Ruben Gideon Köllner: The Man Behind The_Machine04
Ruben Gideon Köllner, known online as The_Machine04, is an International Master with a FIDE title, a username that implies at least three earlier machines are still in beta testing, and one of the most relentless blitz schedules on the internet. Since arriving in 2020 he has played well over 20,000 rated games, and his blitz record alone reads 5,573 wins, 4,250 losses and 1,063 draws. The machine does not rest. The machine queues.
His preferred format is blitz, where his peak rating crossed the mythical 3000 barrier: 3013 (2026-10-05). A respectable number for someone who, judging by the games, is often awake at hours when respectable people are not.
The Grind: Six Years of Showing Up
Köllner debuted online in April 2020 and has essentially not stopped since. The most impressive stat is not any single number but the sheer volume: hundreds of games per month, year after year, punctuated by a 48-game winning streak and a humbler 18-game losing streak, proof that even machines occasionally need a firmware update.
The full arc of the grind, documented with the loving detail it deserves:
The Repertoire: d4 Now and Forever
As White, Ruben plays 1.d4 with religious devotion. e4 appears roughly once per solar eclipse. His core weapons are the Colle System, where the line with 3...Bf5 wins nearly two-thirds of his bullet games, and the London System Poisoned Pawn, whose preparation in his files arrives mysteriously pre-redacted. Menacing. He also experiments with the Amar Gambit, a line so chaotic that his bishop has legally consumed a rook on h8, and the Australian Defense, because every repertoire needs a kangaroo.
As Black, he is a loyal soldier of the Czech Defense, played nearly 2,000 times in bullet with a genuinely winning record, and the Philidor Defense, played over 1,500 times in blitz with results he does not discuss at dinner parties. A taste of the Czech setup in action:
Nemesis Files
Every hero needs villains, and Ruben keeps a detailed dossier. His most frequent rival is Aakash Sharadchandra Dalvi, met 123 times at a 53-60 scoreline, a genuine coin flip stretched across years. Then there is Egor Baskakov, who owns him 47 losses to 17 wins, a deficit Ruben addresses by playing him again. And again.
Worst of all is Manu David: 13 wins against 47 losses. Somewhere around game 35, one imagines a heartfelt conversation about screen time. For balance, javier exists as a bright spot: 39 wins, 25 losses, zero draws, because apparently draws are for people with empathy.
Style and Habits
- Certified night owl: his win rate peaks near 70 percent in the 1 a.m. hour, making him the most dangerous thing on the internet after midnight besides your own decisions.
- endgame monster: 88 percent of his games reach the endgame, where he grinds wins averaging 87 moves. His losses average 101 moves, so even when you beat him, he makes you finish your homework.
- Comeback artist: roughly 85 percent of his wins involve climbing out of a lost position. Opponents are advised to keep celebrating until the point is actually credited.
- Rook enthusiast: his most common checking piece is the rook, by an enormous margin. The rook checks. The rook always checks.
- Cold blooded: a very low tilt factor suggests he does not rage-quit. He simply queues again, calmly, forever.
- Scheduled violence: first capture comes around move 8, because bloodshed should be planned, not spontaneous.
The Bottom Line
Ruben Gideon Köllner is what happens when an International Master decides that talent is negotiable but attendance is mandatory. Six years, tens of thousands of games, one 3000 blitz peak, and a username that drastically undersells the workload. If The_Machine04 appears in your lobby, check your clock, check your ego, and above all, watch the rook.