Marc Esserman, known to the chess world as MasterofMayyhem, is an International Master with a FIDE title and an online temperament that suggests he learned chess in a lightning storm. His preferred time control is bullet, and his 9,600+ rated bullet games prove he means it.
The Speed Demon
Marc has built his online empire at bullet speed. He has won more than 6,000 bullet games, reached a bullet peak of 3005 (2014-08-31), and once rattled off 99 consecutive wins, a streak that seems less like a stat and more like a warning. He has also survived a 55-game losing streak, which is either a testament to his grit or his stubbornness. His blitz numbers are just as loud, with a peak of 3002 (2026-06-14) and a play style that keeps opponents in perpetual overtime.
He is not just a quantity player, either. His win rate stays consistently above 60 percent, and he reaches the endgame in more than 78 percent of his games, making him dangerous when the clock is low and the pieces are few.
Opening Repertoire
Marc does not believe in quiet openings. As White he is a lifelong devotee of the Bird Opening, especially the razor sharp Batavo Gambit, which begins 1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 g5.
In bullet, that gambit alone has earned him a 74.34 percent win rate across 916 games. He also enjoys the Sicilian Defense with the Alapin Variation, the French Defense Advance, and the Caro-Kann Defense. As Black, he favors the Scandinavian Defense and a hypermodern style that invites chaos.- Bird Opening: Batavo Gambit, 916 bullet games with a 74.34 percent win rate.
- Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, 301 bullet games with a 67.44 percent win rate.
- French Defense: Advance Variation, 275 bullet games with a 58.55 percent win rate.
Rivalries
A player with this much volume is bound to develop rivalries. Marc's longest running feud is with Nhat Minh To, a 947-game epic that has produced everything from brilliancies to blunders. Against Andrewrun he has been merciless, winning 438 games while losing just 20. And Rogelio Jr Antonio has matched him for 366 games of pure online mayhem, the kind of rivalry that keeps page refresh buttons busy. A typical bullet sprint shows exactly how these battles tend to go.
Style and Stamina
Marc's style is aggressive, resilient, and deeply annoying to opponents. He comes back from lost positions at an 84.99 percent clip, wins nearly 60 percent of games after losing a piece, and delivers the first check in almost 56 percent of his analyzed games. His most common checking piece is the rook, which fits a player who loves open lines and open threats.
His blitz form has trended upward for years, with notable surges in the mid-2020s. The chart below tells that story better than any prose.
Marc Esserman is proof that "International Master" can also mean "international menace". Just ask the thousands of opponents who have lost to a rook, a gambit, and a clock that never stops.