Ante Brkic: The Slavonian Grandmaster of Blitz
From Slavonia to the Digital Board
Ante Brkic, known online as Slavonac1988, is a FIDE Grandmaster whose username tells you everything about his roots. The "Slavonac" part is a nod to Slavonia, the Croatian region he proudly represents, and "1988" marks the year he entered the world. While he earned his GM title through serious over the board play, his online presence reveals a lifelong love affair with the blitz clock.
With a preferred time control of blitz and hundreds of games logged in recent years, Brkic has become one of the most active high rated blitz warriors on the platform. His blitz graph reads like a comeback story, rising from a solid 2063 in 2010 to a breathtaking peak of 2867 (2026-08-31) in 2026.
A Repertoire Built for Speed
Despite the rapid pacing, Brkic's opening choices are surprisingly classical. As Black, he frequently turns to the Caro-Kann Defense, where his results in the Exchange Variation have been a coin flip, but the mainline Caro-Kann has been far kinder with a nearly 70 percent win rate. As White, he favors 1.e4 and enjoys aggressive setups like the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, where he scores 70 percent against unsuspecting opponents.
His love for the Sicilian Defense is evident across all time controls, and in rapid play he has also tackled the Ruy Lopez with mixed results. The opening chart below shows where his biggest successes and struggles live.
Familiar Foes on the Virtual Board
No online grind is complete without familiar faces. His most frequent rival is JOVELJIC1999, a 10 game saga where Brkic holds a 6 to 4 edge. He has also developed a spicy rivalry with Leon Livaic, who has managed three wins and three draws against him. Against krujjster he owns a strong 5 to 2 record, while opponents like Simca1100 and Maksym Pankiv have yet to solve him, as he holds perfect 4 to 0 records against each.
The Comeback King
Brkic's tactical awareness is remarkable. He wins nearly 88 percent of his games after falling behind, and he still wins 52 percent of the time even after losing a piece. His White win rate sits at 58.51 percent, his Black win rate at 49.21 percent, and his one sided loss rate is a minuscule 1.26 percent.
Sundays are clearly his day, with a 70.97 percent win rate, and his peak hour is 11:00, when he wins 68.57 percent of the time. He also holds a long winning streak of 11 games, proof that when he gets rolling, few can stop him.
Fun Facts from the Data
- His longest winning streak is 11 games, while his longest losing streak is 9, a testament to his willingness to keep fighting.
- He prefers to grind out endgames, with an endgame frequency of 88.56 percent and an average first capture on move 6.6.
- His average winning game lasts about 83 moves, so patience is very much part of the plan.
- He has delivered checkmate only five times in recorded data, preferring to win through slow positional pressure.
- In a tiny bullet sample from 2010, he won all three games, including a flawless outing with the Dory Defense.