Andrei Negrean, TheRabbit19: The Bullet-Hopping FIDE Master
Meet the Rabbit
Andrei Negrean, known across the online chess world as TheRabbit19, is a FIDE Master with a simple creed: speed wins. While he holds a serious titled credential, his true kingdom is bullet chess, the frantic format where entire games can end before a classical player finishes pouring coffee.
A Relentless Climb to 3000
Negrean's bullet rating tells a story of obsessive improvement. He began 2025 just above 2100 and spent the year exploding through rating milestones. By June 2026, he reached a career peak of 3001 (2026-06-06), crossing the mythical 3000 mark that only a tiny fraction of online players ever see. His blitz game is nearly as fearsome, peaking at 2904 (2026-05-28).
Volume helped fuel the rise. Negrean routinely plays more than 150 bullet games per month, and his record includes more than 1,000 bullet wins. He once strung together 17 consecutive victories, proof that when the rabbit gets going, the board tends to get messy.
An Opening Repertoire With Teeth
TheRabbit19 does not play boring chess. As Black he loves the Elephant Gambit, an audacious 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 counter that has scored a 66 percent win rate for him in bullet. As White, he leans on the Nimzo-Larsen Attack and a wonderfully absurd system called the Rhamphorhynchus Variation of the Colle. When he wants to be sensible, the Caro-Kann Defense shows up in his data, but not for long.
The opening above is his beloved Elephant Gambit in action: a pawn offered, chaos accepted, and a rabbit-shaped grin on the other side of the screen.
Friends, Foes, and a Personal Nightmare
Nobody escapes the bullet ladder without rivals. Negrean's most active rivalry is with Oleksandr Bortnyk, who has beaten him 15 times out of 16 meetings. That one-sided score is the stuff of nightmares. Against Veronika Shubenkova, however, the rabbit thrives, taking 22 wins from 33 battles. Every rivalry keeps him sharp, and the losses clearly feed the grind.
A Mind Built for Comebacks
Negrean's psychological profile is fascinating. His comeback rate sits at 85 percent, meaning he rarely folds when the position goes wrong. Even after losing a piece, he still wins nearly half his games. He plays his best chess at 10:00, when the board is fresh and the coffee is hot, and his most common checking piece is the rook. That speaks to a player who loves open files, direct attacks, and the sweet sound of a clock flag falling.