Ananda Saha (RuleOfTwo): FIDE Candidate Master and Online Chess Grinder
A Sith Lord of the Chessboard
Ananda Saha, known to the online chess world as RuleOfTwo, is a FIDE Candidate Master whose username reveals everything you need to know: like the Sith, he believes in the Rule of Two. One of him, and one increasingly exhausted opponent. Since first appearing on the site in October 2020, Saha has played thousands of games across blitz, bullet, rapid, and daily chess, becoming one of the internet's most relentless competitors.
The Rise
Every legend needs an origin story, and this one begins humbly: a 1364-rated blitz player making his debut in late 2020. Within a single year he had blown past 2400, and by the summer of 2025 he was operating at 2700+ level, with a bullet peak of 2844 (2025-08-06). The centerpiece of the climb was an 80-game winning streak, a number that sounds fake until you stare at the data and realize it is not.
A Repertoire from the Dark Side
Most Candidate Masters memorize main lines. Saha memorizes theory that nobody else even admits exists. His most-played weapon is the Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack, deployed in over a thousand blitz games. Against 1.e4 he is a devoted disciple of the French Defense, playing the Burn, Advance, Exchange, and Tarrasch variations with religious regularity.
But then there are the fringe choices. The Barnes Defense (1...f6). The Amar Gambit (1.Nh3). The Australian Defense. The Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit, which scores a preposterous 70% in his bullet games. These are not typos. They are a philosophy, and apparently a winning one.
Rivals and One Very Patient Sparring Partner
The most remarkable number in this profile belongs to gunruto: 459 games played, 458 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses. That is less of a rivalry and more of a long-running theatrical production. Similar fates befell sinzukiiii (100-1) and gmbobbyfinger (99-1).
There is, however, one force in the galaxy that resists: Teemu Virtanen, who leads their head-to-head 59 wins to 32. Every Sith needs an opposition, and nurmitv has volunteered with gusto.
Style: The Immortal Grinder
Saha does not win games quickly. He wins them thoroughly. His winning games average 79 moves, his losses stretch to nearly 90, and he reaches the endgame in over 82% of his games. He resigns in only 2% of games, suffers a one-sided loss in just 4%, and mounts a comeback in an astonishing 83% of losing positions. If you beat RuleOfTwo, you will have earned it, move by excruciating move.
- Longest winning streak: 80 straight victories
- Rapid record: 126 wins against 12 losses
- Most common checking piece: the queen, naturally
- Best hour to face him: never. Worst hour: noon, where he wins over 71% of games
- Fun fact: the majority of his games end by "unknown" means, which we can only assume is chess for "opponent gave up all hope"
Daily Chess: The True Calling
His preferred time control is daily chess, where patience becomes a weapon. His record there is 53 wins, 3 losses, and 3 draws, with the French Defense going a flawless 6-for-6 and the Australian Defense 7-for-7. Slow chess suits a player whose entire identity is refusing to lose, even when he briefly misplaces a piece.
Legacy
Ananda Saha is proof that you do not need fashionable openings, quick resignations, or mercy to reach master level. You need a French Defense, an 80-game streak, one very patient friend named gunruto, and the unshakable conviction that the game is never over until someone has actually checkmated you. The Rule of Two endures.