Smurf
A smurf is a strong player who creates a new low-rated account to face much weaker opponents, typically for easy wins or low-pressure practice.
- Category
- Online Chess
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Also known as
- alt account, secondary account, burner account, throwaway account, multi-account, second profile
Smurf is a strong player who opens a fresh account on an online chess platform and starts with the lowest possible rating. The new account quickly matches the smurf against far weaker opponents than their main account would ever face.
Players create these accounts for different reasons. Some simply want a stream of easy wins. Others use the second account for relaxed practice, testing experimental openings or aggressive ideas without worrying about rating drops on their primary profile.
The practice harms the playing environment for everyone else. Beginners and club players can lose several games in a row to someone whose real strength is hundreds of points higher, which feels unfair and discouraging. It also distorts the rating system, because the inflated results on the smurf account no longer reflect normal skill differences.
Most platforms discourage or prohibit smurfing, though detection relies on patterns such as unusually high win rates from a brand-new account or identical playing styles across multiple profiles. The behaviour is widely viewed as poor sportsmanship and is closely related to sandbagging.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a smurf in online chess?
- A smurf is a strong player who opens a fresh low-rated account to face opponents far below their true strength.
- Why do players create smurf accounts?
- Players use them either for easy wins or to test experimental openings without risking rating drops on their main profile.
- How does smurfing affect other players?
- It produces repeated mismatches that discourage weaker players and distort the overall rating system.
- How do platforms detect and handle smurfing?
- Detection relies on patterns such as rapid high win rates from new accounts or stylistic matches with other profiles, and most sites prohibit the practice.
About the reviewer
Ben's been in love with chess since he was seven years old, when his grandfather taught him the Sicilian Defense on a well-worn board that had traveled through three generations of family game nights.