Gurel Joins 34 Minutes Late, Still Wins 9th Title
Turkiye's GM Ediz Gurel created Bullet Brawl history on Saturday after joining the arena 34 minutes late and still winning the event. Gurel finished ahead of 162 titled players, including the five-time world champion, GM Magnus Carlsen, who also joined late.
Gurel scored 46/53, which converted to an unrivalled 153 points, earning him the $400 first prize. GM Nihal Sarin finished in second place on 149 and will receive $250, while Carlsen and GM Yagiz Erdogmus will receive $150 and $100 for third and fourth, respectively.
The winner of the $100 best women's prize was Greek FM Anastasia Avramidou.
The next edition of Bullet Brawl will commence on Saturday, April 4, at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CET.
Standings
| Number | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | Longest Streak |
| 1 | GM | gurelediz | Ediz Gürel | 3340 | 153 | 10 | |
| 2 | GM | nihalsarin | Nihal Sarin | 3238 | 149 | 6 | |
| 3 | GM | MagnusCarlsen | Magnus Carlsen | 3257 | 142 | 10 | |
| 4 | GM | legendisback1 | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | 3257 | 141 | 6 | |
| 5 | IM | yosephtaher | Yoseph Theolifus Taher | 3184 | 135 | 6 | |
| 6 | IM | FaustinoOro | Faustino Oro | 3191 | 131 | 8 | |
| 7 | GM | Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3243 | 128 | 6 | |
| 8 | GM | Parhamov | Parham Maghsoodloo | 3177 | 122 | 9 | |
| 9 | GM | Jospem | Jose Martinez | 3173 | 122 | 7 | |
| 10 | IM | MITerryble | Renato Terry | 3160 | 116 | 10 | |
| 11 | GM | OhanyanEminChess | Emin Ohanyan | 3138 | 111 | 6 | |
| 12 | CM | NikaVolkov | Nika Volkov | 2971 | 109 | 5 | |
| 13 | IM | rezamahdavi2008 | Reza Mahdavi | 3118 | 108 | 7 | |
| 14 | FM | TrimitziosP7 | Petros Trimitzios | 2995 | 108 | 5 | |
| 15 | GM | crescentmoon2411 | Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son | 3070 | 107 | 8 | |
| 16 | IM | IlanSchnaider | Ilan Schnaider | 3030 | 105 | 6 | |
| 17 | GM | francyIM | Francesco Sonis | 2968 | 105 | 5 | |
| 18 | IM | Herzog2012 | Mark Smirnov | 3007 | 104 | 4 | |
| 19 | GM | ChessSharkz | Kayden Troff | 3029 | 101 | 5 | |
| 20 | GM | Gareth-Bale11 | Mamikon Gharibyan | 2946 | 100 | 6 |
(Full final standings here.)
Saturday's Bullet Brawl was one of the most top-heavy editions of late, with no fewer than three over-the-board super-GMs in Carlsen, Nihal, and Parham Maghsoodloo lining up to play. Carlsen's late entry seemed to increase the intensity of the arena, and it didn't take long before he was hot on the heels of the leaders.
Much like in the previous edition, Argentinian whiz kid and IM Faustino Oro led for most of the first half, though he was tailed by a pack of hungry GMs and IMs. Many of these players would have been eager not to be beaten by a player who was still an infant when they created their Chess.com accounts.
GM Jose Martinez became Oro's first victim after an erroneous pawn break saw the four-time winner drop a piece. GMs Maghsoodloo, Francesco Sonis, and Vitaly Teterev were also put to the sword.
Despite the 12-year-old's powerful start, a throng of experienced brawlers kept themselves within striking range, and Erdogmus eventually overtook him. Incredibly though, the late-joining Gurel and Carlsen had carved a path back into the top 10 and found themselves sitting in third and sixth places, respectively, as the final quarter approached.
Gurel's rise to the top was particularly impressive, given that he had joined later than the world number-one and had even beaten Carlsen in the type of endgame he is famous for winning.
Gurel's games were befitting of someone in a hurry, yet the accuracy of his hack-and-slash attacks left his opponents with little time or chance to defend. Against GM Mamikon Gharibyan, Gurel put on a Greek-gift-inspired exhibition and prompted his opponent's resignation by move 20.
With the finish line in sight, Gurel turned things up a notch and posted a 10-game winning streak.
Wins over GM Emin Ohanyan, IM Renato Terry, Nihal, Erdogmus, Oro, and IM Yoseph Taher were all important in Gurel sealing first place by a margin of four points. In the end, his clutch win over the second-placed Nihal proved decisive.
Although Gurel has won nine Bullet Brawl titles, his effort on Saturday was mind-boggling. The 17-year-old lost just four games and played 25 fewer games than Nihal, making this a truly historic result.
All-Time Leaderboard
| Player | All-Time Wins | 2026 Wins | 2025 Wins | 2024 Wins | 2023 Wins |
| GM Hikaru Nakamura | 54 | 5 | 15 | 19 | 15 |
| GM Daniel Naroditsky | 32 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 10 |
| GM Oleksandr Bortnyk | 16 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| GM Andrew Tang | 15 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| GM Ediz Gurel | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| GM Jose Martinez | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| GM Yagiz Erdogmus | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| GM Nihal Sarin | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| GM Jeffery Xiong | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| GM Sam Sevian | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| GM Alireza Firouzja | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| GM Arjun Erigaisi | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| IM Renato Terry | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GM Matthias Bluebaum | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| GM Tuan Minh Le | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| IM Yoseph Taher | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| IM Reza Mahdavi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| GM Javokhir Sindarov | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
How to review games?
The games from this week's Bullet Brawl can be found here.
Bullet Brawl is an exciting arena featuring Chess.com's top bullet specialists. It takes place weekly on Saturdays. The format is a two-hour arena with a 1+0 time control; the prize fund is $1,000. Like Titled Tuesday and Arena Kings, Bullet Brawl often features top GMs, including Hikaru Nakamura, Andrew Tang, Tuan Minh Le, and many more!
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