Michael Szalontay (mycogen)
Michael Szalontay, better known online as mycogen, has been a constant presence in online chess since 2012. He is a player of many moods: a rapid enthusiast by preference, a blitz marathoner by habit, and a bullet survivor by choice. His blitz rating graph shows a long, patient climb from the 1300s to a peak of 2109 (2026-02-07).
The 1.e4 Workhorse
Ask what mycogen plays and the answer is simple: 1.e4. He has played it thousands of times, and his opponents have answered with everything in the book. His most frequent guest is the Czech Defense, which appears in over 1,500 of his blitz games and still loses to him more often than not. When opponents try the Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, he is ready, with nearly 1,400 white games in that line. He also enjoys the Scotch Game, the Budapest Gambit as Black, and the Pirc Defense in its many forms.
These are not flashy choices. They are workhorse openings, refined through volume. The chart below shows how his old friends have treated him over the years.
Rivalries and Rubber Matches
No online career is complete without rivals. For mycogen, no opponent has shared more games than acdim. Their 31 game saga has been a tough one for Michael, with acdim winning 19 of those meetings. Other frequent foes include tsali4, gromozheka1977, oomlu aja, and hewer, but none has quite the same history as acdim.
Michael is a fighter. His longest winning streak reached 13 games, and his longest losing streak was 10. The losing streak did not define him. His comeback rate sits near 87%, and he wins more than half of his games even after losing a piece. He also almost never resigns early, with an early resignation rate below 1%. Opponents have to finish him off.
Tactical Tendencies and Odd Superstitions
If you check his numbers, a pattern emerges. He delivers slightly more checks than he receives, and when he delivers the first check he wins 57% of the time. His most common checking piece is the queen, followed closely by the rook. His games tend to be long, averaging around 70 moves, and he reaches the endgame in nearly 78% of his battles.
His best day to play is Friday, with a win rate above 54%. His best hour, according to the data, is 2 a.m. That is either a warning or an invitation. He wins about 64% of games against lower rated opposition, holds his own against equal rated players, and still manages to beat higher rated opponents roughly a third of the time. He also plays noticeably better in rated games, saving his best for when it counts.
Rapid and Beyond
Although his blitz and bullet game counts are enormous, Michael's preferred time control is rapid. The sample is small but sparkling: he won 10 of his 11 rapid games, with a strength adjusted win rate near 77%. If he ever decides to make rapid his main battlefield, the rest of the lobby should be worried.
- Blitz peak: 2109 (2026-02-07)
- Rapid peak: 2054 (2022-01-13)
- Longest winning streak: 13 games
- Favorite first move: 1.e4
- Most common opponent: acdim