Zahar Efimenko: Ukrainian Grandmaster, One Letter From Sugar
Zahar Efimenko, known across the online chess world by his username Saxar85, is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster whose handle sits exactly one keystroke away from the word for sugar. Sweet username, sharper moves. A FIDE-titled grandmaster with a deep classical pedigree, he has carried his over-the-board craft into the fast lanes of internet chess, where his blitz rating has peaked at 2818 (2024-10-01), a number that politely asks opponents to reconsider hitting the challenge button.
Champion Before He Could Shave
Born in 1985, as the username cheerfully confesses, Efimenko made his name early, winning the World Under-16 Championship and earning the grandmaster title while still a teenager. He grew up inside Ukraine's famously stacked chess generation and has spent decades trading blows with elite company. The stats suggest the engine of improvement never stopped humming: hundreds of rated games, an 8-game winning streak on the books, and a serious appetite for long, grinding battles.
The Online Grinder
By volume, blitz is where Saxar85 does most of his damage, though his profile flags bullet as his preferred format, and his bullet peak climbed north of 2600, proof the hands are as quick as the ideas. The curve below shows a veteran who simply refuses to drift out of form.
Zero Early Resignations, One Iron Will
The stat sheet reads like a motivational poster. His early resignation rate is a flat zero, and his one-sided loss rate is zero too, so every defeat was at least earned the hard way. Nearly 90% of his games march into an endgame, where his technique collects rent, and his comeback rate sits at 89%. Even after losing material he still wins more often than he loses. Victories average around 76 moves, because a grandmaster never rushes a good squeeze.
Openings With Vintage Charm
His repertoire blends offbeat and classical like a well-aged wine. With Black he steers into the Modern Defense, scoring over 60% in blitz, and deploys the Czech Defense, a hipster special he wins with nearly 77% of the time. For the overly trusting there is the Blackburne Shilling Gambit. With White he favors 1.g3 and the Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit, sprinkles in the King's Indian Attack, and reaches for the Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation when sharper stuff is on the menu.
A taste of the Czech setup he keeps in the fridge:
The Eljanov File
Countryman rivalries hit different. Efimenko's most played online opponent is fellow Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov, Pavel Eljanov, with 21 encounters on record. The head-to-head currently leans Eljanov's way, but a man with a zero early resignation policy does not consider any book closed. The rematch tour continues.
Quirks, Habits, and 9 AM Kills
- Tuesday is his best day, a 60% win rate. Thursday, under 34%, is clearly for tea and emotional recovery.
- His best hour is 9 AM, backed by a perfect record and a tiny sample size, so breakfast chess may be the true secret weapon.
- The queen is his favorite checking piece with over 450 deliveries, and he lands the first check in nearly 63% of his games. Aggression, delivered politely.
- Longest winning streak: 8 games. Current streak: 1 and ticking.
- Against evenly rated opposition his ledger reads all wins and no losses, which is either total dominance or excellent scheduling.
The Squeeze Continues
Whether he is out-grinding rivals in rook endings, baiting traps with the Blackburne Shilling, or trotting out a Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit nobody prepared for, Zahar Efimenko remains must-see chess: a classical Ukrainian grandmaster with a gambiteer's heart, a grinder's patience, and a username that keeps things sweet.