Amir Ali Ghafourian (RebelJohnny)
Amir Ali Ghafourian is a FIDE Candidate Master whose online handle, RebelJohnny, tells you most of what you need to know before move one. Since first appearing online in 2014, he has played more than 11,000 games, climbed from a 1413 blitz debut to a 2781 (2026-09-03) peak, and built a reputation as one of the internet's most stubborn grinders: the kind of player who treats a lost position as a scheduling detail.
A Repertoire Built for Rebellion
With the white pieces, Amir is a devotee of the Bird's Opening (1.f4). The evolution is visible in the data: in 2014 he was a respectable 1.d4 player, in 2016 alone more than 1,300 of his games opened with the Bird, and by 2026 exactly one of his 65 recorded White first moves was anything other than 1.f4. All told, over 2,000 of his games begin with that pawn hop, usually steered toward the Dutch Variation, with detours into the London System Poisoned Pawn, the Nimzo-Larsen Attack, and the magnificently named Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack.
As Black, the calling card is the Czech Defense, a wall of a setup he has defended in more than 1,700 games across formats, backed by nearly 700 rounds of the English Defense's Blumenfeld-Hiva Gambit and a soft spot for the offbeat Döry Defense.
The Comeback Machine
A material advantage against RebelJohnny is a rental, not a purchase. His comeback rate sits near 80%, and even after dropping a piece he still wins about half of his games. Only about 3% of his losses come by early resignation, which is a polite way of saying that if you want the full point, you will have to actually take it. His wins average almost 73 moves, roughly 75% of his games reach a proper endgame, and that is exactly where he likes the conversation to happen.
The ledger also includes a 49-game winning streak, his personal Sistine Chapel, and a 44-game losing streak he refers to only as character development.
Daily Chess Is Home Turf
His preferred time control is Daily, where nearly 1,400 games have produced 811 wins against 494 losses and 93 draws. Some months were more than productive: December 2014 went 58 for 58, January 2023 went 24 for 24, and February 2023 immediately answered with two losses in two games, just to keep things humble. In the Daily lab, the Czech Defense scores 59% over 254 games and the London Poisoned Pawn clears 61% with White. His peak there: 2059 (2020-09-06).
Nemeses and Hunting Grounds
Every rebel keeps a rogues' gallery. Mark Kotliar has been the most productive hunting ground at 16-8-4 over 28 games. cruz29 is the true nemesis: 30 games, a 13-14-3 ledger, and no sign either side is finished. Grant Spraggett split 21 games almost perfectly at 10-10-1, presumably to preserve cosmic balance. And then there is lameduke, 17 games and a 4-11-2 record, a matchup he does not discuss at parties.
The Rebel Rhythm
His best day is Sunday (58% win rate) and his worst is Monday (under 48%), which suggests the chess is fine and the week is the problem. His strongest hours are 9 AM, 7 PM, and a suspiciously lethal 1 AM, flagged by the data as his single best time to play. Fittingly for a titled player, his win rate still dips almost 20 points the moment rated points are on the line, and the ladder behaves like a ladder: 73% wins against lower-rated opponents, 29% against higher-rated ones.
Add in 2500-plus adventures in bullet and rapid, and the forecast is simple: a messy board, a running clock, and RebelJohnny still there at move 70, down a piece, winning.