Player Snapshot
Nursultan Kenzhalin, known online as Nursultan1990, is a blitz warrior through and through. He entered the arena in late 2016 with a rating near 1386, and he spent the next decade turning rapid-fire time controls into an art form. His favorite playground is clearly blitz, where he has racked up tens of thousands of games and reached a career best of 2876 (2026-05-13). He is the kind of player who shows up at 1 AM, your 1 AM, with a 52.48% win rate, just to remind the world that coffee is optional and chess is forever.
The Climb
Nursultan's journey reads like a montage. In December 2016 he was a fresh face at 1386. Within a year he had crossed 2300, and by 2018 he was pushing past 2500. The real fireworks came later, with a peak blitz rating of 2876 (2026-05-13) in May 2026. Along the way he posted a 26 game winning streak, a testament to his relentless attacking streak, and a 13 game losing streak, proof that even the boldest knight sometimes falls off the horse.
Opening Repertoire
When handling the black pieces, Nursultan has a deep loyalty to the Czech Defense, which he has played over 3,200 times in blitz. He is equally at home in the Caro-Kann Defense and the Pirc Defense, often steering games into structures where patience beats panic. As White he favors the Döry Defense and the Caro-Kann, where his 53.87% win rate suggests you should expect a long and uncomfortable afternoon.
Fierce Rivalries
No player has faced Nursultan more often than Nurdaulet Tanatov, a rivalry spanning 137 games. Nursultan holds the bragging rights with 83 wins against 43 losses. Longtime foes like maddcold and ernestoguevaralynch have also logged dozens of battles, while kozhaniyazovb has felt the sting most sharply, losing 37 of their 55 meetings. Not every scoreboard is friendly though, neftegor has turned the tables and leads the head to head 37 to 15.
Numbers and Quirks
Nursultan is a grinder in the truest sense. His endgame frequency sits near 85%, and his average winning game lasts about 86 moves, so he is happy to outlast you rather than outflash you. His comeback rate is a stunning 89.87%, meaning he rarely panics after dropping a piece. He is slightly stronger with White at 47.93% compared to 44.16% with Black, and his best day of the week is Tuesday while Saturday is his quietest graveyard.
- Longest winning streak: 26 games
- Endgame frequency: 84.93%
- Comeback rate after losing material: 89.87%
- Best time to face him: never, especially not at 1 AM