Zarina Nurgaliyeva (Zarinur) — Woman International Master
Zarina Nurgaliyeva, known online as Zarinur, is a titled player (Woman International Master) celebrated for her explosive short-time-control play and stubborn endgame technique. She favors Bullet chess but has shown world-class flashes in Blitz — a player who can win a 1-minute scramble and still smile at move 80 in a marathon endgame.
- Title: Woman International Master (WIM)
- Preferred time control: Bullet — fast, tactical, fearless
- Notable peak forms: and
- Compact rating trend:
Career highlights
Zarina rose through rapid online play into the titled ranks, combining bullet instincts with unusual depth for a speed player. Her Blitz peak and multiple months over 2500+ on online leaderboards mark her as an elite rapid calculator with strong tournament seasoning.
- Earned the Woman International Master (WIM) title and regularly competes at high online speeds.
- Consistent top finishes in blitz and bullet events, with several months of sustained 2500+ Blitz performance.
- Frequently beats highly rated opponents in time scrambles and converts long endgames with poise.
Playing style & strengths
Zarina blends tactical sharpness and deep endgame understanding — a rare combination. Her games often start like lightning and end in patient technique.
- Endgame-minded: very high endgame frequency (most games go the distance).
- Long classics even in online play: average decisive game length ~78 moves — she doesn’t give up early.
- Tactical resilience: comeback rate and a >50% win rate after losing material demonstrate strong resourcefulness.
- Psychological edge: best results in late-night sessions (03:00 is cited as a peak hour), but brings consistent pressure across the board.
Openings & repertoire
Zarina’s repertoire is eclectic — comfortable with tricky gambits in Bullet and solid theoretical lines in longer blitz. She is happy to surprise opponents with offbeat ideas and also handles standard defenses with confidence.
- Bullet favorites: London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation (very strong sample results), Barnes Defense (100% in a short sample), Amar Gambit — aggressive and practical.
- Blitz staples: Four Knights Game (Spanish Variation), Caro-Kann, and Sicilian (Moscow lines).
- Rapid/longer: shows great results with French and Scotch Game ideas when time permits.
- Explore these lines: London_System, Four_Knights_Game, Caro-Kann_Defense
Streaks, schedules & notable stats
Numbers tell part of the story — long streaks, strong nightly form, and a knack for converting complicated positions.
- Longest winning streak: 8 games. Longest losing streak: 9 games. Current losing streak: 2.
- Time-of-day strength: particularly hot late at night — excellent win rates around 22:00–03:00 (some hours show >70% in sample data).
- Preferred day: Sundays show a notably high win rate (around 58%).
- Opponent note: frequently meets strong rivals — most-played online opponent in the sample: fm_khairoshevn (25 games). Check a friend/opponent profile: FM_KhairoshevN
Memorable games & sample position
Here’s a quick specimen game to test your viewer — a compact opening leading into a lively middlegame and technical finish. (Use the embedded viewer if available.)
- Interactive sample:
- Try replaying it to see how Zarinur mixes tactics and endgame technique.
Fun facts & personal notes
Zarina plays fast but thinks like a marathoner — a combination that makes her both entertaining and hard to beat. She’s the kind of player who will flag you in Bullet and then outplay you in a rook-and-pawn ending at move 90.
- Nickname online: Zarinur — quick to type, quicker on the clock.
- Noted tendencies: high endgame frequency and low early resignation rate — she almost always fights to the end.
- Want to follow a rivalry? See her many encounters with fm_khairoshevn: FM_KhairoshevN.
- More visuals and trend widgets: (viewer-dependent).