Tomasz Warakomski: The Grandmaster Who Plays Like Fire
Tomasz Warakomski, better known to his online opponents as Wraku89, is a FIDE Grandmaster with a serious appetite for fast, fighting chess. While the profile says Rapid is his preferred time control, the stats show a player who has burned down many a bullet and blitz lobby along the way. He is the kind of grandmaster who seems to be having too much fun for his own rating.
Rising to Grandmaster
Warakomski earned the Grandmaster title through the traditional grind of classical tournaments, but he brings that same fearless attitude to the online board. He is not afraid to leave theory behind and drag his rivals into strange and complicated positions. His opening history shows a deep love for the Modern Defense and the Caro-Kann Defense, where he scores heavily in both bullet and blitz. He also enjoys the Czech Defense, dancing into it whenever the board allows.
With the white pieces, he has been overwhelmingly loyal to 1.e4. In 2015, almost all of his recorded games began with that move. Do not expect a quiet London setup from this guy. You get the Sicilian, you get the Caro-Kann, and you get a fight.
A Style Built on Pressure
Wraku89 is a tactical monster. He has a 28 game winning streak, a comeback rate above 80%, and a win rate after losing a piece close to 64%. He rarely folds early, with an early resignation rate of just over 1%. Instead, he tends to let the endgame decide, reaching it in about 75% of his games. His wins average around 68 moves, which means his opponents have to survive the chaos before being slowly taken apart.
He also knows when to strike. The data says his best time to play is around 02:00, when the rest of the world is asleep and the queen can run wild. His most common checking piece is the queen, and once he starts checking, things tend to end badly for the other side.
Online Rivalries
No online career is complete without familiar faces. His most frequent adversary is hadi9680, who faced Wraku89 59 times and left with only two wins. That is a rivalry in name only. Then comes Piotr Brodowski, a true rival who has traded wins with Wraku89 across nearly 50 bruising encounters. Other regulars like kacperpolok, kozok, and gmichal have all learned that a relaxed online grandmaster is still a very dangerous online grandmaster.
The Rapid Road
Even though his bullet and blitz peaks are gaudy, the profile officially says Rapid is where Wraku89 wants to be. His Rapid journey has some quiet early years, followed by a major jump in 2021 and a steady return in late 2024.
His opening performance tells the real story. Whether he is navigating the Sicilian Defense or steering away from it with something sharper, he usually finds the better side.
Fun Facts and Numbers
- Longest winning streak: 28 games, which is a very long time to stay humble.
- Comeback rate: 80.38%, because resigning is not in the opening book.
- Best hour to play: 02:00, the traditional time for quiet calculation.
- Tilt factor: 6, remarkably low for someone who happily plays the Amazon Attack.
- Win rate with white: 67.15%. Win rate with black: 65.52%. He simply does not care about colors.
- His most recent Rapid session in November 2024 ended with two wins and a draw. Still sharp, still smiling.