Anna Shukhman: The Online Chess Gladiator Known as Speshka
From 1466 to World-Class Online Ratings
Anna Shukhman, known to her online rivals as Speshka, is a FIDE Woman Grandmaster who has turned internet chess into her personal coliseum. She began her online journey in March 2020 with a modest 1466 rapid rating, a humble starting point for someone who would later rocket past the 2800 mark in both blitz and bullet.
Her preferred time control is rapid, where she can slow down and savor the battle. But the numbers tell a delicious secret: she has played more than 1,800 blitz games, turning the five-minute board into her proving ground. By 2026, her blitz rating peaked at 2844 and her bullet rating reached 2838, an extraordinary climb for a player who started in the 1400s.
A 1.e4 Lover With a Sicilian Soul
Give Anna the white pieces and you can predict her first move with near certainty: 1.e4. She has built her opening repertoire around open, tactical battles, and she loves to punish the Scandinavian Defense and the French Defense with sharp central play. As White she has also scored impressively against the Caro-Kann Defense, grinding out wins in long endgames.
With Black, her heart belongs to the Sicilian Defense in all its variations. The Dragon, the Alapin, the Taimanov: she has tried them all. Her most astonishing result, however, comes in the O'Kelly Variation, where she won 15 out of 15 bullet games as Black. That is not a repertoire, that is a warning sign.
Rivalries and Unfinished Business
No online career is complete without rivals, and Speshka has collected several. Her most frequent dance partner is nissou-ach, against whom she has played 51 games, winning 24, losing 16, and drawing 11. That rivalry could fill a small book by itself.
She has also held the edge over Steven O'Donoghue, winning 14 of their 26 meetings. But every hero has a krypionite. Against German Bazeev, Anna has yet to taste victory, with nine losses and a single draw. Eren Elci has also caused her pain, and Tenergy19 has taken 17 wins from their 29-game series.
The Comeback Queen of the Night
Anna is not just a fast starter; she is a fearsome finisher. Her longest winning streak is a staggering 26 games, and her comeback rate sits at 88.36 percent. Even after losing a piece, she still wins half of her games, which must infuriate her opponents to no end.
She plays her best chess at 4 a.m., which makes her either a night owl or a chess vampire. Her games go deep, with about 84 percent of them reaching an endgame, and decisive battles average around 80 moves. She also loves to give rook checks, with more than 3,000 rook checks recorded in her analyzed games.
Speshka by the Numbers
- 2,404 games analyzed across bullet, blitz, and rapid
- 1,860 blitz games with 952 wins against 711 losses
- 517 bullet games with 294 wins
- 27 rapid games with 17 wins
- Longest winning streak: 26 games
- Longest losing streak: 9 games, followed by an inevitable comeback
- First capture arrives around move 6, so she likes early contact
- She wins 54 percent of her white games and 51 percent of her black games