Avatar of Vahan Nalbandyan

Vahan Nalbandyan CM

Username: Vahan

Playing Since: 2018-02-20 (Active)

Wow Factor: ♟♟♟♟♟♟♟

Chess.com

Daily: 1366
25W / 17L / 5D
Rapid: 2428
158W / 54L / 18D
Blitz: 2712
3685W / 2778L / 429D
Bullet: 2747
4116W / 2698L / 357D

Early life and beginnings

Vahan Nalbandyan grew up in a chess-minded world where patience and calculation are valued as much as quick reflexes. From a young age, he was drawn to the 64-square battleground, learning to blend attack with solid defense and turning every late-night study session into a stepping stone toward bigger boards and brighter screens.

Chess career and titles

Vahan is a titled player, proudly carrying the Candidate Master title from FIDE. Known for his sharpness in fast time controls, he has become a respected figure in the blitz circuit and a familiar voice in online chess streams. Blitz is his preferred time control, and he uses the virtual stage to share insights, tactics, and a healthy dose of humor with fans around the world.

Career snapshots:

  • Longest Winning Streak: 52 games; Current Winning Streak: 3
  • Peak ratings reached in 2025 across controls: Bullet up to 2864, Blitz up to 2682, Rapid up to 2421; Daily peak around 1737 in 2021

Blitz Rating2018201920202021202220232024202527092339YearBlitz Rating

Streaming and online presence

Beyond the board, Vahan Nalbandyan is a dedicated streamer who invites viewers into his thinking process. On his channel, he analyses games in real time, breaks down complex ideas for newcomers, and keeps the mood light with witty commentary—proof that chess can be as entertaining as it is challenging.

Opening repertoire and style

Vahan maintains a diverse and pragmatic opening repertoire, with a clear fondness for the Caro-Kann Defense in faster events. His repertoire blends solidity with sharp, tactical ideas, featuring Amar Gambit and Colle System variations, Nimzo-Larsen Attack, and Modern defenses among others. This mix reflects a flexible approach designed to outmaneuver unprepared opponents in blitz and rapid formats.

  • Caro-Kann Defense: a trusted backbone with strong blitz results
  • Amar Gambit and Colle System variations: enduring planning and dynamic possibilities
  • Nimzo-Larsen Attack and Modern defenses: versatile, adaptable play
  • Scandinavian Defense, Czech Defense, Australian Defense, and other flexible lines

Notable achievements and outlook

As a Candidate Master, Vahan continues to push his limits in Blitz and Rapid while growing his streaming community. His peak bullet rating of 2864 in 2025 stands as a testament to his aggressive, precise style under pressure. Endgames are a familiar terrain for him, with a strong frequency of long, resourceful endings that keep opponents on their toes.

  • Peak Bullet rating reached 2864 (2025)
  • Endgames feature prominently in his games, with high endgame frequency
  • Active presence in online chess communities and a growing streaming following

Coach's Avatar

Overall Performance and Trends

Vahan, your current performance shows strong capability, especially visible in your high rating peak and your solid win records in various openings. However, recent months indicate some volatility and slight rating dips overall.

  • Your rating has seen minor setbacks recently, with a decrease of 29 points in the past month and 68 points over 3 months.
  • The trend slopes illustrate fluctuations: recent 1-month slope is positive, suggesting a potential rebound, but 3-month and 12-month slopes are negative, highlighting challenges in maintaining consistent gains.
  • Your strength adjusted win rate is near 50%, indicating competitive play against opponents of similar strength.

What You're Doing Well

Your opening repertoire and game choices showcase a comprehensive understanding of diverse strategies and themes:

  • Strong win rates with Caro-Kann Defense, Scandinavian Defense, and Alekhine Defense indicate effective preparation and execution in these lines.
  • You demonstrate tactical awareness and positional understanding, evident in complex middlegames from the recent losses and draws.
  • Good ability to manage the clock, distributing time effectively during fast-paced games.

Areas to Improve

Analyzing your most recent games suggests these focal points for improvement:

  • Endgame technique and precision: Some losses involved missed opportunities to simplify or hold difficult positions. Reviewing key endgame principles could help convert or save games.
  • Time management under pressure: In bullet or blitz games, staying calm and avoiding rushed moves in critical moments will reduce errors.
  • Opening consistency: While you have strong openings, occasionally your position weakened due to inaccuracies or allowing opponent counterplay early. Sharpening your understanding of critical opening lines and typical plans will fortify your early game.
  • Tactical awareness: Maintain vigilance for your opponent's threats, especially in complex positions like the Kings Indian Defense that appeared in your recent losses.

Practical Suggestions

  • Review critical moments from recent games, especially where you lost or missed the chance to draw. Using analysis tools or coaching sessions can pinpoint exact moves for learning.
  • Work on a small selection of openings to deepen knowledge rather than broadening too fast. For example, continue capitalizing on your strengths in Caro-Kann and Scandinavian defenses while bolstering weaknesses in other openings.
  • Practice endgame scenarios regularly to refine technique and gain confidence converting minimal advantages.
  • In bullet games, experiment with intuitive play supported by pattern recognition to avoid critical blunders under time pressure.
  • Maintain focus on psychological endurance and recovery post-loss to stay steady during rating fluctuation periods.

Next Steps

Keep leveraging your strengths in openings and tactical play while systematically addressing endgame and time management challenges. This balanced approach should help stabilize your rating and return you to a positive trend.

Feel free to let me know if you'd like detailed analysis on any specific opening or position from your recent games!



🆚 Opponent Insights

Recent Opponents
adam657 2W / 1L / 0D
Alexandros Papasimakopoulos 1W / 0L / 1D
Blindov 0W / 1L / 0D
bonblobliqr1 0W / 1L / 0D
Bu11et_Pr00f 17W / 25L / 5D
Edoardo Di Benedetto 1W / 0L / 1D
jerry_77 0W / 1L / 0D
Georgi Filev 2W / 11L / 2D
Sameer Mujumdar 2W / 0L / 0D
tigran_mirzakhanian 1W / 0L / 0D
Most Played Opponents
gangster_h 64W / 54L / 11D
cesart22 56W / 28L / 8D
haashinib 37W / 35L / 3D
Advaith Karthik 21W / 34L / 5D
jeyhun_huseynzade 25W / 25L / 3D

Rating

Year Bullet Blitz Rapid Daily
2025 2738 2712 2428
2024 2737 2546 2386 1366
2023 2524 2479 2313 1648
2022 2483 2445 2270
2021 2507 2516 2086 1644
2020 2464 2453 1931
2019 2258 2415
2018 2193 2339
Rating by Year2018201920202021202220232024202527381366YearRatingBulletBlitzRapidDaily

Stats by Year

Year White Black Moves
2025 907W / 656L / 96D 834W / 713L / 112D 90.1
2024 1469W / 493L / 99D 1396W / 551L / 108D 80.9
2023 858W / 455L / 72D 858W / 485L / 54D 76.7
2022 466W / 245L / 37D 435W / 286L / 50D 78.3
2021 292W / 292L / 39D 286W / 291L / 47D 81.3
2020 249W / 202L / 30D 210W / 221L / 41D 84.3
2019 225W / 213L / 22D 207W / 223L / 31D 80.2
2018 414W / 326L / 27D 379W / 348L / 30D 76.4

Openings: Most Played

Bullet Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Caro-Kann Defense 474 297 149 28 62.7%
Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation 312 171 129 12 54.8%
Amar Gambit 299 177 104 18 59.2%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack 280 152 114 14 54.3%
Modern 258 153 94 11 59.3%
Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit 227 143 71 13 63.0%
Scandinavian Defense 222 156 60 6 70.3%
Czech Defense 222 123 93 6 55.4%
Australian Defense 186 103 80 3 55.4%
Amazon Attack 183 125 52 6 68.3%
Blitz Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Caro-Kann Defense 329 208 104 17 63.2%
English Opening: Symmetrical Variation 215 107 93 15 49.8%
Amar Gambit 207 133 62 12 64.2%
Czech Defense 203 112 77 14 55.2%
Unknown 199 128 70 1 64.3%
Amazon Attack 192 125 59 8 65.1%
Scandinavian Defense 176 135 38 3 76.7%
Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack 168 102 52 14 60.7%
Benko Gambit 165 81 71 13 49.1%
French Defense 164 111 47 6 67.7%
Rapid Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Caro-Kann Defense 65 52 9 4 80.0%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 43 37 3 3 86.0%
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation 33 31 1 1 93.9%
Blackburne Shilling Gambit 23 18 3 2 78.3%
Scotch Game 21 20 0 1 95.2%
Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation 15 14 0 1 93.3%
Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack 14 12 1 1 85.7%
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense 12 11 1 0 91.7%
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Berlin Wall 12 7 1 4 58.3%
Scandinavian Defense 11 8 2 1 72.7%
Daily Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Unknown 6 6 0 0 100.0%
Barnes Defense 5 3 2 0 60.0%
Australian Defense 4 3 1 0 75.0%
Caro-Kann Defense 3 2 1 0 66.7%
Amar Gambit 3 2 1 0 66.7%
Modern 3 1 1 1 33.3%
Sicilian Defense 2 1 1 0 50.0%
English Opening: Symmetrical Variation 2 0 0 2 0.0%
Blackburne Shilling Gambit 1 0 1 0 0.0%
Philidor Defense 1 0 1 0 0.0%

🔥 Streaks

Streak Longest Current
Winning 52 0
Losing 12 1