Safa Ben Said — Woman FIDE Master Extraordinaire
Meet Safa Ben Said, aka "safabensaid" in the digital realm, a chess player whose crowned title of Woman FIDE Master is just one of the many trophies on her imaginary mantle. Known for her strategic prowess and occasional flurries of lightning-fast blitz games, Safa has made quite a name on the chessboard and beyond.
A Quick Peek at the Stats
- Blitz Whiz: With over 500 blitz games under her belt, Safa boasts a solid 50.6% win rate, showing she's not just quick, but also capable of pulling victories out of seemingly thin air. Her longest winning streak? A fierce 6-game charge!
- Rapid and Bullet: Rapid games show her as a consistent competitor, and though Bullet might not be her favorite dance floor, she still manages to keep opponents on their toes.
- Opening Performance: Top secret openings, you say? Safa’s games are encrypted with mystery — 50% wins in blitz using these secret strategies, giving her opponents the biggest "What just happened?" moments.
Playing Style and Psychology
With an average of over 70 moves per win, Safa prefers the marathon over the sprint, carefully weaving her way to victory through high-stakes endgames (she's in them about 72% of the time!). And if she loses a piece... well, watch out—her comeback rate is an astonishing 89.4%, often turning near disasters into triumphs.
Beware the tilt factor of 9, though — even chess warriors have their “off” moments, but Safa’s resilience keeps her bouncing back better than a chess pawn ready for promotion.
Anecdotes & Fun Facts
Across different days and hours, Safa’s win rates show she might be a bit nocturnal — top performance peaks in the evenings (21:00 and 22:00 hours boasting win rates above 65%) when most players are winding down. Early mornings? Less so, but every grandmaster's journey has its quirks!
Head-to-Head & Rivalries
With a diverse opponent pool, Safa shows dominant performances over many players, including several perfect 100% win rates against frequent opponents like mindofarch and ag1mi. Perhaps her secret opening strategy is something those challengers still can't quite crack.
In Conclusion
Safa Ben Said is not just a title or a rating; she's a force on the board — a tactical magician with a penchant for thrilling comebacks and long, grinding battles. If chess had a fandom, Safa would be front and center, flipping the board and flattering her fans with every cunning move.
Personalised Feedback for Safa Ben Said
Rating & Playing-Rhythm Snapshot
Peak Blitz rating so far: 1973 (2023-09-05)
Performance over time of day →
Performance by day of the week →
What You Already Do Well
- Initiative-first openings. With White you handle the French and Caro-Kann Advance skilfully, and your Scandinavian as Black often secures quick development.
- Sharp tactical vision. The finish 27.Rxb7+ Ka8 28.Re8# against abettor71 is a textbook example of back-rank and pin themes combined.
- Practical fighting spirit. You are willing to sacrifice (15.Nxe6! in the French win) for activity—an asset in fast time controls.
Biggest Improvement Opportunities
-
Safer Development vs 1.d4
In the loss to porg_padfoot you played 3…b5 → 4…c6 before castling, leaving c6/c5 weak and the king in the centre. Solid alternatives:- Main-line QGA with
…Nf6& quick …e6. - Decline with a sound Queen’s Gambit Declined setup.
- Main-line QGA with
-
King Safety before Pawn Storms
Games vs evgenyi011980 and fenicotterox show how early …f5/…g5 leaves holes on e6 & g6. Remember the rule of thumb: “Castle first, push later.” -
Endgame Technique
Even winning positions occasionally slip as counter-play creeps in (e.g., allowing 24…Rg6+ in the Scandinavian). 10 minutes a day of rook-endgame drills will pay quick dividends. -
Clock Management
Several games drop under 15 s while complications remain. Adopt a “Bronstein check”: after every 10 moves pause 1 s → if you have <50 % of the starting time, speed up.
4-Week Micro-Training Plan
| Week | Theme | Daily Micro-Task (≈20 min) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sound QGA/QGD repertoire | Analyse 5 model games & build a …a6 …c6 “Carlsen line” file. |
| 2 | King-safety drills | 25 puzzles on the theme “exposed king” with annotations. |
| 3 | Rook Endgames | Work through 10 positions from “100 Endgames You Must Know”. |
| 4 | Time-management practice | Play 20 games of 5 + 5, recording your clock after moves 10/20/30. |
Illustrative Moments
Click to view PGN snippets
Winning tactic vs abettor71
Structural slip vs PORG_Padfoot
Next Milestone
Blend your attacking flair with tighter positional foundations—especially pawn-structure awareness and prophylaxis. Track your progress with the charts above and aim to lift 1973 (2023-09-05) beyond 1900 this month.
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Recent Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| chessfan11122222 | 0W / 1L / 0D | |
| igoilson | 0W / 1L / 0D | |
| sergiopg | 0W / 3L / 0D | |
| teddy87 | 0W / 1L / 0D | |
| haikm | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| 2012lari | 1W / 1L / 0D | |
| rugasesti | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| joynner02 | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| saryulis1901 | 1W / 1L / 0D | |
| michaelfelixsinjaya | 0W / 1L / 0D | |
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| firasbensaid | 4W / 5L / 1D | |
| blyacth | 2W / 4L / 0D | |
| simpleharmonic1 | 0W / 4L / 1D | |
| nicolaxtix | 2W / 2L / 0D | |
| slimanbaghouri | 2W / 2L / 0D | |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1892 | 1829 | ||
| 2024 | 1413 | 1709 | 1645 | |
| 2023 | 1554 | 1890 | 1920 | |
| 2021 | 1683 | 1827 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 233W / 160L / 22D | 191W / 205L / 18D | 70.9 |
| 2024 | 73W / 54L / 7D | 49W / 76L / 7D | 70.7 |
| 2023 | 54W / 47L / 7D | 58W / 46L / 3D | 68.6 |
| 2021 | 12W / 7L / 1D | 9W / 5L / 2D | 74.3 |
Openings: Most Played
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| French Defense: Exchange Variation | 63 | 32 | 24 | 7 | 50.8% |
| Barnes Defense | 56 | 28 | 27 | 1 | 50.0% |
| French Defense | 51 | 27 | 22 | 2 | 52.9% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 48 | 29 | 18 | 1 | 60.4% |
| French Defense: Advance Variation | 46 | 19 | 27 | 0 | 41.3% |
| Scandinavian Defense | 43 | 20 | 19 | 4 | 46.5% |
| Ruy Lopez: Classical Defense, Benelux Variation | 43 | 23 | 20 | 0 | 53.5% |
| Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Anderssen Variation | 36 | 22 | 12 | 2 | 61.1% |
| Amazon Attack | 32 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 53.1% |
| Czech Defense | 26 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 61.5% |
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modern | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed, Anti-Sveshnikov Variation, Kharlov-Kramnik Line | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Exchange Variation | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Scandinavian Defense | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Four Knights Game | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Bishop's Opening: 3.d3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Barnes Opening: Walkerling | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scandinavian Defense | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Three Knights Opening | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Bird Opening: Dutch Variation | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| French Defense: Exchange Variation | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Botvinnik Variation | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Australian Defense | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 8 | 0 |
| Losing | 9 | 4 |