Profile
Mikayel Mkrtchyan, known to the chess world as Mikayel99, is a National Master with a serious love for bullet chess. His online rating graph looks like a mountain range designed by a speed chess addict, climbing from a modest 1184 all the way to a breathtaking 2793 peak. If there is a faster time control, Mikayel has not found it yet.
Bullet Dominance
Mikayel has played more than 9,000 rated bullet games and won over 4,800 of them. His 2793 (2025-10-21) of 2793 in October 2025 shows just how dangerous he is when the clock is screaming. He is especially lethal around 11:00, when his win rate jumps to nearly 63 percent. The man is basically a morning person with a chess board.
Opening Repertoire
As White, Mikayel is a loyal 1.e4 soldier. He has faced the French Defense Exchange Variation 476 times and the Scandinavian Defense 426 times, scoring comfortably in both. With Black, he regularly wades into the Sicilian Defense, including the sharp Najdorf Variation, and he has a soft spot for the Caro-Kann Defense. He also seems to enjoy whatever the Amar Gambit is supposed to be.
Rivalries
No rivalry is bigger than his 52 game saga against Eddy Osei, where Mikayel holds a comfortable 33 to 17 edge. He also has a fierce ongoing feud with yoam978, who has managed to sneak ahead 24 to 18. These are the battles that keep bullet chess entertaining at 2 a.m.
Playing Style
Mikayel is a fighter above all else. His comeback rate sits at 83.18 percent, and he wins 51.12 percent of games even after dropping a piece. He rarely resigns early, only 1.74 percent of the time, and he loves dragging opponents into endgames, with 74.16 percent of his games reaching that stage. His longest winning streak was 24 games, though his longest losing streak of 14 proves that even bullet gods have off days.
Sample Game
Here is a classic Najdorf style opening from his Sicilian adventures: