Nakamura Prevails In Firouzja Showdown, Wins 41st Bullet Brawl Title

GM Hikaru Nakamura prevailed in a showdown with world number-seven GM Alireza Firouzja during Saturday's Bullet Brawl, earning himself the $400 first prize and his 41st title. Nakamura scored 70 wins, four losses, and a string of draws at the tail end of the arena to finish with a score of 264, five points ahead of Firouzja.

GMs Oleksandr Bortnyk and Jose Martinez won $150 and $100 for their third and fourth-place finishes, respectively, and Iranian WIM Mitra Asgharzadeh captured the $100 best women's prize ahead of IM Maka Purtseladze.

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will commence on Saturday, June 14, at noon ET/17:00 CEST.

Standings

(Full final standings here.)

June's first Bullet Brawl attracted 211 titled players and was one of the strongest events in recent times, chiefly due to the participation of two of the world's top-10 players, Nakamura and Firouzja. The highest-scoring non-GM, IM Kacper Drozdowski (who boasts a Chess.com bullet rating of 3046), came in 12th.

Iran's and Canada's best chess players, GMs Parham Maghsoodloo and Chessbrah Eric Hansen, also joined the fray but didn't breach the 200-point barrier.

An electric 21-game winning streak marked the perfect start for Firouzja, and GMs Bortnyk, Nakamura, Hansen, Andrew Tang, and Emin Ohanyan all fell at the feet of the Frenchman during his rampage. Firouzja's game against Nakamura was particularly striking—he made short work of his opponent's usually solid Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack and finished the game with 46 seconds left on the clock.

Firouzja and Nakamura played on just one other occasion in this week's brawl; however, as the halfway mark drew near and they established themselves as the frontrunners, an indirect showdown ensued.

Nakamura responded to early setbacks in style, notching a 30-game win streak that brimmed with tactical flourishes.

Against compatriot and NM Paul Rohwer, Nakamura employed a classic f5-pawn break in his pet Grand Prix Attack and followed up with a surgical knight sacrifice. Although his play wasn't flawless, Nakamura heaped enough pressure on Rohwer to procure a decisive blunder.

In another game, Nakamura found the quickest way to force checkmate, saving himself precious seconds in the race against Firouzja.

Eventually, a loss to Tang did snap Nakamura's streak, but this was just a blip on the 41-time winner's scorecard. The American posted a second unbeaten streak of more than 30 moves, allowing him to surge past Firouzja, who suffered losses at the hands of GMs Haowen Xue, Ohanyan, and Bortnyk.

Nakamura's guile and pragmatism in dicey positions came to the fore during this streak, such as in his game against 15-year-old FM Semen Novozhilov. Facing a two-pawn deficit, Nakamura pounced when his opponent erred with 26...Rf8??. See if you can spot Nakamura's trick to reverse the material shortfall.

To secure victory, Nakamura played solidly and drew his final three games of the arena, adding enough points to his total to ensure that Firouzja could not catch him. Though Firouzja has won just one edition of Bullet Brawl, he remains one of the toughest opponents for Nakamura to overcome. With regular participation, he would undoubtedly climb higher on the all-time leaderboard.

All-Time Leaderboard

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, 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