Avatar of Alexander Ipatov

Alexander Ipatov GM

Username: TheGadfly1897

Location: Saint Louis

Playing Since: 2013-02-11 (Active)

Wow Factor: ♟♟♟♟

Chess.com

Rapid: 2561
77W / 7L / 11D
Blitz: 2844
382W / 247L / 85D
Bullet: 2879
84W / 69L / 24D

Alexander Ipatov - The Grandmaster Enigma

Known in the chess world as TheGadfly1897, Alexander Ipatov is a Grandmaster whose moves can sting as sharply as his nickname might suggest. Since earning the prestigious GM title from FIDE, Alexander has dazzled opponents with a blend of tactical wizardry and endgame tenacity that few can match.

Career Highlights & Style

Alexander’s peak blitz rating soared to a jaw-dropping 2935 in August 2019, proving his prowess in fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled encounters. Bullet chess? No problem. He hit an impressive peak of 2744 in December 2019, showing lightning-fast reflexes and a knack for making the right sacrifices at exactly the right moment.

Rapid and daily games also show versatility, with a rapid peak near 2773. His endgame skills shine, and he tends to outlast opponents, averaging almost 76 moves per win – that’s a marathon, not a sprint. Early resignation among opponents is rare when they face him, because he’s known for clawing back lost ground with a comeback rate exceeding 82%. So if you think you’ve got him on the ropes, think again!

Record & Rivalries

With a career win rate that often leans heavily towards his favor—especially against his most frequent opponent, thenomnomfactor (winning approximately 91% of their clashes)—Alexander's consistency is remarkable. And while losses and draws come with the territory, his psychological resilience (tilt factor of 8) hints that the brainy grandmaster rarely lets setbacks hold him down for long.

The Most Memorable Moments

The latest feather in his cap includes a ruthless checkmate on November 18, 2024, where his precise calculation and relentless pressure overwhelmed his opponent in a Queens Indian Defense.

Of course, even the mighty have their off days – his most recent loss was by resignation against a crafty adversary, showing even grandmasters have to bow out gracefully from time to time.

Fun Facts About Alexander

  • Has an unbeatable streak reaching 24 consecutive wins—talk about a hot streak!
  • Loves playing around 1 PM, when his win rate is a perfect 100% (or so the data says).
  • Prefers white slightly more, winning nearly 58% of games as White, but don’t count him out when playing Black, where he wins above 53% too.
  • Some say he has a “Top Secret” opening repertoire — mostly played with great success!

To watch Alexander in action is to witness a blend of art, science, and a pinch of mischief—all wrapped up in one enigmatic chess Grandmaster. Whether you’re an aspiring player or a casual fan, keep an eye on TheGadfly1897; he’s always buzzing around the board, ready to surprise and delight.


Coach's Avatar

Hi Alexander, here’s a tailored performance review based on your latest Blitz (3 | 0) streak.

1. High-impact strengths

  • Dynamic piece play. Your willingness to sacrifice material for activity (e.g. ...b5! and ...c5! breaks) often catches opponents off-guard and produced several miniature wins such as the Queens-Indian crush vs coryives.
  • Instinctive Initiative handling. Once you seize the tempo you convert quickly – 75 % of the games where you were up the exchange ended within six moves.
  • Practical time usage. You routinely keep 20-40 s vs. near-flag opponents, converting technical positions (see the rook ending against Lev Yankelevich).

2. Recurrent trouble spots

  • Early-development concessions. Both recent losses with your experimental Caro-Kann line (2…Na6 & 3…g6) stemmed from skipping ...d5 or ...e5, leaving the king in the centre and the c6-knight undeveloped. Consider switching to the more solid 2…d5 systems until you’ve analysed the sideline deeper.
  • Pawn-storm defence vs. h-pawn pushes. Three defeats began with h4–h5-h6 versus your Modern setups. You often replied with ..Ne7-g8 or ..Bf8 but never struck in the centre. Study model games by Grischuk/Krasenkow where ...c5 or ...e5 punish the advance.
  • Overlooking quiet resources when ahead. In the loss to Roman Yankovsky you were a pawn up but rejected trades, allowed ♕e4–h4, and collapsed. Aim to “cash-out” more often; when Stockfish shows −2 in endgames, simplify.

3. Opening menu – targeted tweaks

ColourCurrent main lineSuggested add-onRationale
WhiteCatalan + London-style setupsBenko-style gambit vs. ...c5 (already testing!)You score 63 % in open pawn structures; deepen theory from moves 1-10 to avoid early clock burn.
Black (1.e4)Modern / Pirc with ...Na6Classical Pirc (…Nf6, …Bg7, …d6, …O-O)Keeps the dynamic feel you like but fixes the c6-knight issue and removes early Qa4+ tactics.
Black (1.d4)Bogo-Indian / Slav hybridsPure Slav (...d5 ...c6 ...Bf5 line)Gives a safe fallback when opponents sidestep your Bogo family.

4. Endgame conversion checklist

  1. Activate the king immediately once queens leave (missed vs. Omid-Khaledi on move 18).
  2. Default to the “outside passer” plan rather than hunting pawns one-by-one.
  3. Use counting: before pawn races run a three-move visualisation – you lost a drawn RB vs RN ending after mis-counting tempi.

5. Training menu for the next two weeks

  • 15 min/day: solve defensive puzzles rated 2700–3000 with the filter “King safety”.
  • Review 10 model games in the Classical Pirc (Gurevich 1993-2005) to internalise typical pawn breaks.
  • Play four 10 | 0 games vs. engines set to 2600 and practice “simplify when winning” decisions.

6. Momentum tracking

0123456789121314151617181920212223100%0%Hour of Day
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun100%0%Day of Week

7. Quick reference PGN (best recent attack)


8. Motivation snapshot

Your rating is trending upward (current Blitz peak: 2935 (2019-08-10)) and you posted a 5-game winning streak in today’s session. Clean up the early middlegame vulnerabilities and 2800+ will follow soon.

Keep the pieces coordinated and the ideas flowing — looking forward to your next leap!



🆚 Opponent Insights

Most Played Opponents
Jonah Willow 18W / 32L / 7D
Marc Arnold 8W / 8L / 11D
Craig Hilby 20W / 0L / 2D
Jan-Krzysztof Duda 6W / 13L / 3D
kaphrep 6W / 6L / 9D

Rating

Year Bullet Blitz Rapid Daily
2025 2844
2024 2776
2021 2839 2773
2020 2729 2773 2631
2019 2719 2859 2356 800
2018 2544 2747 2467
2017 2541 2706 2467
2016 2393
2014 2448
2013 2476 2297 1893 2200
Rating by Year20132014201620172018201920202021202420252859800YearRatingBulletBlitzRapidDaily

Stats by Year

Year White Black Moves
2025 22W / 16L / 5D 22W / 15L / 5D 86.1
2024 18W / 14L / 6D 15W / 20L / 2D 79.9
2021 17W / 13L / 4D 17W / 13L / 1D 89.8
2020 62W / 19L / 18D 58W / 31L / 11D 76.0
2019 85W / 56L / 23D 66W / 69L / 21D 89.2
2018 9W / 9L / 2D 8W / 9L / 3D 86.0
2017 22W / 10L / 5D 25W / 8L / 3D 76.1
2016 0W / 0L / 0D 1W / 0L / 0D 40.0
2014 2W / 0L / 0D 2W / 0L / 0D 86.0
2013 69W / 15L / 13D 64W / 21L / 10D 75.2

Openings: Most Played

Blitz Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Barnes Defense 92 59 30 3 64.1%
Australian Defense 83 42 35 6 50.6%
Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation 42 20 13 9 47.6%
Diemer-Duhm Gambit (DDG): 4...f5 33 23 9 1 69.7%
Caro-Kann Defense 22 12 8 2 54.5%
Modern 20 8 9 3 40.0%
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Duchamp Variation 19 11 7 1 57.9%
Bogo-Indian Defense 18 9 7 2 50.0%
Gruenfeld: Exchange Variation 18 9 5 4 50.0%
Slav Defense: Bonet Gambit 15 8 4 3 53.3%
Rapid Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Nimzo-Larsen Attack 12 12 0 0 100.0%
Caro-Kann Defense 8 8 0 0 100.0%
Australian Defense 5 2 3 0 40.0%
English Opening: Anglo-Grünfeld Defense 5 4 0 1 80.0%
Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation 4 4 0 0 100.0%
Four Knights Game 4 3 0 1 75.0%
Döry Defense 3 2 1 0 66.7%
Modern Defense 3 2 1 0 66.7%
Barnes Defense 3 2 1 0 66.7%
Slav Defense: Bonet Gambit 3 2 0 1 66.7%
Bullet Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation 36 10 21 5 27.8%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack 24 14 6 4 58.3%
Barnes Defense 17 10 3 4 58.8%
Amar Gambit 14 5 8 1 35.7%
Australian Defense 9 5 4 0 55.6%
Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit 6 2 1 3 33.3%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation 6 3 3 0 50.0%
Modern 5 3 1 1 60.0%
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation 3 0 3 0 0.0%
East Indian Defense 3 2 0 1 66.7%
Daily Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Barnes Opening: Walkerling 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack 1 1 0 0 100.0%

🔥 Streaks

Streak Longest Current
Winning 24 1
Losing 8 0