FIDE Master Maksim Zhukov, aka Smile2005
Maksim Zhukov, who competes online as Smile2005, is a FIDE Master with a serious love for blitz chess. His profile reads like a marathon runner's diary: thousands of games, late night battles, and a peak blitz rating of 2677 (2026-07-18). When there is a question about his preferred time control, the data answers clearly: blitz, and lots of it.
His rating journey from 2020 to 2026 shows a player who keeps coming back, even after rough months.
Opening Repertoire and Playing Style
With the white pieces, Smile2005 almost always starts with 1.Nf3, leading to rich King's Indian Attack structures. He has played the King's Indian Attack more than 1,650 times in blitz, and his white repertoire also features the Hungarian Opening and other tricky setups that keep opponents outside their comfort zone.
As Black, he is loyal to the Scandinavian Defense, playing it in roughly 1,900 blitz games. He also mixes in the Alekhine Defense and the Sicilian Defense, and he is not afraid to test odd lines like the Siberian Attack when the mood strikes.
His games tend to go deep. About 80 percent of his games reach an endgame, and his wins often last 80 moves or more. He rarely resigns early, and his comeback rate is close to 90 percent, meaning a lost position is not lost until the clock says so.
Rivalries and Regular Opponents
No one has faced Smile2005 more often than Viktoriia Kirchei. The two have played 162 blitz games, with stefy02 holding a slight edge: 79 wins, 65 losses, and 18 draws. It is the kind of rivalry that can define a player's Tuesday night.
Other regular opponents include dimasik1326, who has struggled against Zhukov with only 5 wins in 71 games, and huhbala, who has 4 wins in 30 meetings. For some, the Smile2005 matchup is a lesson; for dimasik1326, it has been a seminar.
Key Numbers and Quirks
- Longest winning streak: 15 games
- Longest losing streak: 11 games, proof that even FIDE Masters have bad nights
- Win rate after losing a piece: 43.7 percent, so never assume the game is over
- Best time to play: around 02:00, when the blitz magic apparently kicks in
- White win rate 48 percent, Black win rate 41.9 percent
Against lower rated opponents he wins about 64 percent of the time, while against higher rated players he still manages to take a point about 26 percent of the time. His tilt factor of 11 suggests some occasional frustration, but his 15 game winning streak shows that the smile usually returns.