Sagar Shah: The International Master with a Taste for Top Secret Moves
Meet Sagar Shah, a chess player who has proudly earned the title of International Master from FIDE — not bad for someone who’s made “Top Secret” his go-to opening repertoire across all time controls. Whether it’s rapid, blitz, bullet, or daily, Sagar keeps his opponents guessing and his fans entertained.
Over the years, Sagar's chess journey has been a rollercoaster ride through the rating charts. From his explosive blitz peak rating of 2486 in 2021 to his steady rapid performances hovering around 1900-2000 in recent years, he’s demonstrated resilience and an uncanny knack for comebacks — boasting a 73.3% comeback rate and an astonishing 96.6% win rate after losing a piece. In other words, never count him out, even when the odds look grim!
His longest winning streak is a whopping 7 games, current streak standing strong at 1, which means he's always ready to strike again. On average, a Sagar win takes about 59 moves of intense strategic battle, proving that patience and perseverance are very much part of his chess arsenal.
Sagar’s style is a delightful mix of psychology and tactical wizardry; with a tilt factor of just 9, he keeps calm under pressure and has a reputation for turning the tables when underdogged. If he’s ever caught daydreaming, it must be about his favorite chess days — Mondays, where he scores his best win rate of 64.4%, or during the mystical hour of 8 AM, where he boasts a flawless 100% win record.
Opponents beware: Sagar has a peculiar record against some players, smashing samayraina with an 88% win rate, yet struggling with others like thevish and quintessental_victory with a 0% win rate. It’s all part of the unpredictable charm that makes following his games a thrilling experience.
Off the board, Sagar Shah is known for wit and humor — but on the board, he’s all business, playing over 500 games with a balanced mix of wins, losses, and a sprinkle of draws. With nearly 130 blitz wins alone, this IM is a proven force in fast-paced chess combat.
So next time you come across Sagar_Raina online or at a tournament, remember: behind that calm exterior is a tactician ready to execute top secret moves and keep the chess world on its toes.
Feedback for Sagar Shah
Hi Sagar! I've reviewed your recent games and would like to share some constructive feedback to help improve your chess skills further.
Strengths:
- Opening Preparation: Your choice of openings, like the Nimzo-Indian and various d4 defenses, shows good understanding of solid opening principles. You develop pieces actively and castle early, which sets a strong foundation.
- Endgame Skills: You demonstrate good technique in converting advantages, as seen in your recent wins by checkmate or resignation. Your calculation in tactical positions is sharp.
- Positional Understanding: Maneuvers such as controlling key squares (e.g., Nc4, Rd7, and effective use of rooks on open files) indicate good positional awareness.
Areas for Improvement:
- Time Management: In some of your recent games, the clock was a factor (e.g., losing on time). Working on managing your clock better, especially in longer time controls, will prevent time trouble and improve decision-making.
- Midgame Planning: Occasionally, there were moments where you could improve your plan, particularly around pawn breaks and piece coordination. For instance, exploring strategic pawn pushes like ...c5 or ...d5 at optimal times can enhance your control in the center and open lines for your pieces.
- Tactical Awareness: While your tactical strikes are strong, ensuring continuous calculation in complex positions will help avoid missed opportunities or threats. Reviewing your losses shows some instances where opponent tactics posed challenges – sharpening your tactics via focused exercises can help.
Recommendations:
- Review your losses carefully to identify recurring themes or mistakes — this might be related to piece activity or timing of exchanges.
- Practice visualization drills and tactical puzzles daily to maintain and improve calculation skills.
- Try annotating a few of your games, both wins and losses, to deepen your understanding of your strategic decisions.
- Experiment with different pawn structures during training games to understand when to push pawns for maximum impact.
Overall, you're making steady progress – keep up the great work and continue learning from each game!
Looking forward to your continued improvement and exciting games ahead.
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| samayraina | 44W / 6L / 0D | View Games |
| Eric Rosen | 5W / 15L / 1D | View Games |
| Vidit Gujrathi | 4W / 10L / 0D | View Games |
| Vidit Gujrathi | 2W / 7L / 0D | View Games |
| Harshal Patil | 2W / 3L / 0D | View Games |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1879 | |||
| 2023 | 2006 | |||
| 2022 | 1954 | 1176 | ||
| 2021 | 1988 | 2237 | 1927 | |
| 2020 | 2121 | 1789 | ||
| 2019 | 1576 | |||
| 2018 | 1501 | |||
| 2017 | 1582 | |||
| 2016 | 1371 | 1661 | ||
| 2014 | 1499 | 1759 | ||
| 2012 | 1327 | |||
| 2011 | 1901 | 1365 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0W / 0L / 0D | 1W / 2L / 0D | 68.7 |
| 2023 | 5W / 1L / 1D | 5W / 3L / 0D | 68.4 |
| 2022 | 3W / 2L / 0D | 4W / 1L / 0D | 33.8 |
| 2021 | 29W / 36L / 5D | 40W / 36L / 1D | 71.8 |
| 2020 | 20W / 16L / 0D | 19W / 18L / 1D | 48.0 |
| 2019 | 1W / 0L / 0D | 2W / 1L / 0D | 57.0 |
| 2018 | 1W / 2L / 0D | 0W / 0L / 0D | 52.7 |
| 2017 | 1W / 0L / 0D | 1W / 4L / 0D | 51.8 |
| 2016 | 1W / 2L / 0D | 0W / 1L / 0D | 58.0 |
| 2014 | 2W / 4L / 0D | 4W / 3L / 1D | 63.3 |
| 2012 | 1W / 1L / 0D | 1W / 1L / 0D | 35.5 |
| 2011 | 16W / 10L / 0D | 19W / 4L / 0D | 57.8 |
Openings: Most Played
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Defense | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Nimzo-Indian Defense | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Barnes Defense | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Modern | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Petrov's Defense | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| KGA: Bishop's Gambit, Bledow, 4.Bxd5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| English Opening: Carls-Bremen System | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caro-Kann Defense | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| English Opening: Four Knights System, Nimzowitsch Variation | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.7% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.0% |
| English Opening: Drill Variation | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Réti Opening | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Hastings Variation | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Unknown | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Alekhine Defense | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Budapest: 3.d5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Catalan Opening | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Daily Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Modern Bc4 Variation | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| QGD: 6.Nf3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| English Opening | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Amar Gambit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 23 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 30.4% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 71.4% |
| Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 54.5% |
| English Opening: Symmetrical Variation | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 66.7% |
| Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 44.4% |
| Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 37.5% |
| Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 66.7% |
| English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 50.0% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 7 | 1 |
| Losing | 9 | 0 |