Benedict's Chess Odyssey
Once upon a chessboard, in the mysterious realm of Pawns and Knights, there emerged a formidable player known to the digital masses as MateRanger. Though his gender remains a riddle wrapped in an enigma, his moves are anything but ambiguous.
Benedict has danced through the seasons of chess since 2008, steadily climbing the rating ladder with the tenacity of a queen snatching a free piece. His peak daily rating soared to a respectable 1936 in late 2009, while his blitz battles reached a scorching 1946 as recently as July 2023. Bullet chess? Oh yes, he once breezed past 1892 before the calendar flipped the page to 2010. And in the realm of rapid — the fighter’s choice — Benedict is eyeing a sky-high 1976 slated for 2025, proving he’s not just in it for slow, deliberate beauty but also quick-fire tactical fireworks.
Playing Style & Strategy
With an average of 57 moves per win, Benedict has the stamina of a marathon runner and the patience of a saint sitting beside a ticking clock. He's no quitter either, with an early resignation rate as rare as a royal blunder at 1.43%. Benedict's games are endgame-heavy, with over 61% frequency — he savors that tense, calculating dance to the finish rather than snatching abrupt glory.
Psychologically? Benedict’s tilt factor is around 15 - not a saint, but he often bounces back with a mighty 74.58% comeback rate. When spotted missing a piece, he still holds a nearly 48% win chance — a true fighter until the last rook falls.
Opening Repertoire – The Arsenal
Benedict's favorite opening? A well-guarded secret (exeunt mystery music). But for those who dare peek, the "Top Secret" openings yield a respectable 51.73% win rate in daily games. The King's Pawn Opening is a trusted old pal, winning an impressive 97.26% of the time — it seems Benedict really knows how to boss the center.
In blitz games, he shows a penchant for the Scandinavian Defense, especially the Mieses-Kotrc variations where his win rates creep above 50% consistently, a testament to his deep preparation and brute surprise factor.
Recent Battles: Knightly Victories and Losses
Benedict's latest documented win, against gmk_8883, was a swift Sicilian defense scuffle ending on time pressure with a 1-0 score — a classic blitz-tactic victory. Another masterstroke came from a Chess960 match, crowning him victorious by mate in a surprisingly fanciful endgame after a queen’s daring journey.
Even the best stumble - recent losses include a principled resignation facing siddhu79, and a clever checkmate from Krado24 in a Chess960 opener. But in true chess fashion, every loss is just an opportunity to find a new combination, a fresh tactic, or that oh-so-satisfying checkmate next game.
Fun Stats For The Chess-Curious
- White pieces win more often: 54.4% win rate vs. 51.44% playing Black
- Favors playing chess around 2-3 PM — peak brain hours for all us mortals.
- Games on Thursday are lucky—winning 53.17% of the time!
- Likes to win by resignation — over 12,533 wins this way, though has patience to fight until checkmate when necessary.
- Biggest winning streak? A mind-boggling 28 games — academia should study that.
In Sum
Benedict, aka MateRanger, is no mere player; he’s a steadfast tactician, nodding gracefully to classical chess wisdom while innovating bravely in modern games such as Chess960. His resilience and versatility promise more checkmates, fewer blunders, and plenty of fun to come.
As the pieces keep falling and the pawns keep marching, the chessboard becomes a stage where Benedict performs — unpredictable, unyielding, and inexhaustibly strategic. Keep your royal eyes on him; the game is just getting started.
What to watch in your bullet games
You’ve shown willingness to fight for dynamic, tactical lines and you’ve converted some advantages to wins. In fast games, small decisions matter a lot, and you’re already finding active plans. To turn that energy into more consistent results, focus on a few steady habits that fit the speed of bullet.
- Piece safety and king safety under time pressure. In sharp moments, a near-mate or a loose piece can swing the result. Slow down briefly to confirm a forcing move or a safe retreat before grabbing material.
- Endgame awareness. A lot of quick games end in imbalanced endings where a single wrong king move or pawn structure choice costs the game. Practice a few common simple endings so you can push wins with minimal risk when the position simplifies.
- Time management as a plan, not just a clock. Create a simple 2- or 3-move check plan in the opening to avoid spending time on early developing moves. Reserve most of your clock for the middle game where the real decisions happen.
- Move ordering and avoiding over-ambition. In bullet, it’s easy to chase a flashy tactic that backfires. Build a habit of asking “What is my current plan?” after each major decision and prefer moves that further that plan even if they seem quiet.
Opening ideas to lean on
Your openings show strength in several lines, with particularly good results in Scandinavian Defense, French Defense, and related solid structures. To increase consistency, deepen 2–3 openings as your core repertoire and learn the typical middlegame plans that arise from them. This reduces mixed results from trying too many options in fast time.
- Scandinavian Defense: reinforce the standard pawn structures and typical piece placements so you recognize the main plan quickly, even when you’re under time pressure.
- French Defense: focus on the typical pawn chain and counterplay ideas, so you can convert space and activity into pressure on your opponent.
- Bird Opening and Czech defenses: continue with the lines you’re comfortable in, but pair each with a short mental checklist (king safety, development, and central control) to avoid sudden tactical surprises.
Concrete improvement plan for the next week
- Daily tactics: 5–7 minutes of short puzzles with a timer, focusing on forks, skewers, pins, and back-rank motifs. This helps you spot forcing lines under pressure.
- Endgame basics: practice 3 simple endings (king and pawn vs king, rook endings with active king, and basic minor piece endings) 2–3 times this week.
- Opening focus: pick two core openings (one for White, one for Black) and study 2 typical middlegame plans for each. Create a quick one-page reference for common moves and ideas.
- Review and reflect: after each bullet game, write a brief note on one decision you would change next time and why. Bring that note into your next game to close the loop.
Tracking progress and next steps
Set small, measurable goals for the week, such as “finish 2 games with no blunders in the last 5 moves” or “win at least one game from a slightly worse position by technique rather than luck.” If you’d like, I can review your next batch of bullet games and provide targeted notes on time management, tactical accuracy, and endgame technique.
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Recent Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| fearless_king2 | 1W / 0L / 1D | |
| johannes_hh | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| mitrak69 | 0W / 1L / 0D | |
| tmx1969 | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| nelsmak | 0W / 0L / 1D | |
| arcanephilosopher | 5W / 5L / 0D | |
| itsmethedumbchessplayer | 1W / 1L / 0D | |
| statyana | 2W / 0L / 0D | |
| pasdepseud0 | 2W / 0L / 0D | |
| brettcollins1984 | 2W / 0L / 0D | |
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| snowshinedog | 18W / 72L / 8D | |
| melchizedek10 | 20W / 43L / 12D | |
| thunder2468 | 10W / 29L / 7D | |
| abeluchin | 12W / 17L / 11D | |
| calfedrez | 22W / 18L / 0D | |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1810 | 1677 | 1978 | 1249 |
| 2024 | 1810 | 1605 | 1943 | 1398 |
| 2023 | 1575 | 1892 | 1414 | |
| 2022 | 1708 | 1733 | 1557 | |
| 2021 | 1702 | 1540 | ||
| 2020 | 1795 | 1467 | ||
| 2019 | 1796 | 1592 | ||
| 2018 | 1660 | 1646 | 1299 | |
| 2017 | 1569 | 1742 | 1525 | |
| 2016 | 1378 | 1732 | 1531 | |
| 2015 | 1585 | 1740 | 1514 | |
| 2014 | 1661 | 1625 | ||
| 2013 | 1648 | 1631 | ||
| 2012 | 1746 | 1738 | ||
| 2011 | 1840 | 1804 | 1693 | |
| 2010 | 1761 | 1816 | 1675 | |
| 2009 | 1677 | 1675 | 1882 | |
| 2008 | 1579 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1850W / 1259L / 102D | 1786W / 1329L / 105D | 63.5 |
| 2024 | 2234W / 1808L / 187D | 2220W / 1824L / 182D | 65.3 |
| 2023 | 1773W / 1455L / 159D | 1666W / 1546L / 180D | 62.7 |
| 2022 | 1688W / 1331L / 143D | 1535W / 1461L / 160D | 62.2 |
| 2021 | 494W / 306L / 33D | 464W / 328L / 47D | 59.4 |
| 2020 | 39W / 37L / 2D | 25W / 51L / 4D | 56.5 |
| 2019 | 212W / 152L / 19D | 182W / 176L / 26D | 65.0 |
| 2018 | 857W / 575L / 55D | 836W / 586L / 72D | 61.9 |
| 2017 | 930W / 747L / 56D | 874W / 781L / 94D | 59.2 |
| 2016 | 537W / 486L / 51D | 488W / 511L / 74D | 59.6 |
| 2015 | 659W / 518L / 72D | 595W / 582L / 74D | 60.1 |
| 2014 | 410W / 298L / 65D | 366W / 325L / 66D | 56.7 |
| 2013 | 480W / 403L / 76D | 454W / 457L / 57D | 57.3 |
| 2012 | 549W / 422L / 64D | 526W / 436L / 63D | 55.9 |
| 2011 | 526W / 331L / 36D | 509W / 348L / 44D | 52.6 |
| 2010 | 605W / 369L / 42D | 583W / 385L / 39D | 53.1 |
| 2009 | 210W / 95L / 9D | 187W / 122L / 14D | 52.3 |
| 2008 | 30W / 19L / 3D | 24W / 27L / 1D | 48.9 |
Openings: Most Played
| Daily Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 844 | 838 | 6 | 0 | 99.3% |
| Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation | 770 | 316 | 389 | 65 | 41.0% |
| Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack | 747 | 326 | 379 | 42 | 43.6% |
| Scandinavian Defense | 637 | 366 | 231 | 40 | 57.5% |
| Amazon Attack | 596 | 312 | 242 | 42 | 52.4% |
| Amar Gambit | 592 | 368 | 192 | 32 | 62.2% |
| Alekhine Defense | 579 | 311 | 230 | 38 | 53.7% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 482 | 237 | 208 | 37 | 49.2% |
| Dutch Defense | 458 | 205 | 224 | 29 | 44.8% |
| Australian Defense | 444 | 289 | 134 | 21 | 65.1% |
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scandinavian Defense | 5961 | 3242 | 2483 | 236 | 54.4% |
| Bird Opening | 1565 | 829 | 672 | 64 | 53.0% |
| Amar Gambit | 1491 | 837 | 606 | 48 | 56.1% |
| Benoni Defense: Benoni Gambit Accepted | 1090 | 571 | 476 | 43 | 52.4% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation | 957 | 485 | 424 | 48 | 50.7% |
| Bird Opening: Dutch Variation | 899 | 447 | 404 | 48 | 49.7% |
| Barnes Defense | 753 | 451 | 288 | 14 | 59.9% |
| KGD: Classical, 3.Bc4 | 685 | 429 | 223 | 33 | 62.6% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack | 617 | 316 | 281 | 20 | 51.2% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 611 | 324 | 266 | 21 | 53.0% |
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scandinavian Defense | 282 | 147 | 124 | 11 | 52.1% |
| Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation | 137 | 60 | 73 | 4 | 43.8% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation | 127 | 70 | 54 | 3 | 55.1% |
| Benoni Defense: Benoni Gambit Accepted | 86 | 50 | 29 | 7 | 58.1% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 78 | 39 | 35 | 4 | 50.0% |
| Sicilian Defense | 64 | 35 | 27 | 2 | 54.7% |
| Philidor Defense | 35 | 20 | 14 | 1 | 57.1% |
| Bird Opening: Dutch Variation, Batavo Gambit | 31 | 13 | 17 | 1 | 41.9% |
| Ruy Lopez: Old Steinitz Defense, Semi-Duras Variation | 29 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 41.4% |
| Döry Defense | 29 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 48.3% |
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scandinavian Defense | 332 | 172 | 148 | 12 | 51.8% |
| Amazon Attack | 66 | 34 | 29 | 3 | 51.5% |
| French Defense | 61 | 35 | 25 | 1 | 57.4% |
| Amar Gambit | 59 | 31 | 27 | 1 | 52.5% |
| Barnes Defense | 49 | 20 | 28 | 1 | 40.8% |
| Benoni Defense: Benoni Gambit Accepted | 43 | 23 | 19 | 1 | 53.5% |
| Czech Defense | 42 | 25 | 16 | 1 | 59.5% |
| Bird Opening: Dutch Variation, Batavo Gambit | 42 | 25 | 17 | 0 | 59.5% |
| Modern | 32 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 56.2% |
| Center Game: Berger Variation | 31 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 64.5% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 28 | 1 |
| Losing | 39 | 0 |