Miguel Lázaro Azcutia — Miguel-LA (Candidate Master)
Miguel Lázaro Azcutia, who often plays under the handle Miguel-LA, is a titled Candidate Master with a clear taste for fast chess — Blitz is his preferred time control. A pragmatic and occasionally theatrical player, Miguel blends long, technical endgames with sudden tactical bursts that can turn a sleepy position into fireworks.
Peak performance note: 2495 (2025-08-01) — a milestone that underlines his status among strong Blitz competitors.
Playing Style & Strengths
Miguel's games often go the distance: he finishes many endgames (Endgame frequency high) and averages more than 80 moves per decisive game. He is comfortable in grinding endgames, but also has a high comeback rate — meaning he rarely gives up and often turns unfavorable positions around.
- Preferred time control: Blitz (fast, sharp, and tactical).
- Endgame-oriented: Avg moves per win ~84, high endgame frequency.
- Tactical resilience: Comeback rate ~81% and solid performance after material loss.
- Mental tendencies: modest tilt factor — keeps calm but stays competitive.
Opening Highlights & Trends
Miguel plays a surprisingly wide repertoire for Blitz and shows particular success in specific Sicilian and Caro-Kann lines. He also experiments with less common systems and enjoys positions that invite asymmetric play.
- Strong returns: Sicilian Najdorf, Opocensky variation — impressive win rate.
- Dependable choices: Barnes Defense and Caro-Kann show solid results.
- Work in progress: Modern and Scotch have been more challenging.
- First-move tendency: 1.e4 dominates (played 117 times in 2025).
- Openings snapshot (Blitz):
- Four Knights Game: 10 games (WinRate 20%)
- Dőry Defense: 9 games (WinRate ~44%)
- Najdorf (Opocensky): 6 games (WinRate ~67%)
- Caro-Kann: 6 games (WinRate 50%)
- Explore opening terms: Sicilian_Defense, Caro-Kann_Defense, Four_Knights_Game
Streaks, Opponents & Time Patterns
Miguel has experienced dramatic swings — long winning and losing streaks that make his online record exciting to follow. He tends to score best at midday and in the early evening.
- Longest winning streak: 7 games. Current winning streak: 1.
- Longest losing streak: 10 games. Current losing streak: 0.
- Most-played opponents include:
- antsart21 — 3 games (Aniceto Sarmiento)
- ancient-of-days — 2 games (Ancient-Of-Days)
- yesilikeorangejuice — 2 games (Yusuf Baran Cevizci)
- Best hours: 12:00 (perfect recorded win-rate in sample), 7:00 and 8:00 extremely strong; 19:00 also excellent.
- Best day: Wednesday shows very high win rates; Saturday and Friday are also strong days.
Season Snapshot (2025)
A quick visual and stat snapshot from Miguel's recent Blitz run.
- Rating trend: [[Chart|Rating|Blitz|2025-05-2025-11]]
- Peak recorded Blitz mark: 2495 (2025-08-01)
- 2025 activity highlights: Avg game length ~84 moves; decisive games are long and instructive.
Sample Game (illustrative)
A short excerpt to show Miguel’s practical attacking instincts and willingness to simplify into endgames. Use the embedded viewer to replay.
Fun Facts & Placeholders
- Title: Candidate Master — Miguel wears the CM badge with pride and a hint of eyebrow-raising flair.
- Preferred time control reminder: Blitz — lightning decisions, long endgames.
- Try these quick links: opponent profiles (davidcrafter67), common openings (Ruy_Lopez).
- More stats and interactive content live here: [[Chart|Rating|Blitz|2025-05-2025-11]] and .