Pranit Dua (aka pdua58) - Chess Enthusiast Extraordinaire
Meet Pranit Dua, a daring and dedicated chess player who has waged battle across the 64 squares with a preferred weapon of choice: Rapid time controls. Known to his friends and foes as pdua58, he’s no stranger to both glorious victories and the humbling embrace of defeat. If chess was a marathon, Pranit would be doing sprints in roller skates—fast, somewhat unpredictable, but always in the race.
Rating Journey & Playing Style
Pranit’s peak rapid rating hit a respectable 1232 in April 2025, showing his knack for quick and strategic play. Not one to be pigeonholed, he’s also enjoyed inkling moments at a Blitz peak of 780 and a bullet zenith of 1000. Rapid suits him best, though; his rapid games boast a healthy balance of wins, losses, and draws that keeps everyone on their toes.
With an early resignation rate of just under 3% (because who likes quitting?), Pranit grinds through complex endgames—his passion shines in roughly 61% of the battles where patience is king. His games typically last about 59 moves when victorious, demonstrating a mix of persistence and precision. And, did we mention? He loves making his first capture before move 5—early aggression, anyone?
The Opening Maestro (or Experimenter)
Pranit isn’t your everyday one-trick pony; he enjoys mixing it up with various openings, favoring the Scandinavian Defense in both blitz and rapid. His record with the Van Geet Opening is nothing short of Legendary™—a perfect 6/6 wins in blitz. Attempts at the Queens Pawn Opening Chigorin Variation have been met with mixed feelings (24% win rate), proving that even the bravest warriors have their Achilles’ heel.
Recent Battles and Rivals
On the battlefield of recent games, Pranit has showcased his tactical flair, famously forcing a checkmate against kalguderohan with a sharp Alekhine's Defense maneuver. His resilience is notable too, with comebacks and strategic wins peppering his record. Yet, like all chess heroes, he has had his share of epic clinches from valued rivals such as virginiaelshaday and julianfriedman who remind him that humility is part of the game.
When to Catch Him at His Best
Feeling adventurous and want to catch Pranit at the top of his game? His best hour is around 16:00, where his win rate peaks impressively above 60%. And if you want to challenge him, try your luck on a Tuesday or Saturday—those are lucky days for Pranit to rack up wins!
Fun Facts & Quirks
- Longest winning streak: 8 games — checkmate, victory lap, repeat.
- Longest losing streak: 10 games — even the mighty have dark days.
- Known for a comeback rate nearing 66%, meaning he’s not down for the count until the king falls.
- Prefers rapid games but doesn’t shy away from blitz or bullet, despite bullet results suggesting it’s still a bit like juggling flaming swords.
Signature Moment
Here’s a taste of Pranit's last triumph - a brilliant sequence leading to a checkmate against kalguderohan in June 2025, demonstrating his knack for patience, precision, and a touch of chess wizardry:
Hi Pranit, great to see you playing so much!
What you already do well
- Activity & space: You usually bring several pieces forward quickly and aren’t afraid to grab central squares.
- Pawn-promotion technique: Your win against kalguderohan shows that you can shepherd passed pawns all the way to queening when you stay focused.
- Confidence in open positions: You willingly enter exchanges such as 5…Qxd8+ in the Caro-Kann, which keeps the play simple and reduces blunder-risk.
Recurring pain-points
- King safety before pawn storms.
In several losses (e.g. vs. thenetrider and akshaynair5) you played …f6/…g5/…h5 while your king was still in the centre. Castle first, storm later. - Over-optimistic piece sacs on f7/f2.
The Italian “Ng5+ sac” works only with very specific follow-ups. When Black calmly plays …Be6 you often end up a piece down. - Tactical blunders in the middlegame.
In the Scandinavian loss to zer0iqplayer you missed both the mate threat on c7 and the simple in-between check on h5. A 10-second “blunder-check” before every move will solve half of these. - Endgame conversion vs. defence.
You handled the queen ending vs. virginiaelshaday poorly once the rooks came off. Knight forks and opposition ideas (opposition) would have saved you.
3-step improvement plan
- Openings (one month)
• Italian as White: play the quiet 6.c3 & 7.d4 setup, skip Ng5 for now.
• As Black choose ONE reply to 1.e4 (e.g. Caro-Kann) and learn the first 8–10 moves by heart.
780 (2020-04-15) will creep up simply from reaching safer middlegames. - Tactics training (daily)
• 20 puzzle rush attempts or 15 rated puzzles per day.
• Always say “checks, captures, threats” before moving during games. - King-safety checklist (every game)
Before pushing any wing pawn ask: “Is my king castled? Are my rooks connected?” Pin this on a sticky note next to your screen until it becomes automatic.
Illustrative moment
The diagram below is from the loss to thenetrider. White’s last move 18.Qf5+ looked menacing, but with 18…Qxf5 Black removed the dangerous queen and kept the extra rook. You can replay the critical phase here:
Keep your motivation high
You’re hovering around the 450-rating range already. Cleaning up the three issues above should push you past 600 very quickly. Enjoy the journey and message me anytime you’d like a deeper look at a specific game!
Coach’s tip: After every session, pick ONE game (win or loss), step through it slowly and write down two sentences: “What I did well / What I will change next time.” Consistency beats intensity.
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Recent Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| tanmayx_09 | 0W / 1L / 0D | View |
| slganteng | 0W / 1L / 0D | View |
| rmilifiras | 0W / 1L / 0D | View |
| dernbombay | 0W / 1L / 0D | View |
| alphapiaz | 1W / 0L / 0D | View |
| abelshaji | 0W / 1L / 0D | View |
| berati1976 | 0W / 0L / 1D | View |
| rufus1228 | 1W / 0L / 0D | View |
| kinggebrehiwot | 0W / 0L / 1D | View |
| brainsfordinner | 0W / 0L / 1D | View |
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| vafadamas420 | 42W / 65L / 15D | View Games |
| emidowsky | 13W / 42L / 10D | View Games |
| vafadamas1 | 5W / 9L / 1D | View Games |
| zdzisiumiroslawek | 6W / 1L / 0D | View Games |
| frightexiskewl | 5W / 0L / 1D | View Games |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 801 | 691 | 869 | |
| 2021 | 1000 | 651 | 1232 | |
| 2020 | 1000 | 648 | 1232 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 790W / 757L / 174D | 772W / 775L / 165D | 73.8 |
| 2021 | 27W / 25L / 4D | 25W / 26L / 5D | 52.5 |
| 2020 | 3W / 11L / 5D | 6W / 15L / 3D | 48.2 |
Openings: Most Played
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scandinavian Defense | 794 | 370 | 353 | 71 | 46.6% |
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 339 | 166 | 143 | 30 | 49.0% |
| Barnes Defense | 196 | 80 | 98 | 18 | 40.8% |
| Amazon Attack | 163 | 65 | 83 | 15 | 39.9% |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense | 133 | 65 | 60 | 8 | 48.9% |
| Philidor Defense | 109 | 59 | 39 | 11 | 54.1% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 92 | 44 | 41 | 7 | 47.8% |
| Elephant Gambit | 87 | 43 | 36 | 8 | 49.4% |
| Amar Gambit | 84 | 44 | 28 | 12 | 52.4% |
| French Defense | 61 | 19 | 34 | 8 | 31.1% |
| Daily Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scandinavian Defense | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.3% |
| Elephant Gambit | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| English Opening | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Colle: 3...Bf5, Alekhine Variation | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Amazon Attack | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Barnes Defense | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scandinavian Defense | 285 | 118 | 137 | 30 | 41.4% |
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 66 | 30 | 33 | 3 | 45.5% |
| Amazon Attack | 57 | 27 | 25 | 5 | 47.4% |
| Elephant Gambit | 46 | 22 | 19 | 5 | 47.8% |
| Petrov's Defense | 43 | 19 | 21 | 3 | 44.2% |
| Philidor Defense | 40 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 57.5% |
| Barnes Defense | 38 | 16 | 18 | 4 | 42.1% |
| Alekhine Defense | 38 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 50.0% |
| Amar Gambit | 36 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 52.8% |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fegatello Attack, Leonhardt Variation | 35 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 51.4% |
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnes Opening: Walkerling | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Dresden Opening: The Goblin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Petrov's Defense | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Three Knights Opening | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Elephant Gambit | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Barnes Defense | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Bishop's Opening | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 10 | 0 |
| Losing | 10 | 4 |