I Went Full Berserk in the 24 Hour Marathon and something bizarre happened

Note: Unlike my previous blogs on Lichess, this one doesn’t focus on detailed stats or analysis. As I promised weeks ago, I’m writing this to share my 24-hour bullet marathon experience, from how I felt, the struggles I faced, the preparation, and the strategy I used.

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The Kind of Player I Am

There’s one thing I’ve often heard since I started playing chess.

People say chess players are crazy. Or that chess will make you crazy. And honestly... I think that’s true. Because recently, I did something I never thought I would do.

For some background, I don’t really consider myself a “true” chess player.

I’m not particularly interested in following major tournament news, and I don’t enjoy studying openings, middlegames, or especially endgames. I’ve also never had any real goal of becoming a serious player or earning a title (even though some of my viewers have tried more than once to convince me otherwise).

I like chess, but mostly when it gives me some kind of adrenaline rush, as long as it’s fun without the boring study and all that. Talking about myself, I’m a very easily bored person, even though I’m very competitive. My viewers know I change hobbies so easily, hehehe. When I say I’m very competitive, it doesn’t necessarily mean I want to be number one in a certain field.

If you tune into my stream, you’ll know I do a lot of random challenges from time to time. I’ve done 24-hour bullet marathons multiple times, randomly did a carving marathon even though I’ve never done wood carving, randomly tried textured painting even though I’ve never painted, and even did a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle marathon (for 48 hours... multiple times). I also do 30-day challenges. I’ve already completed some and written blog posts on Lichess about them. For example, the 1000 Bullet Challenge, the Puzzle Racer challenge and gaining 100 rating points without studying, along with many other random things I did just because I LOVE to compete (with myself). And there will always something new coming up.

From time to time, I feel this urgency to show my brain that I can do something new... something random, just to kill the boredom. Maybe I just like chasing that adrenaline rush, because without it, I feel like I’m living in a void (*Elly started exaggerating).

Readers: “Why are you telling us all of this, Elly? We just need the stats from the tournament. Enough talking about yourself.”

Well... I think I should conclude this part by saying that I’m pretty sure there are people out there who feel the same way I do. This isn’t about motivation, it’s about sharing the experience and hopefully others will share theirs as well.

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Where It All Started (2024)

Going back to the competitive side of things, back in summer 2024 I found out that Lichess was hosting a seasonal 24-hour marathon. I was immediately interested in joining. To me, it felt like the perfect way to test whether I could actually handle playing bullet for 24 hours (at the time, my bullet rating was around 1900).

Then I opened the tournament page and read the description, and that’s when I saw it. If you finish in the top 500, you get a trophy on your profile.

That was AWEEEEEEEESOME. And the trophy looked SOOOO CUTEEE

I knew I had to join. Not just because it would make a good marathon content, but because I wanted that trophy on my profile SOOOO BADDD!
That first marathon... I finished at #1009. Yeahhhhh that hurt lol. And honestly, it made me a bit angry. Because if I wanted another shot at it, I would have to wait an entire year.

But time flies fast, and before I knew it, that “another year” had come. So I decided to join again. Summer 2025.

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Second Attempt... and Frustration (2025)

I kept telling my viewers that if I didn’t get it this time, I wouldn’t join again because it would just be a waste of time. Part of me was completely serious when I said that. I don’t like losing to my own challenge. It feels like I’m losing to my “yesterday’s self.”

Part of me was saying ‘don’t join again’ out loud, on purpose. So, i thought maybe if I put it out there publicly, it would push me harder... almost like I was threatening myself. I know, that sounds a bit weird (internal coach getting aggressive).

So I joined the marathon with a rating of around 2150 at the time. I was pretty confident I would get it this time, since I was about 200 rating points higher than in my first marathon. I had also spent months studying openings and middlegames beforehand.

And thennn...

I finished at #796.

Yeahhh WHAT THE FUDGE!

This time, I was really, really upset. Because it felt like I had already given it my all and that was just my limit. I felt so disappointed. I couldn’t stop thinking about my viewers who’d stayed and watched me for so many hours. They must have been disappointed too. For the first time, chess make me cry.

I really wanted to give up and make that my last marathon. But I couldn’t. It was like there was a voice in my head mocking me, saying:

“That’s it? You’ve only done two marathons and you’re already giving up? That’s all your will is worth? I thought you said you wanted the trophy.”
I felt like I was being mocked by my own inner voice. And every time I saw that trophy... not gonna lie, it’s a pretty trophy. I still wanted it. I really, really wanted it. So I decided to wait another year and try again.

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Third Attempt... This time with a New Approach (2026)

2026 came, and to my surprise, they held a bullet marathon in spring. Faster than I expected. But it was 2+0, which is a time control I don’t really enjoy. I’m not that good at blitz, and for me, 2+0 feels more like a semi-blitz format.

I kept telling myself that I had to get the trophy this time, because this was already my third year trying. But after thinking about it more, I realized I was putting too much pressure on myself. I do believe growth comes from pressure. But at the same time, it made me question everything. What’s the point of joining this if I’m not enjoying it? Didn’t I say that I only like chess as long as it’s fun?

So I changed my strategy.

Since this was still the spring marathon, I was hoping the summer marathon would go back to bullet. That meant I might have two chances to try again for this year. And for a long time, there was one thing I had been really curious about: berserk.

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The Berserk Decision

As far as I can remember, I had never utilized berserk in my previous bullet marathons. I wasn’t a fan of it. I already felt too slow for a bullet player, so the idea of cutting my own time even more didn’t appeal to me. And to be honest, before joining the Spring 2026 marathon, I actually kind of disliked players who berserked. It always felt a bit ‘arrogant’ to give away half your time. Like you’re telling your opponent, “I’m going to win, and I don’t even need the full time because you’re too slow. HA!”

Maybe that’s just how it felt to me. Every time someone berserked against me, it felt like they were mocking me, lol. And i didn’t want to be that kind of player. But at the same time... I was curious. And in the end, I let my curiosity win, ehehehe.

I went to the Fami-Lee for advice. I trust my Twitch community because there’s alot of strong players in the chat who are always ready to help me out. Some of them said there’s no point in berserking if you’re not doing it 100% of the time. But others warned that it might not be a good idea, especially since I’m a relatively slow player and my internet often has issues. Some suggested a middle ground. Only berserk against lower-rated opponents, or only when they berserk first. I discovered strong players used different strategies to berserk.

I wanted to try something new because other attempts failed and i felt like Berserk could be a weapon. Against lower rated opponents I felt like I would still have a good chance even with less time, against similar rated opponents it’s 50-50, and against stronger opponents I might lose anyway. So why not just cut the time spent? In the end, I decided to go all-in. Full berserk. Against everyone I faced.

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Preparation Phase

Months before the marathon, I started preparing, both on and off stream. I worked on opening preparation during streams, and a lot of people helped me test different lines.

Openings became my main focus because my opening knowledge was honestly quite terrible. Not only did I not know so many opening names, I also didn’t understand a lot of the common setups. Usually, I would just play the same moves over and over, no matter what opening appeared (that’s bad).

And I decided to not study middlegame or endgame at all this time. I’m not suggesting that you should only prepare openings. I just know my own capacity. Even remembering opening names alone already gives me headaches, so I didn’t want to put more mental load on my brain. Of course, it would have been better if I could also study middlegame and endgame before the marathon, but time was a factor.

Off stream, I studied the lines I’m comfortable with writing them down in my notebook, because it helps me remember them. To really understand and memorize them, I practiced on a real board. I learn much better when I can actually touch the pieces. It feels like building some kind of muscle memory.

On stream, I played with my viewers to test the lines. Once I felt satisfied with my preparation, I decided to grind my rating back to 2200.

It was kind of an emotional ride. I know there’s a lot of advice saying you shouldn’t focus too much on numbers, especially rating, because it just adds pressure.

BUT I CAN’T.

I feel like I’d be much happier entering the marathon at least at 2200. So I went for it, and I documented part of the journey on my YouTube channel.

After I got my rating back, I decided not to play any more rated games before the marathon because I really liked seeing that number on my profile, lol. I still had a couple of weeks before the marathon started, but I had already finished my preparation.

And then, one random day, I thought of something kind of wild...

Preparing by playing ultrabullet.

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The Ultrabullet Experiment

My idea was this: since the time control is 2+0 and I was going to berserk, I would only have one minute. So I needed to make that one minute feel like plenty of time to think and play. And the only way I could think of doing that was to play ultrabullet. Basically, I was trying to trick my brain into feeling like 1+0 is slow... after getting used to something even faster.

As a note: I HATE ULTRABULLET.

Last year, I tried playing it on my phone, and I didn’t like it because everyone was so fast. Then I tried it on my computer, and it was even worse. I’m slower with a mouse when it comes to ultrabullet. But I had to do it.

So for two weeks on stream, I kept playing ultrabullet arenas.

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Pre-Marathon Reset

Time flies. Two days before the marathon began, I started preparing non-chess things and tried to slow down with chess. I rested, took a lot of naps, ate my favorite snacks, watched movies, read comics and just chilled all day (something I never did in previous marathons).

In my previous marathons, I was always in stress mode. I remember feeling so tense, like my shoulders were constantly raised up to my ears because I kept grinding non-stop. I would spend one or two days before the marathon playing intensively, trying to “sharpen the knife,” because I thought that was the best approach.

One day before the marathon, I started planning my schedule, which was another thing I had never done before. Again, in previous marathons, I would just go non-stop and end up feeling exhausted after around 10 hours. I would then take a 3 to 4 hour nap a couple of hours before the marathon ended. But instead of feeling refreshed, I would wake up with a headache, feel super sleepy and cranky, and end up playing worse.

I didn’t want it to be that chaotic anymore.

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Planning Everything (For the First Time)

So this time, I decided to create a structured schedule, including what I would eat throughout the marathon, what I would wear, what playlist I would listen to, and where I would play from. Basically, I planned everything more mindfully compared to my previous marathons.

a. Sleep & Energy Strategy

The marathon started at 7 AM my time. Around that time, I’m usually super sleepy because my daily routine is basically taking multiple morning naps until 10 or 11 AM (lazy girl detected). Because of that, I scheduled breaks every three hours, starting from 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM, and so on.

I also included two nap slots: one 30-minute nap at 6:30 PM and one 1-hour nap at 3 AM. When I first planned it, I didn’t think I would be able to stay awake for 24 hours, which is why I decided to include a total of 1.5 hours of sleep.

b. Nutrition & Diet Changes

(Note: Before I get into my snacks and food list, I don’t have any formal background in nutrition. I’m simply sharing what I personally did because some viewers were curious about my preparation. Please don’t treat this as advice or copy it directly, as I can’t guarantee it’s safe or suitable for everyone.)

As a background note, I’m from a Southeast Asian country (I need to mention this because I think my SEA friends will relate). I consume a lot of carbs, especially white rice, as my main source of energy for daily activities. Not eating rice at least twice a day feels like a nightmare to me, because that’s basically been my diet my whole life. But for the marathon day, I decided to change my diet.

I focused on protein, fiber, and a lot of hydration. I didn’t eat rice AT ALL during the marathon. The main reason I avoided it is because every time I finish a meal, I almost always feel super sleepy and fatigued, like a food coma.

I believe the high carbs from white rice cause spikes in my blood sugar and insulin. I remember i read it somewhere, that heavy carbohydrate meals make the body direct more energy and blood flow to the digestive system instead of the brain for thinking.

So even though I love rice with all my heart and all my soul (Elly exaggerating again), I decided not to touch it at all that day (the first time in my life avoiding rice for a full day, by the way).

This was my food schedule:
5 AM: boiled eggs, pear, milk
9 AM: refill warm water, cheesecake, apple
12 PM: Pecal (an Indonesian salad made with vegetables, sprouts, eggs, tofu, and tempe, all combined with peanut sauce) for lunch and coconut water
3 PM: refill warm water, protein bar
6 PM: chicken soup for dinner
9 PM: wedang jahe (a traditional drink here, basically ginger, cinnamon, and honey tea)
3 AM: warm water, apple

This is a question I get asked a lot: why warm water?

Well, first, because I’m comfortable with it and I’m used to it. Second, I believe that drinking warm water means my body doesn’t have to spend extra energy to warm it up to match my body temperature. It also helps reduce my appetite. UwU

c. Comfort Setup: What I Wore & Where I Played

Now, moving on to another part of my preparation: what I wear and where I play from.

In previous marathons, I always wore “the Elly outfit,” which included a black jacket, black jeans, a black beanie, shades, and a black mask (I’m an anonymous streamer). I also had my mic and camera on.

Unlike previous marathons, where I was more focused on talking to chat, this time I prioritized comfort. I still read chat, but I try to only engaged during my break times so I could fully concentrate on my games. This time, I decided not to use my mic and only use a blurry camera. That way, I could wear my usual home dress without needing shades or a mask.

Besides dressing comfortably, I also tried to keep my body temperature stable. My hands and feet tend to get cold easily, so I wore socks almost the entire time during the marathon.

Again, it’s all part of the same idea. I don’t want my body to waste unnecessary energy trying to keep itself warm when I need that energy for my brain.

And I also decided to partly play on my computer and switch back and forth to my phone. That way, I could move between my desk, my sofa bed, and even my yoga ball. I was basically trying to keep things comfortable for my back, since I had to sit for such a long time.

d. Music Strategy: Energy vs Endurance

Now for the last thing I prepared: what playlist I should listen to.

Everyone who watches me regularly knows that I usually play bullet while listening to heavy metal, because it gives me more fuel to play. In my previous marathons, I had long playlists full of heavy metal and rock.

For my daily streams, where I play chess for around 4 to 5 hours, that works really well. It’s my favorite genre, and it keeps my energy high throughout the stream.

But after thinking about how I felt during previous marathons, I realized there was a downside.

Even though it gives me energy, it only lasts for about 5 to 6 hours. After that, I start to feel tired just from listening to intense, high-energy music for too long.

So this time, I tried something different. I used a mix of blues rock, jazz, and other chill genres as my main playlist for the entire marathon.

A few days before the marathon, I also told my viewers that I would rely on their song requests. And I’m really glad I did, because so many Fami-Lee members sent great songs to keep me going for the full 24 hours.

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Marathon Begins

Everything was prepared, and finally, the marathon was upon me.

I went to sleep a little earlier than usual the night before, before 10 PM. On the day of the marathon, I woke up at 5 AM and started my stream half an hour before the marathon, at 6:30. I even changed the battery in my wireless mouse that morning, just in case it ran low mid-game.

At that point, I felt like I had done my best with the preparation and surprisingly, I didn’t feel nervous. I kept telling myself, “If I don’t get the trophy this time, at least my curiosity about playing full berserk will be satisfied. And at least I’ll have something new to write about for my Lichess blog and YouTube vlog.” I repeated that to myself over and over during the first few hours. And yes... it worked.

At least, until the one problem I couldn’t prepare for showed up.

My internet.

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The One Thing I Couldn’t Control

It’s not really a secret, my viewers and I are both very aware that my internet can lag at the most random times, especially on weekends it’s usually slower than on weekdays. But, there’s nothing I can really do to fix it. I already use a LAN cable and I’m using a “good-rated” provider here.

Still, out of all the days in the week, my internet decided to troll me on marathon day. And somehow, almost always when I was in a winning position. I ended up losing so many games because my screen froze, followed by the “Lichess reconnecting” message... in positions where I was just one or two moves away from winning.

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Plans vs Reality: When Everything Started Falling Apart

I became really, really mad. I kept cursing and screaming almost the entire marathon because my internet kept lagging and freezing my screen. I was honestly glad I didn’t have my mic on during the stream.

My berserk plan also didn’t go exactly as expected. I was aiming for 100% berserk, but in the end, I only reached 98%. The first game, I didn’t berserk because I didn’t even know where the button was. And in some of the other games, my internet froze at the worst possible moments, so the berserk didn’t go through.

There were also other plans that didn’t go as expected.

For example, switching between desktop and phone to keep things balanced. Because of my internet issues, I ended up playing most of my games on my phone, even though the lag there (and the screen freezing) was only slightly better than on desktop.

I was supposed to balance my posture too. Moving between sitting at my desk, lying down on my sofa bed, and sitting on my yoga ball to keep my back and spine in good condition. But because of the tension, I literally forgot to do all of that.

I ended up sitting the entire time, mostly on my sofa bed. And my yoga ball was just there... staring at me from the other side of the room, probably questioning its existence.

For many hours, my ping randomly spiked to 700–900 ms, sometimes even above 1000 ms. I’m glad that throughout the entire marathon, I never dropped out of the top 400. I was mostly sitting around rank 180 to 280.

But the internet issues made me really nervous. Especially starting around 10 PM my time. That’s 10 AM CST, which means many much stronger players from the US, Canada, and Europe were already awake and joining the pool.

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Holding the Line: No Sleep, No Breaks, Just Pressure

I know that at the beginning, I was only hoping to at least stay within the top 500. And even if I dropped out, I told myself I would just treat it as experience and an experiment for berserking. But after 15 hours, when I saw myself sitting around rank 170, I got greedy. I didn’t want to fall below 200 anymore.

I was really glad that my internet became a bit more stable between 2 and 5 AM my time. But because I was so nervous, I decided to keep playing for the full 24 hours without taking any naps at all. That’s another plan that didn’t go as expected.

What’s funny is, I didn’t feel any back pain during the entire stream. I also didn’t feel sleepy at all, even though I usually complain about my back and take multiple naps as part of my daily routine. Maybe it was because I was too nervous or maybe I was just too excited that I hadn’t dropped below the top 400 the entire time.

The only physical discomfort I experienced when I was playing the marathon was a massive headache after around 8 hours of streaming, mostly because I kept screaming at my laggy internet. That internet really made me mad and agitated.

It’s been almost a week since the marathon, and even now while writing this, I can feel my blood starting to boil again just thinking about it.

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The Finish Line

April 19, 7 AM (my time). The marathon finally ended.

I finished with a rating of 2074. Lost my 2200 again... ugh.

But!...... I FINALLY GOT MY TROPHY!

Marathon stats:

• Performance: 2014
• Games played: 552
• Win rate: 20%
• Berserk rate: 98%
• Average opponent rating: 2344

Bad performance. Bad win rate.

And just hours after the marathon ended, I was even featured by FM RealCyberBird as the “Lowest Performance in Top 500.”

I don’t really mind it. If anything, I find it funny.

EMBRACE THE IRONY!

At least one of my goals, after three years, was finally accomplished and i finished in top 1.2%!!

Right after the marathon ended, I immediately checked my profile. And there it was... that cute little trophy. I was so happy when I saw it. And seeing Fami-Lee getting hyped about it too made it even better. All that preparation... it paid off.

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Closure

Despite the problems I faced with my internet, there were so many moments that left a warm feeling in my heart. My boyfriend and Fami-Lee kept hyping me up throughout the entire 24-hour marathon. So many of them stayed active in chat, even though I wasn’t fully engaging with them most of the time.

They kept sending song requests, trying to cheer me up and keep my energy going. Maybe they could imagine how frustrating it was for me dealing with the internet issues. And honestly, the happiest part was seeing how happy they were when I finally achieved my goal.

In that moment, seeing them happy for me, something shifted.

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What Really Matters

For a second, I completely forgot that I had been chasing that trophy for three years. It didn’t even feel like it mattered anymore. I wasn’t happy because of the trophy itself, but because of them. Because I realized how lucky I am to have a community that stays with me through everything. The ups, the downs, the chaos, the frustration... they were always there.

That little trophy suddenly didn’t feel like a big achievement anymore. This marathon made me realize that I already have something far more valuable than any trophy could ever represent.

I have Fami-Lee.

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A Small Message for You

Days later, there was one Fami-Lee member who come to stream and told me that I motivated him. Hearing that made me happy, but at the same time, it felt a bit strange. I don’t really see myself as someone who’s in a position to motivate others.

But maybe... if anyone out there needs a little encouragement, I hope this can be something.

If someone like me, an adult still trying to improve in chess, who struggles to focus on just one thing, who hates study and memorizing openings and deals with terrible internet, can make it into the top 500... then nothing should be able to stop you from doing it too.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

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I’ve always been curious to hear from you as well. If you’ve ever played in a marathon like this, how did you approach it? Do you have any strategies or tips that helped you manage both performance and endurance?

I’d also appreciate any thoughts on improving in chess without burning out. And if you have any interesting or creative challenge ideas, whether chess-related or not, feel free to share them as well. As I’m writing this, I can already feel a bit of that familiar boredom returning, even though I still have a few plans in mind.

~ Elly
ElyneLee - Twitch
Elyne Lee - YouTube