Meet Sandokan, Tiger of the 64 Squares
Sandokan, known on the boards as Sandokan_1, has been a fixture of online chess since 2009. The name calls to mind a fictional pirate prince, but this Sandokan conquers the 64 squares with the patience of a privateer and the volume of a cargo ship. He has played nearly 47,000 rated games, built a Blitz peak of 2773 (2025-09-16), a Bullet peak of 2647 (2025-10-15), and a Daily peak of 1889 (2026-08-29). His preferred time control may be Daily, but his marathon Blitz schedule suggests he simply never sleeps.
Career Highlights
Sandokan's journey began modestly in 2009 with a Daily rating below 1200. Over the years he has ground his way upward, passing 2,100 in Blitz by 2016, 2,500 by 2021, and eventually touching 2,773 in September 2025.
- Longest winning streak: 27 games
- Longest losing streak: 11 games, after which he always bounced back
- Recorded games analyzed: 46,738, with more than 37,000 in Blitz alone
- Favorite time control on paper: Daily
Signature Rivalries
Every great player needs a familiar face across the board. For Sandokan, that face belongs to nedimneira, who has faced him 220 times and lost 201 of those meetings. It is less a rivalry and more an annual subscription. He also owns a strong head-to-head against hase1973 with 76 wins in 93 games, while opponents like Nenad Purić have turned their series into a genuine fight, with 33 wins, 25 losses, and 13 draws.
Opening Repertoire
With the white pieces, Sandokan is a practical hunter. He leans on flexible queen pawn setups like the Queen's Pawn Game: Torre Attack and the London Poisoned Pawn Variation, and he scores a superb 60% with the Australian Defense. As Black, he is a loyal student of the Modern Defense, playing it more than 4,000 times, and he converts the Caro-Kann Defense into wins 54.6% of the time. His repertoire mixes solid foundations with spicy sidelines, which keeps opponents guessing long after move ten.
Playing Style
Sandokan is a marathon runner in a sprinter's world. His wins average around 80 moves, his endgame frequency is nearly 87%, and he almost never resigns early. When he lands the first check, his win rate climbs to about 57%, and when he gives up material he still finds a way to win half the time. His comeback rate of nearly 88% means a lead against him is never safe, especially after midnight. His best hour is 03:00, where he wins above 62% of his games. Blame the rating, or blame the coffee.