A blitz lifer
Gagik Mkrtchyan, known on the board as mkrtchyangagik, is a champion of the 3 or 2 blitz grind. Since 2018 he has logged over 31,000 blitz games, and the rating chart says he was not just passing through:
climbs steadily before the top end explodes. His preferred time control is Blitz, and his ceiling there is 2723 (2026-08-26). Even in bullet he has touched 2619 (2026-03-02), which is a dangerous sign for anyone who underestimates his speed.A colourful repertoire
Mkrtchyan does not hide inside the English or the exchange lines. His most played weapon is the Amazon Attack, and he seems especially proud of its Siberian Attack hybrid, which appears in more than 3,000 games. With black he handles sharp defenses like the Sicilian Defense and he regularly navigates the structures of the King's Indian Defense. His opening results form a neat map:
shows that even his so called "unusual" lines hold up at a strong level.Rivalries with a pulse
Blitz has given him a long list of familiar names. He has faced Knyk 52 times, with 25 wins, 23 losses, and 4 draws; a grind that could have gone either way. Another serious rival is Ralf Steinbrecht, against whom he has battled 44 times. These repeated pairings have the feel of a friendly and sometimes painful fellowship on the virtual clock.
Resilience and volume
The profile is built on volume and recovery. Gagik enters an endgame often, fights hard after losing material, and signs a 87.9% comeback rate and a 49.4% win rate after losing a piece. The streak data hints at a cap: the longest winning streak is 23 while the worst losing streak is 11, but those falls are closely followed by another mountain of games. He never stays down for long, which is exactly what a blitz fan likes to watch.