Meet ufish
The player behind the handle ufish (display name xxx xxx) is one of the most active online Blitz warriors you will ever find. With more than 100,000 rated games on the books, and the vast majority played in Blitz, ufish turns volume into skill. This is a player who once played over 2,200 games in a single month and still came back for more.
Career Arc
ufish first appeared on the Blitz ladder in October 2013, starting at 1323 and passing 2000 within weeks. From there the climb became a long, grinding ascent. The chart below tells the story of a player who refuses to stay down.
Peak Blitz rating came in April 2024 at 2597 (2024-04-23), while bullet reached 2525 (2022-02-07) in early 2022. Not bad for an account that began with a triple digit rating.
Playing Style
ufish is a 1.e4 player through and through. The data shows a nearly religious commitment to king pawn openings, with games that regularly stretch past 80 moves. This is not a quick-click-and-hope player. The average first capture arrives around move 7, and the check count per game is remarkably consistent. Deliver the first check and the win rate jumps to nearly 55 percent, but allow the opponent to check first and the number drops below 42 percent. First contact matters.
White win rate sits at 52.4 percent, while Black win rate is 46.3 percent. The comeback rate is a healthy 78.6 percent, and even a 12 game losing streak has not stopped the constant returning to the board.
Opening Repertoire
If you want to know what ufish will play, just look at the opening chart. The Sicilian Defense dominates the white pieces, and the Najdorf Variation is a recurring black weapon.
- As White: over 18,000 games in the Sicilian Defense Closed system, scoring 55 percent. The Italian Game with the Two Knights Defense also appears more than 4,000 times.
- As Black: the Najdorf Variation appears over 6,000 times, and the Caro-Kann Defense is a frequent companion.
- A typical Najdorf start:
Rivalries
No bio of ufish is complete without the rivals. No one has faced ufish more than Sanjeev Mishra, a 201 game duel that is almost dead even, with ufish holding 90 wins against 97 losses. Against Ralf Steinbrecht, the story is completely different: 103 wins, 14 losses, and 3 draws. Some rivalries are brutal wars, and some are simply happy hunting grounds.
Milestones and Oddities
- Longest winning streak: 18 games. Longest losing streak: 12 games. The comeback rate proves the rebounds are real.
- Peak Blitz rating: 2597 (2024-04-23). Peak bullet rating: 2525 (2022-02-07).
- August 2018 saw 2,202 Blitz games in one month, which is roughly 71 games per day.
- Friday is the strongest day for wins, and midnight is the best hour. ufish is apparently still awake when everyone else is asleep.
- The Sicilian Defense Closed system appears over 21,000 times in all, more games than many players will ever play in total.