Richard Scheftlein - FIDE Master and Blitz Specialist
Richard Scheftlein, known online as Richard-Scheftlein, is a FIDE Master and a fierce blitz competitor. This short biography highlights a player who prefers fast time controls, favors surprising opening choices, and combines deep tactical instincts with a penchant for long, grindy endgames. Ideal search terms: Richard Scheftlein FIDE Master Blitz chess player biography, Richard-Scheftlein openings, Nimzo-Larsen specialist.
Quick Facts
- Title: FIDE Master (FM)
- Preferred time control: Blitz
- Blitz record (aggregate): 153 wins, 72 losses, 23 draws
- Longest winning streak: 14 games
- Peak recorded Blitz performance: 2771 (2025-11-02)
- Rating trend snapshot:
Playing Style
Richard combines tactical alertness with surprising endurance. Games often reach long endgames, which fits a player who averages over 77 moves in wins. He frequently initiates checks and forces complications, with the rook being his most common checking piece. Richard is also a resilient comeback artist, showing a strong Win Rate After Losing Piece and a high Comeback Rate.
- Endgame-oriented: high endgame frequency and long average decisive games
- Tactical resilience: strong comeback numbers and solid performance after material setbacks
- Checks: delivers many checks per game and often strikes first
Favorite Openings and Results
Richard favors offbeat and aggressive setups, especially when playing white. The Nimzo-Larsen Attack is his hallmark system. He also enjoys surprise weapons and rare defenses that lead to messy, unbalanced positions.
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack - heavily used, excellent results (many wins across 50+ games). See term: Nimzo-Larsen Attack
- Amar Gambit - small sample, high success rate and a go-to for chaos
- Alekhine Defense - perfect short-run record when used as Black
- Barnes Defense - often employed as Black with mixed but practical results
Notable opening stat: Richard has over 50 games with the Nimzo-Larsen Attack and a win rate above 60 percent in those encounters.
Career Highlights and Trends
Richard climbed rapidly through the Blitz ranks during 2024 and 2025, culminating in a major peak performance in late 2025. He is strongest when playing at his best hours and often performs better against lower-rated opponents while still holding solid results against equals and stronger players.
- Rapid rating surge across 2024-2025 with peak games in November 2025
- Strong time-of-day effect. Best hour to play: 20:00 local time, with an outstanding win rate
- Most-played online rivals include didar89. Check a recent peer profile: didar89
Seasonal and Time-Based Strengths
Richard tends to do best on Thursdays and Saturday evenings. His win rates by hour show a remarkable spike around 20:00, making a late-evening blitz session a dangerous time for anyone queued up against him.
- Top days: Thursday and Saturday (very high win percentages)
- Best hour: 20:00 with a standout win rate
- Consistent performer across mid-day and evening slots
Memorable Games and Sample PGN
Below is a short illustrative blitz mini-lesson. You can replay it in your viewer.
Sample game viewer:
Fun Facts
- Nickname possibility: "The Rook-check General" because of frequent rook checks
- High tolerance for chaos. If the opening gets wild, that is where Richard is happiest
- Psych profile: low tilt, strong comeback ability, and suspiciously fond of underdog victories
Contact and Further Reading
For fans and fellow players: follow Richard-Scheftlein for more blitz adventures and opening experiments. Sample opponent pages and game links are available via internal profiles and the chart above.
- Peak snapshot: 2771 (2025-11-02)
- Rating trend: