Igor Efimov - The Grandmaster of Top Secrets
Also known in the chess universe as Nikame, Igor Efimov is a Grandmaster recognized by FIDE, who dances gracefully on the chessboard like a true maestro. Specializing in rapid play, Igor's rating history tells a tale of fierce battles and thrilling comebacks. With a peak rapid rating just shy of 2510 in May 2020, he’s a force to be reckoned with.
Playing Style and Stats
Igor's games are a marathon, not a sprint — with an average of 87 moves per win and 95 per loss, it’s clear that surrender is never on the menu (early resignations? Zero!). A fan of endgames (they appear in 96% of his matches), Igor's strategic patience is legendary. However, his current losing streak of 3 might suggest he’s reconsidering that zen approach... or maybe just bad luck.
Tactically, Igor is like a superhero coming back from the brink: an impressive 83.33% comeback rate after setbacks, and a winning percentage after losing a piece sitting tightly at 43.48%. Opponents beware: when the chips are down, Nikame is just getting started.
The Openings Enigma
Igor’s most played opening is, quite mysteriously, titled "Top Secret". Over 24 rapid games, he boasts a 50% win rate here, proving that secrecy and strategy go hand in hand. His blitz encounter with "Top Secret"? Not so lucky — a single game and a loss, reminding us that even Grandmasters have an off day.
Recent Triumphs and Trials
On August 9, 2020, Igor pulled off a victory against Lemmings8192, grinding down the opposition in a tense, 49-move queen’s pawn opening battle. Victory came on time as the clock ticked out for his opponent, a true testament to steady pressure and relentless determination.
Yet, every hero faces challenges. Igor’s most recent loss came shortly after against mannequinmen in the whimsical variant Crazyhouse, showing that even the best can be caught off guard in the wild chess arenas.
Personality Snapshot
With a tilt factor of 4, Igor manages to keep his cool — generally avoiding the infamous "tilt" meltdown that plagues many online warriors. His best time to unleash his genius appears to be around 4 PM, where his win rate peaks at 100%! So don’t challenge Nikame after sundown, unless you want to face a well-rested chess beast.
Favorites and Oddities
- Winrate against opponents: Crushing victories against thor736, esskeettit, and sergeyvashchilov (all at a perfect 100%).
- Playing peak hours: 16:00 (100% wins), 17:00 (75% wins), and 9:00 to 10:00 AM (over 60%).
- Color advantage: Slightly better with White (50%) than Black (46.15%), but don’t discount the tenacity on either side.
Igor Efimov, a grandmaster with a somewhat secretive opening repertoire and a penchant for long, exhausting endgames, continues to intrigue and challenge opponents with a style that could be described as “strategic patience meets tactical resilience.” His journey is far from over, the board forever the stage of his next epic performance.
Feedback for Igor Efimov
Igor, reviewing your recent games shows several strengths and some areas for improvement that can help you build a more consistent and effective playing style.
Strengths
- Opening Choice and Setup: You have a solid grasp of classical openings such as the Queen’s Pawn and Closed Sicilian setups. Your development is generally sound, and you castle early to ensure king safety.
- Active Piece Play: You often play actively, with good tactical alertness, such as well-timed breaks like Ne5 or pressure-inflicting moves on your opponent’s pieces, which create dynamic positions.
- Endgame Technique: In your wins, you show good understanding of converting small advantages into wins, especially by improving piece placement and controlling key squares.
Areas to Improve
- Time Management: In several games, your clock fell behind significantly in the middlegame and endgame phases. Managing your time better will help you avoid rushed moves and blunders. Try to allocate your time more evenly, particularly in complex positions.
- Preventing Opponent Counterplay: In a few losses, your opponents managed to gain counterplay by opening lines or creating strongpassed pawns. Pay attention to structural weaknesses or pawn breaks in your position and respond proactively to restrict counterattacking chances.
- Crazyhouse Specifics: In your Crazyhouse loss, the transition to the complex tactical phase was tricky. Since Crazyhouse games require high tactical alertness, practice calculating longer variations and be mindful of piece drops and their potential impact.
- Piece Coordination: Occasionally, your minor pieces can become somewhat passive or uncoordinated, especially on the queenside. Improving coordination and keeping all pieces active will increase your control over the board.
Recommendations
- Review your time usage after each game to understand moments when you spend too much or too little time and practice techniques like pre-move calculation and simplifying decision-making in familiar positions.
- Deepen your study on pawn structures and typical breaks in your favored openings to spot weaknesses earlier and plan prophylactic measures.
- In Crazyhouse, focus on pattern recognition and tactical motifs unique to the variant to improve your resilience in sharp positions.
- Continue refining your endgame knowledge, as it’s a clear strength; consistent practice here will yield more stable results.
Keep working steadily, and your awareness and skill will continue to grow. You have a strong foundation—building on it with focused practice will elevate your play.
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| Akira Watanabe | 0W / 1L / 0D | |
| backtothebeginning | 0W / 0L / 1D | |
| lemmings8192 | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| leosumant | 0W / 1L / 0D | |
| mannequinmen | 0W / 1L / 0D | |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1803 | 2410 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 6W / 5L / 1D | 6W / 6L / 1D | 92.6 |
Openings: Most Played
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Amazon Attack | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.7% |
| Slav Defense: Bonet Gambit | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack, Fianchetto Variation | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% |
| QGA: 3.e3 c5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Czech Defense | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Modern Variation | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 4 | 0 |
| Losing | 4 | 3 |