Tomas Laurusas, Known Online as Varskelis
Tomas Laurusas, who plays online under the username Varskelis, is a FIDE Grandmaster with a chess résumé that combines serious calculation, relentless activity, and just enough chaos to keep every digital chessboard nervous.
His profile lists Rapid as his preferred time control, where he has scored 90 wins, 46 losses, and 9 draws. That is a remarkably healthy record for a format that demands both strategic patience and the ability to spot a tactic before the clock starts judging you personally.
Playing Style and Chess Identity
Varskelis is a resilient, tactically alert player whose games often continue deep into the endgame. His statistics show a comeback rate of 86.26%, suggesting that being down material is less a crisis and more an invitation to make the position complicated.
As White, he wins 57.86% of his games, while his Black win rate stands at 53.11%. He also performs strongly after losing a piece, with a 53.47% win rate in those games. In other words, the phrase “material advantage” may be more of a suggestion than a rule in his games.
Opening Repertoire
The Caro-Kann Defense is a major part of Varskelis’s repertoire, especially in fast games. It appears frequently in both blitz and bullet, where he records win rates of 52.83% and 58.22% respectively.
In Rapid, his most successful recorded choice is the Petrov's Defense, producing an impressive 73.33% win rate across 15 games. He also handles the Queen’s Gambit Accepted with confidence, scoring 80% in the recorded 3.e3 c5 line.
A Career Built on Speed and Stamina
Although Rapid is his preferred time control, Varskelis has played thousands of blitz and bullet games. His longest winning streak reached 30 games, while his overall record includes more than 6,200 blitz wins and nearly 4,900 bullet wins.
His games average more than 80 moves in several major time-control categories, revealing a player who is perfectly willing to make the opponent suffer through the entire alphabet of chess notation. Early resignation is not really his style, and endgames appear often in his recorded play.
Varskelis at a Glance
- Title: FIDE Grandmaster
- Online username: Varskelis
- Preferred format: Rapid
- Signature strengths: Comebacks, endgame persistence, and tactical resourcefulness
- Longest winning streak: 30 games