Mihnea-George Coman (sahist07): FIDE Candidate Master of Bullet Chess
Mihnea-George Coman, known to the online chess world as sahist07, is a FIDE Candidate Master who treats bullet chess less like a time control and more like a lifestyle. He debuted online in November 2017 with a rating in the mid-900s, and since then he has logged more than 13,000 games, the overwhelming majority of them at lightning speed. The road from sub-1000 beginner to a peak bullet rating north of 2800 is one of the better climbing stories in online chess, and he walked it while opening with moves that make opening theory textbooks weep.
The Bullet Odyssey
Bullet is home turf: 4,903 wins, 3,923 losses, and 698 draws, with most games decided not when a king falls but when a clock flatlines. In his world, time is the real king. The climb was relentless: past 2000 by early 2018, over 2300 by the summer of 2018, 2600 by late 2021, and a peak of 2849 (2026-07-15) in July 2026. His blitz play is nearly as menacing, topping out at 2779, and he once ripped off a 9-0 rapid run to touch 2220, presumably just to prove he can also beat people slowly.
An Opening Repertoire Built to Confuse
This is where things get gloriously weird. His most played bullet opening is the Barnes Defense, the infamous 1...f6, arguably the least respectable reply to 1.e4 ever played at scale, and he has deployed it more than 1,500 times with a winning record. f6 has never had a better lawyer. Around it orbit the Nimzo-Larsen Attack (1.b3) played another 1,300 times, the cheeky Amar Gambit, the Döry Defense, the Australian Defense, the Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit, and a Colle line featuring a Rhamphorhynchus Variation that sounds like a pterodactyl and occasionally bites like one. Opponents sit down expecting theory and get an ornithology lesson instead.
Exhibit A, the Barnes Defense in the wild:
Style: The Endgame Marathoner
More than 80% of his games reach an endgame, his wins average around 81 moves, and his first capture typically lands near move 8. Translation: he is patient, grinds small advantages, and will happily out-walk you in the final miles. He resigns early in only 1.67% of games, so if you beat him, plan to actually finish the job. He converts 86% of his comeback chances, wins roughly half of his games even after dropping a piece, and posts a tilt factor of 10 out of 100, which is about as flammable as a wet towel.
The 3 AM Monster
His best hour of the day is 2 AM, and the data backs the stereotype: a perfect win rate in the small 2 AM sample, a robust 67% at 3 AM, and a crash to 36% by 4 AM, at which point the dragon wins. Accepting a bullet challenge from him after midnight is a coin flip wearing a trench coat. Curiously, when the rating stakes disappear he somehow gets sharper, with casual results running about 15 points ahead of his rated ones.
Rivals, Nemesis, and One Roach
Every grinder keeps a ledger, and his is colorful. Mylight96 is his most frequent dance partner at 52 meetings, with the head-to-head razor thin at 23 wins against 27. javier has also nudged ahead across 47 games. In the win column, he does the walking against Never_walk_alone (18-6-6) and has stepped on lost_tomato 22 times against 14 losses. The true nemesis is LadyCockroach, who leads 18 to 8, proof that even Candidate Masters have kryptonite, and that this particular kryptonite has antennae.
Quick Facts and Quirks
- FIDE title: Candidate Master (CM)
- Preferred time control: bullet, emphatically
- Peak bullet: 2849 (2026-07-15) (July 2026)
- Peak blitz: 2779 (2026-05-03) (May 2026)
- Longest winning streak: 25 games
- Longest losing streak: 10 games, avenged shortly after
- Most common checking piece: the queen, naturally
- Official stance on resigning: technically possible, rarely exercised