William Charpentier

Meet the Grind

William Charpentier, known to opponents everywhere by his username thaltico, is living proof that chess stamina is a real skill. Since his rated debut in October 2017, he has logged roughly 45,000 games and racked up 24,916 blitz wins, and that is before we even discuss his true preferred setting, rapid chess, where he sports a merciless 26-9 record with zero draws. Zero. William does not sign peace treaties.

The Long March

William arrived on the blitz scene in late 2017 rated a humble 1636. Within a single month he was flirting with 2260, and by Christmas he had crossed 2200 while playing hundreds of games a month. That pace has never really let up. He routinely posts months of 400, 600, even 800-plus games, which suggests that either he does not sleep or his clock has been unplugged since 2018.

The marathon finally paid off in February 2026, when he reached a career-high blitz mark of 2583 (2026-02-13). His rapid career followed a similar script in miniature: in July 2023 he played 29 rapid games, won 23 of them, and rocketed from 1856 to his rapid peak of 2249 (2023-07-16).

An 1.e4 Heart, a Gambit-Snatcher's Soul

As White, William opens with 1.e4 with religious devotion. In 2025 alone he played it 3,800 times, against two d4s, one c4, one h3, and a single e3 that an archaeologist should probably carbon-date. That devotion to open play has produced huge sample sizes against everything from the Caro-Kann Defense (1,647 games as White) to the Alekhine, the Scandinavian, and the Accelerated Dragon.

As Black, his calling card is the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, which he has played over 3,000 times. He is also an unapologetic fan of the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, a trap so sneaky it should require a license, and his Czech Defense brick wall has held up at a 59.8% win rate across nearly 1,300 games. His best pet line may be the Alekhine Defense, where he wins over 60% of the time.

The Two Knights, in its natural habitat:

The Comeback Machine

Here is where William becomes genuinely unsettling to play. His comeback rate sits at a monstrous 90.3%, meaning that handing him a losing position is roughly equivalent to handing him a motivational speech. Drop a piece against him and you still only win 46% of the time, because he does not accept defeat until the scoresheet confirms it.

• Endgames appear in about 86% of his games. He grinds, and grinds, and grinds.
• His average win lasts around 76 moves, while his average loss drags on for 89. Even his defeats are exhausting.
• His early resignation rate is under 1%. There is no honor in his flag, only stubbornness.
• One-sided losses happen just 1.09% of the time. If he loses, you earned it in sweat.
• His favorite checking piece is the queen, deployed 41,219 times and counting.

Endgame technique, treadmill cardio, and an unshakeable poker face: that is the thaltico recipe.

Frenemies and Nemesis Files

Every long career has its recurring cast, and William has played some rivals into double centuries. Against Andres Rios he has gone a whopping 98-42-2, and dimych01 has fared almost as poorly at 87-36-6. Gregory Kilishek has also been on the wrong side of an 89-43-17 ledger. Then there is the other column: Kofi Tatum leads the head-to-head 82-51, Bruce Monson is up 103-88, and Asa Hoffmann has taken the series 73-60. Somewhere in those three rivalries lies enough material for a documentary.

For context, his longest winning streak is a tidy 22 games, and his longest losing streak is 13, which for a man who plays 700 games a month is basically a rough Tuesday.

Quirks and Diagnostics

• He is statistically a morning player. His best hour is 9:00 AM, where his win rate climbs to 59.6%. The 6 AM crowd also suffers.
• His tilt factor is a calm 13. Losing streaks bounce off him like blitz games off a wall.
• He beats lower-rated opponents 64.2% of the time, which is the mark of a man who never lets one slide.
• His prep routinely runs seven to eight moves deep, so if you are improvising by move six, good luck.
• The occasional experimental first move (a stray f4, a lone Nf3) is filed under "scientist at work."

The verdict: William Charpentier is a one.e4 lifestyle, a Two Knights scholar, and an endgame machine with the cardio of a marathon runner. Start the clock, offer him a draw at your peril, and absolutely do not take that bishop on c4.