Yusuf Baran Cevizci: The Candidate Master With a Thirst for Victory
Yusuf Baran Cevizci, known across the online chess world as "yesilikeorangejuice" (yes, he does, thank you for asking), is a FIDE Candidate Master whose blitz play is as refreshing as his username suggests. A name with Turkish flair, a username with smoothie energy, and a chess style built on squeezing every last drop from the position: this is a player who takes nothing for granted and leaves very little behind.
The Blitz Journey: Two Games, a Vanishing Act, Then Chaos
Yusuf's online career began modestly in May 2017 with exactly two blitz games, a brief appearance at 1360, and then a three-year disappearance worthy of a mystery novel. He resurfaced in May 2020 at 1340 and immediately started doing something unreasonable: winning. By December 2020 he had rocketed past 2300, and in January 2021 he played 27 games with 25 wins, 2 draws, and precisely zero defeats. The grind continued from there, capped by a peak 2656 (2025-09-01) blitz rating in September 2025.
His lifetime online ledger is a mountain of W's: 564 blitz wins against 291 losses, 290 bullet wins against 133 losses, and a 17-6 rapid record that includes zero draws. Even slower chess cannot convince him to split the point.
Opening Repertoire: Alapin and French Flavor
Yusuf's repertoire is less about flash and more about familiar furniture. As White, his weapon of choice is the Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, played nearly 150 times in blitz at a healthy 68% win rate. As Black, he is a devoted student of the French Defense, and the French Defense: Exchange Variation is his personal money printer: 48 games, an 81% win rate, and eight losses that he has presumably apologized for. Rounding out the menu is the Four Knights Game, another 60-game, 61% winning relationship that proves he is not above a little classical politeness.
Rivalries: Subscriptions and Supper Beats
nodraw4 is his most frequent dance partner, with 33 meetings on record and a 20-6-7 edge for Yusuf, which is genuinely funny given the opponent's username promised otherwise. Meanwhile, wilordaht has endured a 16-1 demolition across 17 games, which is less a rivalry and more a subscription service Yusuf keeps renewing.
Quirks, Superstitions and a Warning About Midnight Chess
- His most common checking piece is the queen, and it is not close: over 1,800 queen checks on record. The lady does the talking.
- Roughly 78% of his games wander into an endgame, and his first capture lands around move six. He strikes early, but keeps things technical.
- His comeback rate is a staggering 86%, and he still wins 61% of games after dropping a piece. One-sided losses? Only 1.4% of the time.
- He is a gentleman with the resignation button: when it is truly lost, he shakes hands early rather than milking dead positions.
- His longest win streak sits at 24 games, and at the time of writing he is riding an 11-game heater. Panic accordingly.
- Circadian chess science: he is statistically invincible at 5 AM (100% win rate, sample size smaller than a thimble) and most lethal between 10 and 11 AM. At 11 PM his win rate collapses to 28%, so if you ever want to beat a Candidate Master, wait for bedtime.
Whether he is squeezing out French Defense wins or squeezing oranges, Yusuf plays with one philosophy: extract everything, waste nothing, and never challenge him before breakfast.