Nicolas COUILLAUD (verdurre) - Short Biography
Nicolas COUILLAUD, known online as verdurre, is a long time online chess competitor with a taste for fast, sharp encounters and a soft spot for the London System and the Amar Gambit. He plays a lot of blitz and bullet, but prefers Rapid time controls for his most consistent play. Expect practical creativity, stubborn endgames, and the occasional cheeky gambit.
Keywords: chess player, London System, Amar Gambit, Sicilian Alapin, Rapid specialist, online chess.
Playing Profile
Preferred time control - Rapid. verdurre shows particularly strong form at Rapid events and has posted stellar peaks in that time class. See a quick view of recent Rapid form:
- Recent Rapid trend:
- Peak Rapid rating: 1856 (2025-04-20)
- Strength adjusted win rate - Rapid: 55.58 percent (shows an edge when time is generous but still brisk)
verdurre is comfortable both with sharp opening battles and long fights that march toward an endgame. His comeback rate suggests he rarely gives up, and his win rate after losing material is impressive.
Opening Repertoire - What to Expect
Nicolas mixes sound systems and tricky gambits. He uses similar weapons with White and Black, favoring flexible, less theoretical setups that lead to imbalanced positions.
- With White - London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation. A frequent choice that delivers many practical middlegames. London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation
- With Black - Sicilian Defense family, including the Alapin and Closed Anti-Sveshnikov lines. He gets into sharp and offbeat variations to avoid rote theory.
- Gambit flair - Amar Gambit and Amazon Attack show up often, especially in faster time controls. These are his go-to tools for chaos and early winning chances. Amar Gambit
- Rapid specialty lines - notable success in Sicilian Alapin and targeted Caro-Kann Panov positions when the clock allows deeper thought.
A few Rapid-specific numbers: the Sicilian Alapin in Rapid produced a remarkable sample with very high conversion rate in a small set of games. For deeper study try these terms:
Career Highlights and Trends
- Long winning streak: 13 games at best. Long losing streak: 12 games at worst.
- Peak moments across time controls include high-water marks in Blitz, Bullet and Rapid play, with Rapid peak being especially notable. 1856 (2025-04-20)
- Extensive experience online: tens of thousands of games analyzed, with a heavy volume in Blitz and Bullet and a growing Rapid presence.
- Strong psychological traits - a very high comeback rate means verdurre often turns losing positions into fighting chances.
Style, Habits and Practical Tips
How verdurre typically plays:
- Endgame frequency is high - expect long, technical finishes rather than instant resignations.
- Average decisive game length: long games, often 70 to 80 moves. That points to patient, persistent play.
- Best time of day to challenge him - late night. His best hour is around 23:00. That is when his win rates spike.
- Tilt factor exists but is manageable; if you push him into time trouble you might force errors, but he also stages comebacks.
Notable Games and Study Material
A short illustrative game you can replay below. Use it to study opening choices and practical middlegame plans.
Example replay:
Want to check an opponent profile he plays often: eltipo2012
Fun Facts and Quirks
- Nicolas favors the letter d in openings. d4 shows up a lot as a first move and in his preparation.
- He has a soft spot for gambits. If you see an early pawn storm you might be facing an Amar Gambit enthusiast.
- Average first capture comes around move 7. So the early tactical skirmish is common, then strategic maneuvering follows.
- He is a serial experimenter online. If a line looks exotic it might be on his playlist already.
Data and Update
Profile data current to 2026-02-28T21:17:04Z. This biography was generated from aggregated game metrics and opening performance summaries to help opponents and study partners understand verdurre at a glance.