Avatar of Tom Piceu

Tom Piceu IM

Username: Picev

Location: Brugge

Playing Since: 2013-05-02 (Inactive)

Wow Factor: ♟♟♟♟

Chess.com

Daily: 1279
3W / 0L / 0D
Rapid: 2174
17W / 5L / 2D
Blitz: 2364
58W / 38L / 2D
Bullet: 2395
171W / 119L / 8D

Tom Piceu - International Master Extraordinaire

Meet Tom Piceu, also known in the chess universe as Picev, an International Master bestowed by FIDE and a connoisseur of the sixty-four squares. Tom’s journey through the ranks has been a rollercoaster of tactical brilliance, strategic depth, and a sprinkle of quirky resilience (tilt factor rated modestly at 5, because even masters have their off days!).

Starting from humble beginnings with rapid ratings barely breaking past the 1300 mark back in 2015, Tom’s grit and wit saw their rapid performance skyrocket to an impressive 2165 by 2023, coupled with a blitz peak of 2365 and a bullet high of 2299 – the kind of speed that would make even a caffeinated grandmaster blink twice. Despite these impressive numbers, Tom is no one-trick pony; they have conquered multiple formats, boasting a perfect Daily win record and a formidable comeback rate of over 90% after setbacks.

When it comes to openings, Tom embraces a bit of mystery – their favored repertoire is cunningly labeled as "Top Secret," winning relentlessly about 58-68% of the time across various time controls. This covert style has baffled opponents including numerous undefeated matchups against some familiar rival usernames like chesskieee and vicenterocha, who now probably wonder if Tom’s pieces have a secret hotline to a grandmaster's brain.

Tom’s style is a blend of patience and precision: they tend to push endgames frequently (over 77% of the time) and average around 65 moves per victory – clearly someone who prefers a marathon match over a quick blitzkrieg, except when in bullet mode where lightning-fast intuition reigns supreme. The psychological battle is where Tom shines even brighter, maintaining a perfect 100% win rate after losing a piece – practicing calm under fire akin to a chessboard Zen master.

Off the board, Tom's longest winning streak of 14 games hints at a relentless drive and perhaps a good luck charm hidden somewhere near their chess set. Currently riding a 3-game winning streak, the horizon looks bright for this strategic stalwart.

Whether it’s a Sunday afternoon duel or a late-night blitz frenzy, Tom’s win rates remain robust – peek hours around 10am reflect an impressive 83% success rate. So if you catch Tom online at odd hours, be ready for a challenging game that tests patience, nerves, and your tactical flair.

In sum, Tom Piceu is not just another player; they are a fascinating mixture of an intrepid tactician, a calm endgame specialist, and perhaps a bit of a chess magician whose “Top Secret” moves keep the chess world guessing – sometimes laughing, always impressed.


Coach's Avatar

Hi Tom, here is some tailored feedback based on your most-recent streak of Bullet games.

What you already do very well

  • Consistent Opening Menu. As White you almost always reach a King’s-Indian-Attack set-up (Nf3, g3, d3, e4, Re1, e5). That keeps prep time low and produces the pawn-storm positions you like.
  • Sharp Tactical Vision. In three of the last five wins you finished with mating nets in under 30 moves – a clear sign that you spot forcing continuations quickly.
  • Clock Handling. You rarely dip below fifteen seconds and you are comfortable flagging opponents when the position is equal. Your
    56791011121314151617181920212223100%0%Hour of Day
    confirms that most of your wins come late at night when others are tired – good practical choice.

Biggest improvement themes

1. Dark-square discipline as Black.
In the loss to double_debiased (A01 Larsen attack) you played …b5 & …c4 without your dark-squared bishop, leaving squares like e6 & g6 undefended.
• After 19…b5 the engine already prefers 19…dxe4 or even the calm 19…c4.
• Try delaying pawn storms until the c8-bishop is on b7 or a6. 2. Premature central pawn breaks.
In several French structures (both colours) you pushed …d4 or …e5 early, fixing pawns on the colour of your un-developed bishop. Before locking the centre, ask “Which minor piece is still sleeping?” If it’s your light-squared bishop, keep the centre fluid. 3. Kingside safety when you are ahead on the board but behind on the clock.
Your opponents often panic against your initiative; in the game you lost to masterpeter1970 you were up material but allowed …g5-g4 and a rook lift to g8. A single luft move (h3/Kf1) would have forced them to spend extra tempi and probably flagged.

Concrete study plan for the next week

  1. 10 minutes/day – “Single-bishop” puzzles
    Filter tactics where one side is missing the dark-squared bishop and the critical theme is weak dark squares. This directly targets point (1).
  2. Load & analyse this critical fragment:


    Stop after each Black move, ask, “What’s my next threat as White?” This teaches you to sense danger on your own move.
  3. Replace one Bullet session by a 5|0 blitz set.
    Your tactical strength will still score, but the extra time forces you to calculate whether a pawn thrust really works.

Quick repertoire suggestion vs 1.b3

Instead of the double-edged …e6/…d5/…c5 triangle, test the easy set-up …g6 …Bg7 …c5 …Nc6 …e6 …Nge7. • Your king stays safe on g8. • The fianchettoed bishop covers the critical dark squares that caused trouble in the last loss.

Motivational stat

Your peak rating in Bullet so far: 2404 (2025-06-21).
Let’s make the next peak arrive after you iron out these two small structural issues!

Good luck, and feel free to send over any games you are unsure about.
– Your Chess Coach



🆚 Opponent Insights

Most Played Opponents
inshinyarmor 9W / 11L / 1D
Coach-David 9W / 8L / 3D
luis-garcia 4W / 3L / 0D
theklute 6W / 1L / 0D
yeouda06 2W / 3L / 1D

Rating

Year Bullet Blitz Rapid Daily
2025 2395 2174 2165
2023 2165
2021 2234 2364 1275
2020 2179 1976
2019 2155 2259
2018 1530
2017 1919 1886 1807
2016 2025 2061
2015 1831 2024 1274
2014 1837 1849
2013 1818
Rating by Year2013201420152016201720182019202020212023202523951274YearRatingBulletBlitzRapidDaily

Stats by Year

Year White Black Moves
2025 14W / 10L / 3D 6W / 2L / 0D 69.6
2023 2W / 0L / 0D 3W / 2L / 0D 79.1
2021 6W / 2L / 1D 4W / 3L / 1D 71.3
2020 3W / 0L / 1D 3W / 1L / 1D 69.2
2019 12W / 16L / 1D 16W / 16L / 0D 63.0
2018 0W / 0L / 0D 0W / 2L / 0D 37.0
2017 7W / 5L / 0D 7W / 5L / 0D 60.1
2016 50W / 27L / 4D 45W / 39L / 0D 67.8
2015 11W / 11L / 0D 14W / 7L / 0D 64.5
2014 14W / 4L / 1D 9W / 8L / 1D 75.8
2013 11W / 2L / 0D 10W / 3L / 1D 72.5

Openings: Most Played

Daily Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Amar Gambit 5 1 4 0 20.0%
Bird Opening 3 1 1 1 33.3%
Australian Defense 3 2 1 0 66.7%
French Defense 2 2 0 0 100.0%
Barnes Opening: Walkerling 1 0 0 1 0.0%
English Opening 1 0 1 0 0.0%
Unknown 1 0 1 0 0.0%
QGD: 2...Bf5 3.cxd5 1 1 0 0 100.0%
English Opening: Drill Variation 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Dutch Defense: Queen's Knight Variation 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Bullet Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Amar Gambit 28 18 10 0 64.3%
Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit 20 9 9 2 45.0%
French Defense 17 7 9 1 41.2%
Australian Defense 17 9 6 2 52.9%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack 15 7 8 0 46.7%
French Defense: Exchange Variation 11 6 5 0 54.5%
Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation 10 6 4 0 60.0%
King's Indian Attack: French Variation 9 6 3 0 66.7%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 9 6 3 0 66.7%
Sicilian Defense 7 4 3 0 57.1%
Rapid Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation 3 3 0 0 100.0%
Australian Defense 3 2 1 0 66.7%
French Defense: Exchange Variation 2 2 0 0 100.0%
Elephant Gambit 2 2 0 0 100.0%
French Defense 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Gruenfeld: 5.e3 O-O 1 0 1 0 0.0%
Modern 1 0 1 0 0.0%
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation 1 0 0 1 0.0%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 1 0 0 1 0.0%
Blitz Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Slav Defense: Alekhine Variation 5 3 2 0 60.0%
French Defense: Advance Variation 4 3 0 1 75.0%
Scandinavian Defense 4 2 2 0 50.0%
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation 3 2 1 0 66.7%
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Opocensky Variation 3 1 2 0 33.3%
Döry Defense 3 1 2 0 33.3%
Benoni Defense: Old Benoni 3 1 2 0 33.3%
Benko Gambit Accepted: Central Storming Variation 3 2 1 0 66.7%
French Defense 2 2 0 0 100.0%
East Indian Defense 2 1 1 0 50.0%

🔥 Streaks

Streak Longest Current
Winning 14 5
Losing 5 0