Mona Salman Mahini — Woman FIDE Master & Chess Dynamo
Mona Salman Mahini, known online as Mona_Mahini, is a formidable Woman FIDE Master who masterfully dances with kings, queens, and rooks like a true chess virtuoso. Rising from humble beginnings with a rapid rating just over 1000 in 2020, Mona has catapulted herself into the 2100+ blitz and rapid leagues, proving that slow and steady is so last decade.
Chess Career Highlights
- Peak Rapid Rating: 2198 (April 2024) — a juggernaut in the rapid format.
- Peak Blitz Rating: 2193 (April 2020) — lightning fast decisions with a surgical touch.
- Peak Bullet Rating: 2021 (May 2025) — proving speed chess is not just chaos for Mona.
Style of Play
Mona's games often last long enough to brew a cup of tea, boasting an average 56+ moves per win, which hints at her love for deep strategic battles and endgames (she ends nearly 60% of games in this phase). She’s a tenacious comeback queen — when the odds are against her, she turns the tide nearly 80% of the time. Early resignations? Barely a 2% occurrence here. Mona believes in fighting 'til checkmate or timeout!
Opening Repertoire & Weaponry
Her secret weapon? Literally labeled "Top Secret" in rapid, blitz, and bullet games with an enviable 80% win rate in rapid and almost 68% in blitz. She also has a guaranteed 100% success with select variations such as the Center Game Accepted Paulsen Berger Variation and the Indian Game East Indian London System—which is where Mona’s tactical fireworks often ignite.
Record Against Opponents
Mona is undefeated against ningel77 (14 games) and has dominated numerous other frequent rivals with a 100% win rate. Opponents beware: her psychological endurance is no joke—her tilt factor is low, and her razor-sharp focus peaks in the wee hours (5 AM!), when most mortals are still asleep.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Longest winning streak: a dazzling 14 consecutive games—a streak that likely involved some serious calculation and caffeine-fueled nights.
- Known for a tactical awareness that turns apparent blunders into golden comebacks.
- Despite impressive skills, Mona is humble enough to occasionally stumble on the clock — resulting in a few time losses here and there.
- Her favorite times to wreak havoc on the board? Early mornings and evenings, with a win rate hitting 100% at 5 AM, 7 AM, 8 AM, and 11 AM. Clearly, Mona prefers to keep opponents guessing about her schedule and her style!
Latest & Greatest Win
In a recent rapid battle on May 23, 2025, Mona delivered a flawless checkmate against ningel77 in the Indian Game, East Indian London System opening, showcasing her mastery over a complex position. Witness the magic here.
Final Thoughts
Mona Salman Mahini is a player who has elegantly balanced grit, consistency, and an occasional dash of cheeky tactical brilliance. Whether blitzing through games faster than you can blink or slugging it out in marathon rapid matches, Mona consistently proves that chess is as much about sharp strategy as it is about endurance and mindset.
Watch out world, Mona_Mahini is here to rule the 64 squares — one checkmate at a time!
Hi Mona!
Great job keeping an active playing schedule and experimenting with several variants (Standard, Chess960, Crazyhouse). Below is some tailored feedback based on your most recent standard games.
Your Strengths
- Tactical alertness: In multiple wins you spotted tactics such as 15.Ba6+! and the exchange-sac Bxb5+. Your willingness to calculate sharp lines is paying off.
- King-side safety awareness: Castling happens early in almost every game, and you punish opponents who delay (e.g. …Qg8 in the Petroff miniature).
- Piece activity: Knights often land on strong central squares (…Nxd4, …Nd5, Ne5) creating practical problems for lower-rated foes.
- Confidence with off-beat setups: You handle Modern/King’s Indian and London-System-style structures comfortably from either side.
Key Areas to Improve
- Time management: All three recent losses were time forfeits. Aim to keep 10–15 secs in reserve for the final tactics flurry. Try the “move/think” rhythm: move when your clock dips below your opponent’s, then think on their time.
- Over-reliance on early queen raids: Games where Qxa7/Qxc7 wins material are fun but risky. Against stronger opposition a premature queen sortie often invites a tempo-gaining chase.
- Converting won positions: In Chess960 you were up a rook on move 14 but the game slipped away. Practice simplification and the basics of the opposition in king-and-pawn endgames.
Opening Road-Map
- With White: Your London-style setup (d4–Bf4–e3–Nf3) is solid. Add the plan h3, g4, Rg1 versus …g6 to expand on the king-side.
- With Black: The Modern (…g6 …Bg7) is serving you well. Prepare a second weapon versus 1.e4—consider the Scandinavian so you can decide between hyper-modern and direct play.
Model Game (annotate on your own!)
Practical Training Plan (4–week)
- Tactics: 20 minutes/day on puzzles rated 200 pts above your 2198 (2024-04-13). Focus on themes like fork, pin & discovered attack.
- Endgames: Each week study one basic ending (K+P vs K, R+P vs R, minor-piece endings). Play the position vs an engine until you win it in < 30 moves.
- Blitz to Rapid transition: Add two 15 | 10 games weekly to practice deeper calculation without the blitz adrenaline.
- Post-game review: For every game, tag one good move and one could-do-better move. This builds self-diagnosis skills.
When Do You Win Most?
Explore these interactive charts to schedule your toughest training sessions for your natural peak-performance times:
Final Encouragement
You’re already beating players 400 – 600 rating points lower with clean tactical play. Sharpen your clock management and endgame technique, and you’ll soon be challenging 2200-level opponents. Keep the passion burning and good luck in your next events!
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sam Abdollahi | 14W / 0L / 0D | |
| nikovlora | 8W / 1L / 0D | |
| samyarhaddadi | 4W / 0L / 3D | |
| masterchessnot711 | 4W / 0L / 0D | |
| mikecox000 | 1W / 2L / 0D | |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2021 | 2110 | ||
| 2024 | 1440 | 1513 | 2010 | |
| 2023 | 1966 | |||
| 2020 | 1947 | 1520 | ||
| 2019 | 1995 | |||
| 2015 | 1473 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8W / 1L / 1D | 9W / 2L / 1D | 43.7 |
| 2024 | 22W / 8L / 1D | 28W / 7L / 1D | 52.8 |
| 2023 | 0W / 0L / 0D | 1W / 0L / 0D | 74.0 |
| 2020 | 6W / 4L / 2D | 4W / 5L / 0D | 60.0 |
| 2019 | 22W / 7L / 0D | 14W / 12L / 0D | 72.9 |
| 2015 | 1W / 0L / 1D | 2W / 1L / 0D | 68.6 |
Openings: Most Played
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 28.6% |
| King's Indian Defense | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.3% |
| East Indian Defense | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Petrov's Defense | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Bishop's Opening | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Modern | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Philidor Defense | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Czech Defense | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amar Gambit | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 80.0% |
| French Defense | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Sicilian Defense | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Elephant Gambit | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60.0% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Barnes Opening: Walkerling | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.0% |
| Barnes Defense | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Australian Defense | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Czech Defense | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Exchange Variation | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Barnes Opening: Walkerling | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Barnes Defense | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Australian Defense | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Amar Gambit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 14 | 4 |
| Losing | 4 | 0 |