Naroditsky Secures 5th Bullet Brawl Title

GM Daniel Naroditsky was crowned as the winner of September's last Bullet Brawl after amassing a score of 288, 54 points ahead of the second-placed GM Hikaru Nakamura and third-placed GM Pranav Venkatesh. The total of 78 wins, three draws, and six losses was enough for the energetic commentator to claim $400, his fifth title, and his rightful spot in second place on the all-time leaderboard.

The $100 prize for the top-scoring female was won by a new winner—IM Tatjana Vasilevich, who finished 32nd overall, while the community event was topped by user "GrandMalakidis."

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, October 7, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CEST.

One of the general requisites for success in Bullet Brawl is producing a reasonable score against the 10-time victor Nakamura. On Saturday, Naroditsky procured a par score of 1.5/3 against the often indomitable speed demon.

His sole win over Nakamura sprouted from the Jobava London System, a setup that Naroditsky has used to quickly topple GM-level opponents in recent editions of Bullet Brawl.

Compared to Nakamura and Pranav, Naroditsky also managed to complete more games—87 games to their 80 and 78 respectively. The reason for this is fairly straightforward: Naroditsky was able to win many of his games in less than 20 moves and when they did take longer, the American GM often found himself with plenty of time spare on the clock.

See if you can find the tactics in the positions below that helped Naroditsky win efficiently. 

Though the next puzzle does not result in significant material gain or a checkmate, it is an important intermezzo that gave Naroditsky an edge.

September's fifth edition of Bullet Brawl also saw the emergence of a star of the future, the 16-year-old Indian GM Pranav. For his efforts in the event, the champion of the 2022 Challengers Chess Tour won $150 and showcased his uncompromising style in a 16-move miniature against IM Karina Ambartsumova.

With its 20th edition looming, Bullet Brawl has still seen just five unique winners, thanks to Nakamura's and Naroditsky's consistent domination. Growing in popularity among titled players each week, though, it is only a matter of time until a new winner emerges to claim the lion's share of the $1,000 prize fund.

Standings

Bullet Brawl is an exciting new titled arena that features Chess.com's top bullet specialists and now 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:

• Nihal Sets Record With 56-Game Unbeaten Run
• Nakamura Eclipses Carlsen After 46-Game Unbeaten Streak
• Nihal Streams For First Time in 3 Years, Wins In Bullet Brawl Masterclass
• Nakamura Closes In On 10th Bullet Brawl Title
• Naroditsky Claims 4th Bullet Brawl Title
• Nakamura Sets New Bullet Brawl Record With 83 Wins
• Naroditsky Doubles Down On Bullet Brawl Crown
• Naroditsky Runs Riot In Bullet Brawl
• Bortnyk Blazes Bullet Brawl Field
• Death, Taxes, And Nakamura's Bullet Brawl Victories
• Nakamura Breaks Bullet Brawl Record With 75 Wins
• Naroditsky Collects First Bullet Brawl Title Ahead Of Nakamura, Carlsen
• Nakamura, The King Of Bullet Brawl, Strikes Again
• Bullet Brawl Is Going Weekly
• Martinez Slam-Dunks Second Bullet Brawl Title
• Announcing Chess.com Community Bullet Brawl Tournaments
• Nakamura Wins Bullet Brawl In Final 10 Seconds
• Martinez Scorches 59 Opponents In 2 Hours
• Nakamura Wins Second Bullet Brawl
• Introducing Bullet Brawls And New Arena Options