Tihomir Yanev IM

Tihomir Yanev - International Chess Maestro

Meet Tihomir Yanev, better known on the boards and bytes as TheNextLevelFan. An accomplished International Master, Tihomir plays chess like a grandmaster in training—bold, precise, and sometimes downright sneaky. His journey through the chess universe is marked by a rating rollercoaster that climbed all the way to a blistering blitz peak of 2667 in May 2025, a rapid rating soaring to 2598, and a bullet best at 2617. Clearly, he’s no slouch across any time control, though blitz seems to be his playground of choice.

Style & Strengths

Tihomir's forte is resilience, boasting a whopping 82.95% comeback rate after falling behind—a surely frustrating sight for his opponents. Despite a slightly notorious tilt factor of 10, this player keeps chugging along with a tactical awareness sharper than a knight in a haystack. His endgame frequency is impressively high at 77.83%, meaning he loves battles that go down to the wire.

Those who compete against him may find his reflexes and quick thinking particularly challenging in blitz, where he holds a win-rate topping 51.4% over thousands of games with affairs so secretive they're labeled "Top Secret" openings. Offensively, he pushes with clever use of the Alapin Sicilian Defense and the Closed Sicilian among others, lurking in less conventional territory with a win rate of near-perfect 95.8% in some lines tagged as "Undefined"—a mystery even to chess engines!

Fun Facts & Quirks

• His favorite hour to play and win? 23:00—night owl or midnight strategist?
• Average moves per win hover around a marathon 72 moves, so stamina is definitely on his side.
• Once held a stunning 12-game winning streak, proving that when he’s firing on all cylinders, few can stop him.
• Seems to play well with white pieces, rubbing off a solid 54.11% win rate—maybe white really is his lucky color.

Latest Performances

In his most recent notable clash, Tihomir, playing as TheNextLevelFan, triumphed over opponents like Dima_Horielov and AC130-Ghostrider with wins by resignation and time, displaying both patience and speed. His strategic choice of the French Defense and Sicilian Defense variations shows a preference for classic yet rich positions with room for dynamic tactics.

In Summary

Tihomir Yanev is a fierce competitor on the chessboard, mixing a blend of grit, experience, and a pinch of mystery. Whether blitzing opponents in seconds or grinding out victories over hours, this International Master keeps raising his game to the next level—because boring games are just not his style.