Ioan Rees - The_Straightforward_Rook
FIDE Master | Chess.com Warrior Extraordinaire
Meet Ioan Rees, a FIDE Master who wields his pieces with such precision that opponents often suspect a secret robotic hand guiding the rook! With a handle as direct as his chess moves — The_Straightforward_Rook — Ioan combines tactical insight with infectious determination.
Ioan's chess journey is a rollercoaster of brilliance and relentless drive. His peak blitz rating soared to a remarkable 2598 in July 2024, while his rapid and bullet performances also hover near the upper 2400s, proving he can both calculate deeply and blitz through tricky positions faster than you can say "checkmate".
Over thousands of games, Ioan boasts an impressive blitz win record, with over 1800 victories and a fighting spirit evident in his ability to bounce back: an eye-popping 83.76% comeback rate when facing adversity. Losses? Barely a blip, with just a fraction of games decided by one-sided disasters (less than 1%!).
Known for his love of the King's Pawn Opening and sneaky adventures in the Queens Gambit Declined and Caro Kann Defense, Ioan is no stranger to delivering tactical fireworks. His games often span long battles, averaging about 76 moves per win — because who wants a quickie when you can mastermind a lengthy siege?
Ioan's psychological endurance is legendary, with a low tilt factor of 11 (chess players beware: don't mess with the calmness of this rook!). The best time to catch Ioan dominating the board? Early morning at 5 am — clearly a chess wizard who wakes up while others snooze, ready to conquer.
Recent Highlights:
- Perfect Monthly Daily Record: A flawless 9-0 in July 2023, reminiscent of a rook slicing effortlessly through opposition ranks.
- Epic Wins Against Strong Competition: Just days ago, Ioan clinched a sharp win using the French Defense, outmaneuvering a 2523-rated opponent on time — proving skill isn't just about material, it's about clock savvy too.
- Master of Momentum: Holding a longest winning streak of 16 games, and a penchant for turning the tide after losing material.
Whether it’s blitz, rapid, or bullet, Ioan Rees is a player who embodies persistence, sharp intuition, and a straight shot to victory — just like the rook in his username. Expect precise attacks, strategic defenses, and a dash of humor in the face of checkmate.
Follow The_Straightforward_Rook, because when Ioan's on the board, every move counts, and every game is a lesson in chess mastery... with a wink!
“Straightforward? Maybe. Ruthless? Definitely.”
Coaching Feedback for Ioan Rees
Hi Ioan, you've showcased notable skill and tenacity in your recent games, with several impressive wins against strong opposition. Here are some focused observations and suggestions to help elevate your play further:
Strengths
- Opening Preparation: Your choice of openings and understanding of key ideas—such as the Kings Indian Attack and the Italian Game—are solid. You are comfortable with dynamic pawn structures and demonstrating initiative early on.
- Calculations and Tactics: You found several strong tactical continuations, including sharp exchanges and forcing moves that led to gains in material or decisive attack. Your ability to spot tactics under the clock pressure is excellent.
- Endgame Technique: In some matches, you capitalized well on small advantages and put pressure on your opponents patiently.
Areas for Improvement
- Time Management: In a couple of games, your clock times indicate some rushed decisions in the middle game. Try to balance speed and accuracy, especially in critical positions. Utilize occasional pauses to reassess the position and avoid errors.
- Defensive Awareness: Your losses sometimes stemmed from missing opponent threats, especially mating nets or unexpected tactical resources. Continue practicing tactics and pattern recognition to boost your board vision.
- Positional Judgement: Occasionally, exchanges or piece placements allowed your opponents counterplay or freed their pieces. Work on deepening your positional strategic evaluation, such as which pieces to exchange and when to simplify or maintain tension.
Practical Suggestions
- Review your losses with an engine and identify recurring tactical motifs or positional imbalances that led to problems.
- Play slow games and focus on carefully thinking about candidate moves and counting opponent threats.
- Work on mastering key endgame positions and typical plans from your preferred openings.
- Analyze your winning games too, to understand what worked well—this strengthens positive habits.
Next Steps
Consistency is key from here. Use your strong opening repertoire as a springboard, and improve your middle-game calculation and positional understanding to turn more games in your favor.
Keep up the great work, and happy training!
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Recent Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| sankhanilpaul | 1W / 1L / 1D | |
| haddrian | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| abysmalintelligence | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| alex_supernova | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2374 | 2604 | 2410 | 1693 |
| 2024 | 2392 | 2502 | 2433 | 1825 |
| 2023 | 2358 | 2384 | 2456 | 1904 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 183W / 139L / 42D | 181W / 158L / 35D | 79.8 |
| 2024 | 497W / 395L / 77D | 410W / 453L / 104D | 80.8 |
| 2023 | 720W / 548L / 131D | 652W / 599L / 129D | 80.1 |
Openings: Most Played
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caro-Kann Defense | 193 | 85 | 86 | 22 | 44.0% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 145 | 76 | 55 | 14 | 52.4% |
| Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack | 129 | 61 | 57 | 11 | 47.3% |
| Grünfeld Defense: Counterthrust Variation | 112 | 55 | 48 | 9 | 49.1% |
| Amazon Attack | 111 | 45 | 51 | 15 | 40.5% |
| French Defense | 104 | 51 | 45 | 8 | 49.0% |
| Diemer-Duhm Gambit (DDG): 4...f5 | 101 | 48 | 36 | 17 | 47.5% |
| Bogo-Indian Defense | 97 | 49 | 40 | 8 | 50.5% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation | 86 | 48 | 27 | 11 | 55.8% |
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 85 | 50 | 28 | 7 | 58.8% |
| Daily Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caro-Kann Defense | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 57.9% |
| Unknown | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 72.7% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 55.6% |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Berlin Wall | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 75.0% |
| QGD: 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Australian Defense | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 87.5% |
| French Defense | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 85.7% |
| Scotch Game | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| Barnes Defense | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation | 80 | 32 | 40 | 8 | 40.0% |
| Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit | 62 | 39 | 21 | 2 | 62.9% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 55 | 23 | 30 | 2 | 41.8% |
| King's Indian Attack | 46 | 19 | 23 | 4 | 41.3% |
| Australian Defense | 32 | 12 | 17 | 3 | 37.5% |
| Modern | 29 | 11 | 16 | 2 | 37.9% |
| Amar Gambit | 28 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 50.0% |
| King's Indian Attack: French Variation | 26 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 46.1% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 22 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 54.5% |
| Döry Defense | 17 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 35.3% |
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diemer-Duhm Gambit (DDG): 4...f5 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 71.4% |
| French Defense | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60.0% |
| Grünfeld Defense: Counterthrust Variation | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80.0% |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Berlin Wall | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.0% |
| Amazon Attack | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.7% |
| French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Chistyakov Defense | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Australian Defense | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.7% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Bogo-Indian Defense | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.7% |
| Nimzo-Indian Defense | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.7% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 16 | 4 |
| Losing | 11 | 0 |