Beating Berserkers: How I Finished 37th in the 2025 Winter Marathon

Before the Marathon

I woke up around 7am, feeling refreshed after 11 hours of sleep, knowing I had a long day ahead. At 11am my time, the 2025 Winter Marathon would kick off, and I needed to stay energised for the entire 24 hours. I made a large breakfast to fuel the 24-hour grind ahead. The morning was relaxed, no chess, just kept my mind fresh for the marathon ahead.

The Beginning

Game 1 kicks off. I'm paired with someone around my starting rating. Pretty boring game. I offered a draw on move 19 in a symmetrical structure. Early on, I just wanted points, and the best way to do this was to beat lower-rated players; a draw against someone of my own rating didn't hurt. I went for quite a few early berserks to test the waters, but few players berserked back; my performance wasn't great, and after an hour, I only found myself in the top 300. Not the best start, but I knew all I needed was one good streak to jump up in the standings.

I took a quick lunch break, then jumped back into the games. I crawled my way into the top 200, but the clock was brutal against opponents who didn't berserk back. I started berserking less, as more of my opponents made mistakes and flagged under time pressure, but my early "streaks" maxed out at 3 games, and I was nowhere near the top 100.

I took a dinner break, but then, after 10 hours of play, finally, at 9pm, came a 5-game streak. My play wasn't perfect, but it was enough to win. Soon after, I managed a four-game streak. I was climbing up the standings slowly, but I couldn't break into the top 100.

Breaking the Top 100

It's 5am. Caffeine is my only fuel. I still haven't broken into the top 100. Top 50 feels impossible. I get paired against an NM... I berserk, just wanting to get my loss done quickly. But out of nowhere comes my best win.

Momentum sparks, I win another game, then another, and I keep winning, until a 7-game win streak finally pushes me into the top 100. I feel my heart racing. A few games later comes a 5-game win streak, and then soon after a 6-game win streak, and suddenly, at 7am, with four hours in the arena to go, I'm in the top 50.

The Endgame

Fatigue is pressing in. After some slow games, I drop back out of the top 50. But at 9am, with only 2 hours left, a 6-game win streak lifts me up. This key win against a CM ultimately pushing me back into the top 50.

The final two hours are tense, my wins aren't fast enough as others overtake me, and I drop out of the top 50 again. It's now the final hour, and I desperately need wins. Every loss is a dagger, but my wins are enough. I ultimately crawl my way to 37th place, exhausted, but victorious.

Final Thoughts

After 24 hours, I played 214 games, with a 16% berserk rate, and gained 128 rating, reaching a new peak of 2335. I played more blitz in this one marathon than I had all year combined. Many of my wins were just capitalising against berserkers, take for example, this game where I only managed to flag my opponent after 155 moves. Every single win mattered. After finishing, I went straight to sleep, completely exhausted, but satisfied with my performance.

Details of the tournament can be found here