'Kamel Akouchi

Kamel Akouchi (mel-k78)

Meet Kamel Akouchi, a rapid-fire tactician whose rating rollercoaster spans from a humble 100 to an impressive peak of 309 in rapid chess by mid-2025. With a current rating hovering near 253 and a battle-tested record of 120 wins, 111 losses, and 55 draws in rapid, Kamel embodies both tenacity and resilience on the 64 squares. Not to be underestimated, his bullet chess adventures might be brief (with a rating of 103), but every game tells a story.

Playing Style & Strengths

Kamel’s style is a curious concoction of patience and strategic flair. His endgame frequency of nearly 65% reveals a player who loves the intricacies of late-game tactics. He’s not one to throw in the towel early, boasting an early resignation rate of around 8%. When behind, his comeback rate of 58% proves he's not afraid to hustle back from the brink — though losing a piece isn't exactly his lucky charm, with less than a third of wins after piece loss.

Move counts tell a story: on average, victories last about 55 moves, but losses can drag on to nearly 70 moves, a sign of grit, or perhaps stubbornness refusing to yield gracefully. White pieces see Kamel win almost half the time, but playing Black is a tougher nut to crack with only a 34% win rate.

Opening Preferences

A true explorer of openings, Kamel experiments widely but shows clear favorites:

• Queen's Pawn Opening: His pièce de résistance, striking a 75% win rate — clearly, this is the comfort zone where magic happens.
• King's Pawn Opening: A work-in-progress with a modest 30% win rate and even pluckier variations like the Leonardis Variation (20%).
• Van't Kruijs Opening: Balanced at 50% wins, it’s the middle ground where Kamel sharpens his sword.
• Other openings such as the Nimzowitsch Defense and Englund Gambit add a dash of surprise and panache, rounding his arsenal.

Mental Game & Quirks

Despite the serious stats, Kamel’s tilt factor sits at a modest 6, so he’s mostly cool-headed — except possibly at 3 AM, the stated best time of day to play, when his win rate can soar as high as 70% in the wee hours. His winning streak record maxes out impressively at 7 games, although the current streak (as of mid-2025) is a moment for some reflection after a tough loss.

Memorable Battles

Navigating through recent games, Kamel’s victorious efforts include a brilliant resignation win against “Rinuaru” featuring sharp play in a Scotch Game (ECO C45), while losses to the likes of “ORIKIRA2013” challenge even the best of us — proving that in chess, every defeat is a lesson in disguise.

Overall

Kamel Akouchi, known online as mel-k78, is an ambitious rapid chess player balancing ups and downs with a smile and a mindset ready for the next challenge. With a diverse opening repertoire, solid endgame skills, and a penchant for late-night chess marathons, Kamel plays not just to win, but to learn, improve, and occasionally, to entertain. Here’s to many more games (and memes) to come!