Esteban Murillo (Teba49) - FIDE Master
Esteban Murillo, known online as Teba49, is a FIDE Master and a modern bullet specialist. Agile on the clock and relentless on the board, Esteban built a reputation for rapid tactical strikes and deep opening preparation. This biography highlights his journey, signature openings, notable streaks, and a few quirks that make him memorable.
Career Highlights
Esteban rose through fast online play to earn the FIDE Master title. He prefers Bullet chess and has repeatedly shown elite form in that time control, with a string of strong finishes and peak performances in late 2025 and early 2026.
- Title: FIDE Master - known for speed and precision.
- Preferred time control: Bullet - the arena where Esteban shines.
- Notable peak moment: 2438 (2025-10-14) in October 2025.
- Remarkable streaks: a longest winning streak of 30 games and a current winning streak that recently reached 9.
For a quick visual of his trajectory in Bullet play see this summary chart.
Playing Style and Openings
Esteban is a tactician at heart but he also loves rich opening battles. He often steers games into sharp, complex positions that reward quick calculation and nerve. He tends to finish long decisive games, so expect long move counts and dramatic time scrambles.
- Favorite defenses as Black: French Defense and the Dory Defense.
- As White he frequently faces and thrives in closed pawn structures like the Sicilian Defense: Closed systems.
- Top opening performances include strong win rates in the French Defense: Exchange Variation and the Sicilian Defense: Closed.
Memorable Games and Moments
Esteban has left a trail of exciting bullet finishes and comeback victories. Below is a sample game link and a short replay to enjoy a flavor of his play.
- Classic online clash: An exciting bullet finish
- Replay snippet:
Personality and Offboard Notes
Online, Esteban mixes ice-cold calculation with a mischievous sense of humor. He is known to trash talk with emojis and then deliver a textbook endgame technique. Off the board he collects odd opening names and once tried to convince friends that the Dory Defense was named after a fish.
- Nickname: Teba49 - the handle most opponents remember after a blunder is punished.
- Quirk: Very high early resignation rate followed by deep endgame knowledge.
- Best time of day to catch him online: early morning, around 06:00 according to his play logs.
Further Reading and Opponents
Esteban has faced many regular rivals online. A few frequent opponents include aloisiof and seeyoukitty. If you want to explore more of his games, start by searching those matchups or follow his peak Bullet run in late 2025.
- Top frequent opponents: aloisiof, seeyoukitty, PARHAM_2019
- Explore openings and terms: French Defense, Sicilian Defense: Closed
Quick Facts for Search Engines
Esteban Murillo Teba49 chess biography FIDE Master Bullet specialist French Defense Sicilian Defense online blitz and bullet games peak 2025 2026 tactical player openings performance.