Todd Gustafson

Todd Gustafson: The Chessboard Biologist

Meet Todd Gustafson, also known in the chess ecosystem as Toddek, a player whose game evolves much like a finely tuned organism over time. With a tactical awareness sharp enough to make even the most stubborn chess puzzles unfold, Todd demonstrates a remarkable comeback rate of over 80%, proving that resilience is the DNA of his playstyle.

Since 2024, Todd has been steadily increasing his rating across various formats—his bullet rating swam from 466 up to a plankton-crushing 659 in 2025, while his blitz performance jumped from a modest 605 in 2024 to a robust 770 the next year. Not to be outdone, his rapid play expanded from a humble 498 to a mighty 740, showing a metamorphosis worthy of the finest biological transformation.

With an impressive endgame frequency of nearly 60%, Todd’s strategy relies on survival of the fittest tactics in the late stages of the game, often outmaneuvering opponents with an average of 58 moves per victorious match. His games are a perfect balance of patience and precision, where every move is a cell division pushing his position to new life.

Opening like a complex genome, Todd prefers the Queen's Pawn Opening and Scandinavian Defense variations, with win rates ranging from the respectable 45% to a dominant 55%, proving adaptability akin to the most versatile species. In daily games, he even boasts a perfect record with the Englund Gambit—a rare gene in the wild world of chess openings.

While Todd’s early resignation rate stays low at 4.1%, his psychological resilience counters tilt factors with a strong 11%, maintaining consistency through the ebb and flow of competitive flux. A white knight in the realm of chess, his white win rate edges out black by a slight but meaningful margin: 51.34% to 48.14%, hinting at a preference for offense that is anything but passive.

Off the chessboard, one might imagine Todd carefully examining the symbiosis between strategy and chance, his mind a chessboard battleground where biology meets brute calculation. In short, Todd Gustafson’s playstyle is both a scientific experiment and a biological marvel—constantly evolving, adapting, and thriving within the complex ecosystem of chess.

“Like a nimble amoeba, he engulfs opportunities, and like the strongest predator, he dominates the field.”