Nakamura Posts 36-Game Unbeaten Streak, Captures 39th Title

The all-time leading Bullet Brawl title winner, GM Hikaru Nakamura, returned to the top of the standings on Saturday and won the $400 first prize, winning 66 games, drawing six, and losing five. Nakamura's score of 242 saw him finish ahead of fellow American GMs Andrew Tang, Sam Sevian, and Daniel Naroditsky, who comprised the podium and won $250, $150, and $100, respectively. 

IM Meri Arabidze was the top-performing women's player in Saturday's arena—she receives $100 for her score of 103. Sundram Kumar continues to cement his Community Bullet Brawl legacy with after securing another victory in the open event. 

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

Standings

(Full final standings here.)

The field for May's second Bullet Brawl overflowed with 224 titled players and a horde of GMs, including the aforementioned Americans, Ediz Gurel, Oleksandr Bortnyk, and the newly minted Haowen Xue. 11-year-old Argentinian prodigy IM Faustino Oro also joined the fray and finished in a respectable seventh place, four points behind the 12-time winner Bortnyk.

Tang got off to a flying start, winning 12/13 of his opening games. After 55 minutes, he held an 18-point lead over his nearest competitor, Nakamura. Much like in previous winning runs this year, Tang prioritized pace and aggression, but didn't shy away from showing off his pinpoint opening understanding.

Against IM Gianmarco Leiva, Tang performed a theoretical exchange sacrifice in the Center Game that orchestrated a transition into a superior middlegame.

A 19-move victory over Gurel was perhaps the most impressive feat registered by Tang in this period. When Gurel erred with 17...Ne4? while facing Tang's London-turned-Stonewall Attack, Tang quickly ended the game with a piece-winning tactic.

Nakamura, Bortnyk, and Oro were the main players who kept pace with Tang. At the halfway point, the leader's fortune turned when he suffered back-to-back losses to Oro and Xue.

Sensing the opportunity, Nakamura rose, showing that he is still the player to beat in Bullet Brawl. Despite early blips at the hands of NM Shelev Oberoi, Tang, Gurel, and FM Allahverdi Hamidov, lengthy streaks helped keep the world number-two's hopes alive. 

With a powerful 53/56 score in the second half, with only a single loss to Iranian GM Mahdi Gholami Orimi, Nakamura leapfrogged Tang and defeated Bortnyk, Oro (three times), Ibarra, Naroditsky, and Sevian (two times) along the way. In a 22-move scorcher against Sevian, Nakamura chalked up two brilliant moves after his opponent pinched two pawns.

The clincher for Nakamura was a late showdown with Tang. The eventual winner was on the receiving end of some flashy attacking play but weathered the storm. Following this, Nakamura went on to win the final 20 games of the event.

On May 25, Norway Chess 2025 will commence, and Nakamura will face GMs Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh Dommaraju, and Wei Yi in one of the strongest classical tournaments of the year. All signs point to Nakamura once again proving that his online form translates to quality play over the board.

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