Fabian Baenziger: The MountThief Myth
Fabian Baenziger, who competes online as MountThief, is a FIDE International Master with one of the most impressive rating trajectories on the platform. Starting his blitz journey near 1388 in 2014, he climbed past 2500 by 2018 and eventually reached a stunning 2914 (2025-08-08) blitz peak. His preferred time control may be Rapid, but MountThief has stolen points in every pool he touches.
Career Highlights
Fabian's rise was explosive and relentless. By 2016 he was already a 2300-level blitz player, by 2019 he crossed 2600, and in 2025 he hit 2914. His bullet record is even more outrageous, peaking at 3004 (2026-08-31), and his winning streaks would crush most mortals.
Playing Style and Opening Repertoire
MountThief prefers to drag opponents into unusual battles, with a special love for the Nimzo-Larsen Attack, the flexible Modern Defense, and the solid Caro-Kann Defense. He also scores heavily in the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation. His endgame frequency is 79.1 percent, and his comeback rate of 87.46 percent shows a fighter who never packs it in early. Even after losing a piece, he still wins more than half of his games.
Fierce Rivalries
No biography of MountThief is complete without his legendary feud with SimonMasato Schweizer-Nishiyama, his most frequent opponent at 121 games. Fabian holds a commanding 76 wins, 39 losses, and 6 draws in that series. He also owns a dominant record against yano123 with 37 wins to just 4 losses, while Davide Arcuti has provided tougher tests in their 50 game series.
Fun Facts
- Longest winning streak: 35 consecutive wins.
- Peak bullet rating over 3000, a feat reserved for the elite.
- One-sided loss rate of just 2.55 percent, meaning he rarely gets blown off the board.