Prepare against Emil Szalanczi

IM · Hungary · World #67,474 classical · FIDE ID 700347

When preparing against Emil Szalanczi, expect 1.e4 in 93% of White games. Against 1.e4 the reply is 1...c5 (94% of games); against 1.d4, 1...Nf6 (53%). Lowest win rate among frequent openings: Grünfeld Defense as Black, 27.3% over 44 games.

Our database contains 2,447 games by Emil Szalanczi, covering Jan 1979 to Nov 2026. Below you'll find Emil Szalanczi's most-played openings with White and Black, career performance record, notable wins and top events — everything you need to scout Emil Szalanczi before a game. You can open the same data in the free interactive preparation workstation, which builds a move-by-move opening tree from every game.

Ratings

Time control	Current	Peak	Peak date
Classical	1,831	2,425	Jul 1996
Rapid	2,014	2,288	Oct 2015
Blitz	1,913	2,268	Oct 2016

Performance record

Split	Games	Wins	Draws	Losses	Win rate
Overall	2,447	1,038	643	766	42.4%
As White	1,238	594	320	324	48.0%
As Black	1,209	444	323	442	36.7%

FIDE rated record

From FIDE's official rated-game ledger (2004-2026): 3,609 rated games against 1,385 different opponents, across 439 events in 6 countries. These counts cover FIDE-rated play only, so they differ from the database totals above.

By time control

Format	Games	W	D	L	Win rate	Avg opp	Perf	Unbeaten
Classical	2,991	1,314	748	929	43.9%	2,133	2,184	28
Rapid	382	193	68	121	50.5%	2,052	2,126	18
Blitz	210	102	29	79	48.6%	2,034	2,070	7

Against the field

Opposition	Games	W	D	L	Win rate
Against higher-rated	1,243	285	356	602	22.9%
Against lower-rated	2,333	1,317	486	530	56.5%

Wins over titled players: 27 vs GM · 205 vs IM · 333 vs FM · 41 vs CM · 20 vs WGM · 25 vs WIM · 41 vs WFM · 9 vs WCM.

Tournament wins

50 tournament wins from 321 events, 35 of them outright.

Year by year

Year	Games	W	D	L	Avg opp	Perf
2026	5	1	0	4	1,895	1,655
2025	64	22	14	28	1,904	1,867
2024	180	59	38	83	1,936	1,880
2023	174	66	39	69	1,865	1,863
2022	152	75	24	53	1,891	1,944
2021	125	68	20	37	1,972	2,071
2020	133	76	24	33	1,942	2,072
2019	179	91	31	57	1,991	2,065
2018	185	89	51	45	2,066	2,161
2017	172	87	34	51	2,079	2,163
2016	158	71	34	53	2,132	2,178
2015	216	96	67	53	2,181	2,261
2014	308	139	78	91	2,189	2,250
2013	345	149	79	117	2,182	2,217
2012	275	129	76	70	2,185	2,270
2011	261	121	65	75	2,225	2,293
2010	254	98	60	96	2,253	2,257
2009	213	96	52	65	2,254	2,309
2008	126	44	42	40	2,289	2,302
2007	51	29	14	8	2,248	2,412
2006	17	8	4	5	2,308	2,383
2005	3	0	2	1	2,326	2,192
2004	13	6	1	6	2,265	2,265

Where Emil Szalanczi has played

Hungary (427) · Germany (5) · Romania (4) · Austria (1) · Poland (1) · Slovakia (1)

Move-by-move preparation stats

Straight from the preparation tree built over all of Emil Szalanczi's games — the same tree the interactive prep board lets you walk to any depth. Scores are from Emil Szalanczi's side.

First moves as White (1,238 games)

Move	Games	Share	Player score
e4	1,157	93.5%	60.7%
Nf3	32	2.6%	71.9%
c4	31	2.5%	61.3%
d4	12	1.0%	58.3%
c3	3	0.2%	33.3%
g3	2	0.2%	50.0%

Main lines as White

1.e4 — 93% of White games, 60.7% score
- …c5 (40% of these games) — Szalanczi usually continues Nf3 (57.1% score)
- …e5 (23% of these games) — Szalanczi usually continues Nf3 (62.4% score)
- …e6 (16% of these games) — Szalanczi usually continues d4 (59.3% score)
1.Nf3 — 3% of White games, 71.9% score
- …Nf6 (41% of these games) — Szalanczi usually continues g3 (68.8% score)
- …d5 (31% of these games) — Szalanczi usually continues g3 (80.0% score)
- …c5 (25% of these games) — Szalanczi usually continues e4 (66.7% score)

As Black against 1.e4 (627 games)

Move	Games	Share	Player score
c5	592	94.4%	49.5%
e5	29	4.6%	53.4%
e6	3	0.5%	50.0%
g6	2	0.3%	25.0%

As Black against 1.d4 (361 games)

Move	Games	Share	Player score
Nf6	191	52.9%	46.9%
c5	163	45.2%	49.1%
d5	6	1.7%	50.0%
e6	1	0.3%	0.0%

Emil Szalanczi's chess games

All 2,447 games by Emil Szalanczi in the Chess.ceo database (Jan 1979 - Nov 2026) are free to browse, search and replay: filter by opening, opponent, event or date on the player page, or step through any game on the analysis board. Record: 1,038 wins, 643 draws, 766 losses.

Openings as White

ECO	Opening	Games	W/D/L	Win rate
B43	Sicilian	143	69/34/40	48.3%
B90	Sicilian: Najdorf	130	51/33/46	39.2%
C92	Ruy Lopez: Closed	104	56/29/19	53.8%
C11	French: Classical Variation	74	36/18/20	48.6%
C18	French: Winawer Variation	67	31/17/19	46.3%
B12	Caro-Kann: Advance Variation	65	37/9/19	56.9%
B33	Sicilian: Sveshnikov	47	21/10/16	44.7%
C10	French Defense	38	17/9/12	44.7%
B06	Modern Defense	37	24/7/6	64.9%
B77	Sicilian: Dragon	37	20/13/4	54.1%

Openings as Black

ECO	Opening	Games	W/D/L	Win rate
B76	Sicilian: Dragon	286	98/72/116	34.3%
A43	Benoni Defense	229	81/69/79	35.4%
B50	Sicilian	89	35/22/32	39.3%
A39	English Opening	79	29/21/29	36.7%
B07	Sicilian: Alapin	79	31/15/33	39.2%
B51	Sicilian: Moscow Variation	70	30/10/30	42.9%
A36	English Opening: Symmetrical	67	26/21/20	38.8%
D85	Grünfeld Defense	44	12/10/22	27.3%
B23	Sicilian: Closed	43	21/9/13	48.8%
A48	Indian Defense	28	9/7/12	32.1%

Notable wins

Date	Opponent	Elo	Event	ECO
Jan 1996	Konstantin Z Lerner	2,580	Vienna Open	A43
Jan 1988	Viktor Gavrikov	2,545	Barcza Memorial	B81
Jan 1990	Kevin Spraggett	2,540	Vienna Open	B15
Apr 2010	Tamas Banusz	2,514	chT2-HUN Charousek 0910	A13
Jan 1992	Sergey Ionov	2,500	Dortmund Open A	A70

Top events

Event	Year	Games	Score	TPR
Budapest FS03 IM	2018	73	41.5	2,320
Budapest FS05 IM	2018	67	30.5	2,233
Balatonbereny Open	1997	64	40	2,434
Budapest FS07 IM	2015	63	28.5	2,220
Budapest FS12 IM	2014	62	32.5	2,292
Budapest FS04 IM	2016	58	27	2,235
Budapest FS09 IM	2017	53	24.5	2,249
Budapest FS11 IM	2015	51	24.5	2,257

Frequent opponents

Head-to-head records: Sandor Farago (55 games) · Adam Szeberenyi (43 games) · Evarth Dr. Kahn (25 games) · Nhat Minh To (24 games) · Ferenc Monduk (21 games) · Tamas Tancsa (17 games) · Sandor Poor (15 games) · Sultan Chubakov (14 games)

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Frequently asked questions

Where can I find Emil Szalanczi's chess games?

2,447 games by Emil Szalanczi, from Jan 1979 to Nov 2026, are free to browse and replay move by move — no signup needed. The preparation view groups them into an opening tree showing every line Emil Szalanczi has played.

What does Emil Szalanczi play on the first move as White?

Across 1,238 games with White in our database, Emil Szalanczi opens with 1.e4 (93% of games), 1.Nf3 (3% of games), 1.c4 (3% of games). Against 1.e4 as Black, Emil Szalanczi answers 1...c5 (94% of games), 1...e5 (5% of games), 1...e6 (0% of games). Against 1.d4: 1...Nf6 (53% of games), 1...c5 (45% of games), 1...d5 (2% of games).

What openings does Emil Szalanczi play as White?

As White, Emil Szalanczi's most-played openings in our database are: Sicilian (143 games, 48.3% win rate); Sicilian: Najdorf (130 games, 39.2% win rate); Ruy Lopez: Closed (104 games, 53.8% win rate). The full breakdown of 1,238 games with White is in the table above.

What openings does Emil Szalanczi play as Black?

As Black, Emil Szalanczi most often plays: Sicilian: Dragon (286 games, 34.3% win rate); Benoni Defense (229 games, 35.4% win rate); Sicilian (89 games, 39.3% win rate). See the table above for the top ten Black openings across 1,209 games.

What is Emil Szalanczi's FIDE rating?

Emil Szalanczi is currently rated 1,831 in classical chess, 2,014 in rapid and 1,913 in blitz. Peak classical rating: 2,425 (Jul 1996).

How many games has Emil Szalanczi played?

Our database contains 2,447 games by Emil Szalanczi, covering Jan 1979 to Nov 2026. Overall record: 1,038 wins, 643 draws, 766 losses (42.4% win rate).

How do I prepare against Emil Szalanczi?

2,447 games by Emil Szalanczi reveal their opening repertoire, most-played lines, and the variations where they score worst — the raw material for targeted preparation. The interactive opening tree lets you walk every line to any depth.