Overview
Inge Sandstad Skrondal, known online as Sandstad, is a FIDE Master and a Blitz specialist who plays like a caffeinated strategist with a soft spot for long endgames. Preferring fast time controls, Sandstad combines tactical alertness with the patience of a marathon runner disguised as a sprinter.
Peak Blitz rating: 2511 (2024-03-19)
Career highlights
- Earned the FIDE Master title and carved a reputation as a dangerous Blitz player.
- Known for dramatic comebacks with a Comeback Rate around 80 percent.
- Consistently strong performance across years shown in rating history. See a compact trend:
- Regular rivalries and repeat matches against popular opponents like Lasse Østebø Løvik.
Playing style
Sandstad favors complicated middlegames and long fights. A few signature traits:
- High endgame frequency. Many games reach deep endgame play.
- Excellent resilience. Win after losing a piece rate about 53 percent.
- Low early resignation rate and a tendency to grind out wins over many moves. Average moves per win around 74.
- Best time of day to play: around 10:00. Peak hourly win rates also show strong midday results.
Favorite openings and performance
Sandstad experiments with sharp and offbeat lines, but a few openings stand out:
- Modern Defense - Pterodactyl Variation (as Black): perfect score in sampled Blitz games. Modern Defense: Pterodactyl Variation
- Sicilian variations (Closed, Accelerated Dragon, Alapin): recurrent and successful choices when playing Black.
- Queen's Gambit Declined - Hastings Variation (as White in Bullet): excellent results.
- Also enjoys gambit play such as the Amar Gambit and Benko structures in faster time controls.
Records, streaks and rivalries
- Longest winning streak: 10 games.
- Longest losing streak: 5 games.
- Current winning streak: 2 games.
- Most-played opponents include lovlas (16 games), gotovusa (9), and dufo (7).
Sample game and study
Explore a memorable encounter versus a frequent rival: Memorable Game
Quick illustrative position (playable PGN):
Extra notes
- Preferred time control: Blitz. Expect fast, creative play and practical risk taking.
- Endgame-focused approach makes many games long and instructive for study.
- For a quick profile peek and head-to-heads, check recent rivals like Lasse Østebø Løvik and gotovusa.
About this profile
This biography highlights Inge Sandstad Skrondal, FIDE Master and Blitz specialist. Keywords for easy discovery: Inge Sandstad Skrondal, Sandstad, FIDE Master, Blitz chess, openings, Modern Pterodactyl, Sicilian.