, commit to a clear plan rather than drifting into tactical complications without a concrete objective.
Strengthen endgame technique. When material balance changes, focus on solid conversion methods (e.g., rook endings or simplified knight endgames) and avoid unnecessary material swaps that can give your opponent drawing chances.
Watch for back-rank and king safety threats. In some long battles, threats around back ranks or exposed kings appeared; develop a systematic check for king safety after key exchanges and in open files.
Push deeper in a couple of openings to build a compact repertoire. Your strengths show in several lines, but choosing 1–2 openings to study deeply can help you handle typical responses more efficiently in time.
Opening performance highlights
Your openings show strong overall results, with several standout lines. Highlights include:
Scotch Game: high win rate, suggesting good middlegame plans and piece activity after the opening.
Four Knights Game: strong results and the ability to maintain pressure with active development.
Alapin Variation (Sicilian): solid results, indicating you handle a flexible structure well.
Center Game variants and English setups also contribute to a versatile and aggressive approach.
Some smaller samples like Barnes Defense and Scandinavian Defense show potential but would benefit from more data to confirm stability.
Bottom line: your repertoire is yielding good practical chances. Consider sharpening a focused two-opening plan (for example, Scotch for sharper play and Four Knights for steady, strategic battles) to deepen your understanding of typical middlegame ideas and common responses.
Action plan for the next weeks
Choose 1–2 openings to deepen this month. Build quick-reference notes covering typical plans, key pawn breaks, and common middlegame structures.
In practice sessions, focus on converting advantages. After gaining a tempo or material edge, follow a concrete plan to simplify or improve your piece activity rather than chasing tactical shots blindly.
Daily tactics and endgame drills (15–20 minutes). Target motifs that frequently appear in your openings, such as piece coordination in open files, king safety in open lines, and rook endgame conversion.
Post-game analysis routine. After each daily game, write down 2–3 concrete improvements you could have made in the middlegame and endgame, and verify them in a quick engine-free review.
Clock discipline exercise. Practice allocating a fixed amount of time per phase (for example 10–15 minutes for the opening, 20–25 minutes for the middlegame, and 10–15 minutes for endgames in longer sessions) to reduce time-related mistakes.
Next steps and availability
If you’d like, I can tailor a short, practical study plan based on your preferred openings and typical middlegame themes, and I can provide annotated mini-games to illustrate the suggested improvements. You can also share a recent daily game PGN for a focused, move-by-move critique.
