How Darryll Has Played On Chess.com Every Day for More Than 14 Years

Are you a dedicated chess player? If so, meet Darryll Alke, whose commitment to online chess might just leave you in awe.

With more than 180,000,000 people from every corner of the world on Chess.com, we occasionally come across someone whose achievements are truly unique. 65-year-old Darryll Alke definitely falls into that category, logging in every day under the username Merlin-Pendragon and maintaining Chess.com's longest play streak.

It all began on November 10, 2010. More than 14 years later, the retired salesman from Iowa has maintained a jaw-dropping Chess.com streak!

To maintain a streak on Chess.com, you need to play a game or make a move in a daily game or against a bot. If one day you don't, the streak pauses. Three days without any games or moves, and the streak is gone.

Alke is currently on an ongoing play streak that has lasted 5,136 days, equal to more than 14 years. That's an incredible achievement, and it's so impressive that Chess.com has awarded him a lifetime Diamond membership.

When Chess.com asked Alke about achievement, he burst into laughter. "It's ridiculous!"

It's ridiculous!

—Darryll Alke on his 14-year streak

The online chess legend explained that he was shocked to hear that he had entered his name in the record books and that he found it hilarious when Chess.com reached out for an interview.

"It's pretty cool. I just play chess, and I love it. I started when I was very young and I have always just enjoyed it. It's always been a pleasure." Alke told Chess.com on the phone. He jokes that with his lifetime membership, he hopes to live until he is 100 years old.

Alke, father of three and grandfather of six, explained passionately that chess has had a therapeutic effect on his life since he picked up the rules in the early 70s, during the GMs Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky World Championship match. 

"I started playing chess when I was probably 10. There was a neighbor kid who had brothers, and they taught me how to play," he said. "The neighbor across the street was 25, and we played 24 games, and I beat the guy. I beat the guy..." he recalled with a laugh.

He describes himself as an unorthodox-styled self-taught "chess hack," noting that he has a style more or less known as "goofy or "what-in-the-world-is-he-doing." It works for him!

Asked about his "chess is my escape" quote on his profile, he says: "It clears my head when I am troubled, when I have a lot on my mind. I can sit down and play chess and get kind of rebalanced."

It clears my head when I am troubled, when I have a lot on my mind. I can sit down and play chess and get kind of rebalanced.

—Darryll Alke

As the creator of the Team Iowa club on Chess.com, he has also been highly active in the Chess.com community and joked once that he would become a world-renowned chess player. Now that he has made it into the record books, he realizes the dream may finally come true!

Asked what his secret is, Alke says: "Coffee and chess. First thing in the morning. Get that balance going, I guess. That's always been a thing," he says. He has enjoyed playing one-minute games in particular; in fact, almost 40,000 of his games are bullet games. "I was in the 2000s, but look at my rating now. I can't get there anymore," he laughs, pointing to his 2025 peak from 2011.

Cheers to Darryll, a true Chess.com legend!