Nakamura Posts 23-Game Streak, Completes Bullet Brawl Hat Trick

GM Hikaru Nakamura has captured another Bullet Brawl after scoring 71.5/77—which includes a 23-game winning streak—and finishing ahead of the second and third-placed GMs Oleksandr Bortnyk and Tuan Minh Le. With a winning margin of 55 points, Nakamura is the winner of the $400 first prize and has now won the event a record 32 times. The win on Saturday is his third in a row.

The $100 top women's prize went to Georgian IM Meri Arabidze, who defeated several 3000+ rated players including GM Arjun Erigaisi on her way to victory, while Sundram Kumar won the community event with a score of 275.

The next Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at noon ET/18:00 CEST.

Standings

In early 2023 GM Magnus Carlsen labeled himself as "the final boss of chess" and while he has backed this up for over a decade in innumerable events, Nakamura's 32 titles give him every right to claim the title of Bullet Brawl's final boss.

71.5/77. Just @GMHikaru things... pic.twitter.com/poOOElNszP

— Chess.com (@chesscom) November 2, 2024

Saturday's field was bustling with players rated over 3000. The top entrants included former rapid world championship runner-up GM Dmitry Andreikin, the "Messi of Chess" IM Faustino Oro, and the current world number-four Arjun. GM Daniel Naroditsky also played in this week's event but was relegated to a ninth-place finish, a testament to the strength of the field.

A sluggish start saw Nakamura drop his first game against Vietnamese WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram before he kicked into gear and won seven straight.

Impressively, the American defeated three GMs in a row during this streak: Alan Pichot, Arjun, and Emin Ohanyan, before drawing with GM Leon Luke Mendonca. The four collectively boast an average FIDE rating of 2645.

Though his start was strong, the last half of the event is where Nakamura really took control, and in his final 46 games he lost just one—at the hands of Le. An 18-move win over the former European chess champion, GM Matthias Bluebaum, is one of many highlights for Nakamura as he coasted toward his 32nd title.

In the game below, Nakamura focused on hunting down the enemy king, even if it cost him material. See if you can spot the checkmate he found. Hint: Leave your bishop en prise!

One of the shining stars of Saturday's brawl was the women's prize-winner Arabidze, who managed to outscramble Arjun and flag him with 0.4 seconds left on her clock. Early in the game, she found two brilliant moves that would have been enough to dispatch most players; however, Arjun flipped the script with resourceful defense.

Soon after, Arabidze found herself on the back foot and had to rely on intuition and mouse speed to keep herself in the game.

With his latest victory, Nakamura has now won 32 of the 77 Bullet Brawls since the format's inception, which is about 41.6 percent of all editions. Considering that 120 to 150 titled players vie for the title each week, Nakamura's hit rate is extraordinary.

All-Time Leaderboard

*Nakamura's 32nd 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