Nakamura Wins 36th Title In 'Back To Work' Brawl

Following an eventful fortnight, GM Hikaru Nakamura returned to the Bullet Brawl arena to capture his 36th title and the $400 first prize, scoring 65/74 and finishing with a score of 232 ahead of 228 other titled players.

The event was headlined by Nakamura and the 27-time winner GM Daniel Naroditsky, who finished in third place. GM Haik Martirosyan performed superbly to finish second and will receive $250 for his efforts, while WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya won the $100 Best Women's prize having kept her nose in front of IM Anna Sargsyan. 

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will commence on Saturday, March 1, at noon ET/18:00 CEST.

Standings

Nakamura has had a busy 2025 so far. In the last two weeks, he has played in the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, the Chessable Masters, and also negotiated a partnership with esports organization Team Falcons.

The next move is clear—@GMHikaru joins Team Falcons. 🦅♟

Welcome to the nest! pic.twitter.com/y5VcrOiRzY

— Falcons Esports (@FalconsEsport) February 17, 2025

On Saturday, however, the king of Bullet Brawl returned to his "day job," streaming his winning Bullet Brawl run on Kick live from his Florida home.

Back to my day job. Streaming Bullet Brawl on @chesscom and some React Andy to @TarjeiJS article on the @joeroganhq interview of @MagnusCarlsen and some other random stuff. https://t.co/uIWAvi4vHO pic.twitter.com/Y7vITEIntG

— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) February 22, 2025

Tenacity was required in Saturday's event. After a sluggish 5/8 start, which included a defeat at the hands of Martirosyan, Nakamura blasted past 15 opponents in a row. Against Martirosyan, Nakamura was on track to win but ended up bearing the brunt of consecutive brilliant moves, which revealed his compromised back rank. 

Nakamura's reaction to the setbacks was swift and fierce—Peruvian IM Renato Terry was one opponent who felt the full force of a momentum-propelled 36-time Bullet Brawl victor after the erroneous 31.Qe3??.

Notably, Nakamura defeated four 3000+ rated players in a row during the streak.

With Martirosyan and Naroditsky hot on his heels, Nakamura locked in, dropping just five points in his last 51 games. One of the most instructive games played during this commanding period was against Kazakhstani FM Inayat Bolat, in which Nakamura essayed the Vienna Game: Max Lange Gambit before unleashing a devastating kingside assault.

Despite Martirosyan winning 17 games straight to close out the arena, it was not enough to catch Nakamura, who was the only player to finish above 200 points. 

Credit must also go to 14-year-old FM Tanitoluwa Adewumi, whose 15th place was remarkable in a field littered with players with FIDE ratings over 2600. The talented junior is one IM norm and 38 points shy of the IM title.

All-Time Leaderboard

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