Lichess4545 Update: Roger the Turtle Is Fine, But the Standings Are in Chaos

This week, before we include a recap, we lead with an interview! @Subhraneil24 talked to @oOoSHONUFFoOo. Let’s get to know them. And Roger.

1. Give us a brief introduction about yourself.

I’m a 40+ year old chess addict living in Sweden who somehow also manages to work as a nurse and study at the university in between calculating tactics and blundering horribly. And I have kids. And an imaginary pet turtle named Roger. Who is in perfect health I might add. And yes, the above is pretty much the perfect conditions to become world champion one day.

2. How you got introduced to chess and how long you've been playing it & what it means to you?

I can’t remember exactly when I was introduced to chess, but I’m guessing I was around seven or eight. My first clear memory is from when I was about eleven and played a game against my older stepsister. But it wasn’t until my late teens, after moving away from home, that I started playing more regularly. I spent a lot of time at the city library reading chess books and playing old men in a smoke filled room in the basement. I remember one of my first days there. I was sitting alone at a board when an old man sat down across from me, carrying a plastic bag full of beers. Without saying much, he played 1.e4. Feeling not so confident, I replied with the only opening I knew at the time which was the Scandinavian. He laughed, cracked open a beer, and proceeded to dismantle my position with great enthusiasm. That was sometime in the mid 90’s.

Back then we also played casual games in coffee shops, which mostly involved a lot of talking, a little chess, and occasionally remembering whose move it was. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I really got hooked on improving. Around 2009 I discovered a group of bloggers called the Knights Errant who followed the ideas of adult improver Michael De La Maza. His story about reaching 2000 FIDE mainly through tactics training inspired me. So I carried CT-ART (the book) everywhere and solved tactics like a man possessed.

Soon after that intense training period, I entered my first tournament. I had high expectations, but Caissa in her infinite wisdom decided I needed a lesson in humility. I lost almost every single game. Naturally, I responded in the most reasonable way possible by not playing another tournament for a couple of years.

In fact, this became a bit of a pattern:

• Study tactics like a maniac
• Enter tournament
• ???
• Make NO PROFIT, lose horribly and take a break for a few years.

A couple of years ago, I finally decided to make a proper long term push. By then I had realized that no matter how painful the losses were, I always came back to chess. So I shifted my focus from chasing quick rating gains to steady improvement. That helped me go from around 1300 FIDE to 1700 in my first year of serious play and study. And that rating gain was in no way, shape or form affected by the rating boost that everyone below 2000 ELO revieved from FIDE in 2024. I promise.

In 2025 I joined the 4545 league to get more practice with classical time controls and prepare for over the board tournaments. Now I’ve reached a plateau. Apparently you’re supposed to learn to love the plateau. I remain unconvinced.

3. Virtually, most people prefers shorter time controlled games, what's makes you play this league with longer time controlled classical games?

My main goal in chess has always been to become a better over the board tournament player in classical time controls. Being able to play serious long games online in a league like the 4545 is fantastic. Especially since there aren’t that many OTB tournaments where I live, and having kids plus a full time job makes attending them a bit tricky.

Basically, this league allows me to pretend I’m a serious otb chess player from the comfort of my own home. I also suck at faster time controls which means that those time controls are bad. But when I become better at them they will be great time controls. The greatest. This is the way.

4. How is the overall experience of playing lichess 4545 league? ( You can share your best performances, best games and such stuff as well)

One of the best things about the league is being part of a team with players of different strengths. There’s always someone you can help, and there’s always someone who can help you. It’s a great environment to improve and have fun at the same time.
Also, the vast majority of people I’ve met in the league are great fun to hang out with. Except the quiet teammates. They put the fear in me.
Just kidding! I love you quiet teammates!

5. What does this community means to you?

I’ve met some great people in the league and learned a lot from them. There are so many generous people here who give so much of their time and knowledge and I feel very lucky to be part of that. Lately I’ve started learning the mysterious ways of the moderator in the Blindfold League which is run by the enigmatic guitarspider and infinitely wise jwwells42.

6. Tell us about your ambitions regarding this league.
To help me improve my game to eventually reach 2000 FIDE over the board. And if I don’t, it’s clearly the fault of Feet_Barbie. You can quote me on that.

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Lichess4545 Season 48 Rounds 4-5 Update

Last time we wrote a blog about the league situation, it was before round 4, when a big match was slated between the two remaining perfect teams. 45th Variant took on Slay Queen to see who would take sole ownership of the top spot, going into round 5. And while the final score of 4.5-3.5 might suggest a close fight, it was not really the case here, as the Varianters were in control from the get-go.

The clinching game, which put the score to 4.5-1.5, was @Nestor3690 defeating @titusalone. Now, this game did involve a missed mate in 3 that could have turned the whole game and match around.

Black had the opportunity to sacrifice a queen and deliver a pretty checkmate, but fortunately for White, it was a case of mutual blindness. As a result, 45th Variant's lead was safe and they were now guaranteed a top spot after round 4. But it was not time to bask in their victory, it was time to defend the top spot yet again in round 5.

This time, the opponent would be Immer diese billigen Patzertricks, who were sitting on a 3W-1D-0L record and wanted to bring the fight. The match (and in fact the whole round of league games) started on Monday with a big meeting of 2 league stalwarts, as CM @Lelouch_Vi_Brittania (playing for Patzertrickers, with White) took on @NLance. 43 moves later, it was clear that the master was now on a 4-game winning streak.

The Varianters were able to come back right away, winning games on boards 5 and 8. Unfortunately for them, they wouldn't win again this round. Patzertrickers pulled away en route to a clear 5.5-2.5 victory, which included a 98-move victory by @Darjokan over the already-mentioned @Nestor3690 that endgame lovers will appreciate.

Week 6 is ahead of us. No perfect team is left. Will Patzertrickers be able to hold on to their tenuous lead? Stay tuned.

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Lichess4545 is an online chess league for people who like playing long time control games online. Players are assigned to teams and play one game per week with a 45+45 time control. For more information visit our league home page.
LoneWolf is a side league of the Lichess4545 league. It is an 11-round Swiss tournament where players play one game per week with a 30+30 time control. For more information about the LoneWolf tournament visit the LoneWolf homepage.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA).
Contribution to this edition of the Ledger made by @oOoSHONUFFoOo, @Subhraneil24, @Tranzoo