Overview
Evaristo Catombela (TChity) is a tenacious online chess player known for hyperactive time scrambles and an oddly reliable taste for the underdog move. Preferring the breakneck thrill of Bullet, Evaristo combines lightning tactics with surprisingly deep endgame instincts — a recipe that has produced many chaotic wins and a few theatrical losses.
Want a quick picture of the trajectory? Here's a sparkline of Evaristo's Blitz climb over recent years:
Playing Style
Play a few games with TChity and you'll notice a few signatures:
- Fast, practical openings — often choosing fighting, asymmetrical lines to avoid dry draws.
- High endgame frequency: Evaristo takes many games into long, grinding finishes where technique matters.
- Resilient comebacks — an impressive comeback rate suggests he enjoys turning lost causes into memorable victories.
- Occasional early resignations (a quirky concession to time pressure), but when the clock behaves, so does he.
Fun fact for the curious: Evaristo tends to do his best around 15:00 local time — if you want him focused, schedule a match then.
Career Highlights & Milestones
Evaristo has been a steady presence online, accumulating thousands of games across time controls. A few milestones to brag about (modestly):
- Peak Blitz performance: 2240 (2025-10-30) — reached after a sustained hot streak of aggressive play.
- Impressive Rapid peak as well: 2246 (2025-01-02), showing the ability to slow down and calculate under pressure.
- Prefers Bullet as a time control — often chooses it for the adrenaline and the glorious blunders.
These peaks reflect a player who can both blitz through tactics and settle into longer battles when needed.
Favorite Openings
Evaristo's repertoire is eclectic but combative. He frequently rides into battle with:
- Sicilian Defense — a go-to when things need fireworks.
- Australian Defense — comfortable, flexible and often effective.
- Bird Opening (Batavo Gambit) — for when he wants to surprise opponents off the bat.
- QGD lines and Nimzo setups when he wants to grind strategically.
On the Bullet board he favors sharp, practical lines that create problems instantly — a style that fits his preferred time control perfectly.
Streaks, Psychology & Opponents
Chess is as much mental sport as it is board sport. Evaristo's profile shows:
- Longest winning streak: 18 games — an epic run of momentum.
- Longest losing streak: 14 games — yes, the gods of variance visit everyone.
- Compliments and complaints from opponents: his most-played rivals include players like gregor1888 and nik2736, with many rematches producing entertaining score swings. (Try a friendly rivalry with gregor1888!)
Tilt exists — who doesn't get a little grumpy after a string of bad flags? Still, Evaristo's comeback rate is remarkable: he often bounces back when the position looks bleak.
Sample Game & Learning Resources
Want to study Evaristo's style move-by-move? Here's a short illustrative PGN (feel free to load it into a viewer):
For opening study, check these entries:
- Popular lines he plays: Sicilian Defense, Australian Defense, Bird Opening.
- Want to challenge him? Try a long strategic game — he loves endgames and pays the price for sloppy play.
Final Notes
Evaristo Catombela (TChity) is the kind of player who makes every game feel like a short story: some chapters are epics, others end with a comedic pratfall. He’s an excellent opponent for anyone who enjoys tactical fireworks, persistent endgames, and the occasional bullet sprint.
If you want to track his Blitz trend or peak numbers, check the chart and stats above — or send him a challenge and write the next chapter yourself.