Ricardo Maruchi Desideri: The Black Death of the Clock
From Humble Beginnings to National Master
Ricardo Maruchi Desideri, better known on chess.com as morte-negra, has built a career out of persistence. His username, Portuguese for "Black Death", suits a player who has spent years terrorizing opponents across time controls. He started in late 2014 as a modest blitz grinder around 1450, and his early rapid rating once dipped below 1100. But Ricardo kept clicking. By 2020 he had crossed 2000 in rapid, and in March 2026 he reached a rapid peak of 2273 (2026-03-25), earning his National Master title along the way.
tells the story of a player who simply refused to stop improving.A Repertoire Built on e4
If there is one thing Ricardo loves more than a ticking clock, it is 1.e4. His opening repertoire is deeply romantic: he plays the Sicilian Defense from both sides in huge numbers, with a clear affection for the Najdorf Variation. As White, he also enjoys the King's Gambit, and his results with the Bishop's Gambit, Bledow line 4.Bxd5, are lethal. In rapid play he has won nearly 78% of his games after wheeling out that sharp gambit. Opponents who grab the offered pawn often find themselves grabbing their coats soon after.
The Grinder's Instinct
Ricardo's favorite time control may be bullet, but his style has the patience of a marathon runner. With over 7,000 rated games, he is a volume shooter with a long-game soul. His average wins and losses run around 64-65 moves, and he reaches the endgame in nearly 71% of his games. He rarely resigns early, and even after losing a piece he still manages to win 44% of the time. His comeback rate sits at 83%,and lopsided losses are almost unknown. This is a player who treats every game like a siege:he will not surrender,and he will not stop moving.
Rivalries That Define Him
Every gladiator needs an arena, and Ricardo's Colosseum is the blitz pool. He has faced several opponents dozens or even hundreds of times. None haunts him quite like Lucas Aparecido Oliveira Dos Santos:after 211 meetings, Ricardo has just 61 wins against 141 losses, yet he keeps returning for more. Fortunately, he also has rivals he dominates. Against rodriguez-r he has piled up 81 wins in 110 games, and versus rodrigoarodriguez he leads 40-14. Win, lose,or draw,Ricardo Maruchi Desideri shows up,clicks play,and lets the pieces fly.