Nakamura Outscores Naroditsky, Bortnyk To Win 31st Bullet Brawl Crown

GM Hikaru Nakamura came out on top in October's final Bullet Brawl after a tight race with GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Oleksandr Bortnyk on Saturday. Nakamura faced stiff resistance en route to his score of 251 and was fortunate to notch a 17-game streak at the end of the event, securing him the $400 first prize.

IM Karina Ambartsumova put in a stellar performance and finished in 19th place, earning her the $100 best women's prize, while "Macmasterr" was able to score 83/88 in the community event. 

November's first Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, November 2nd, 2024, at noon ET/18:00 CEST.

Standings

133 titled players contested Saturday's Bullet Brawl with the following breakdown: 13 GMs, 15 IMs, 2 WGMs, 39 FMs, 2 WIMs, 30 CMs, 3 WFMs, 26 NMs, and 3 WCMs. Naturally, the GMs were dominant, and 10 of the top-12 spots were claimed by players holding the most prestigious title. Several players also streamed on Twitch while playing the event.

To highlight how strong Saturday's field was you need to look at only the 11th- and 12th-place finishers, the world's youngest 2600 GM Yagiz Erdogmus, and former super-GM Jeffery Xiong.

The two-hour arena was a four-horse race from the start, with Nakamura, Naroditsky, Bortnyk, and GM Andrew Tang breaking away from the pack early. Fittingly, a fifth-place finish for GM Jose Martinez meant that the top-five performers were also the top-five all-time winners in the correct order!

Nakamura had the toughest start of the four after he dropped three and a half points in his first 10 games but made up for the lost time by toppling GMs Tuan Minh Le and Matthias Bluebaum. Nakamura's game with Bluebaum featured a clutch checkmate in a rook and knight vs. rook and pawn ending.

Usually, Naroditsky is the most cunning of Nakamura's rivals; however, the world number-three navigated the encounters with relatively few hiccups scoring 4/6.

The cleanest game won by Nakamura over the second-place finalist was a 31-move Closed Sicilian Defense: Grand Prix Attack where White drove Black's king to the center of the board with active piece play.

Because the contenders cannibalized each other's streaks, no one was able to run away with the event. When the arena entered its final quarter, all four players had reasonable winning chances. This is when the Bullet Brawl GOAT stepped up and amassed a 17-game streak, his longest of the tournament, making it impossible for the others to catch him.

Meanwhile, in the community event, an anonymous 2603 (bullet) rated North Macedonian player with the username "Macmasterr" dominated with a score of 315. Many of the winner's 83 wins came as a result of h-file hack attacks and puzzle-worthy tactics. See if you can spot a classic king-crushing tactic below.

All-Time Leaderboard

*Nakamura's 31st victory will be added shortly.

Bullet Brawl is an exciting titled arena that features Chess.com's top bullet specialists and takes place weekly on Saturdays. The format is a two-hour arena with a 1+0 time control; the prize fund is $1,000.

Much like Titled Tuesday and Arena Kings, Bullet Brawl often features top GMs, including Hikaru Nakamura, Daniel Naroditsky, Andrew Tang, Tuan Minh Le, and many more!

Previous coverage:

• • Announcing Chess.com Community Bullet Brawl Tournaments
  • Introducing Bullet Brawls And New Arena Options