Nakamura Shatters Record In Bullet Chess Speedrun Presented By Stella Artois

On Tuesday, June 1, GM Hikaru Nakamura broke the world record of most victories against unique opponents in one hour in the 1|0 bullet time control. He accomplished this feat on Chess.com in the Bullet Chess Speedrun presented by Stella Artois.

Nakamura defeated 52 opponents in the 60-minute timeframe. The previous record stood at 32 victories against different opponents. "It could have been 53, maybe 54," said the new world record holder right after finishing.

As he was live-streaming his play on his Twitch channel, Nakamura actually won every single game, which lasted 68.5 seconds on average. Always having a strong connection with his viewers in the chat, he phrased it as follows: "We actually won every single game and... that's what happens."

The American speed demon at one point was playing for more than 22,000 concurrent viewers. Some fun prizes were given away during the matches, including Stella swag, a Stella chess set, and a custom, signed Stella chalice. A grand giveaway was featured on Nakamura's Twitter account.

I won the @chesscom record, but you can take home the
real prize.

RT + follow @StellaArtois for your chance to win a
premium Stella chess board signed by me and
limited-edition chalices! #CheersMate #ad pic.twitter.com/DZVnWVPMhg

— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) June 1, 2021

It was the first time that Stella Artois, a Belgian beer brand, worked with a chess streamer on Twitch. A Stella representative expressed gratitude and joy about this first cooperation with Chess.com in a message to the Chess.com team that had arranged all the work behind the scenes.

"Stella Artois making a move into chess is an unexpected, yet perfect, match," said Lara Krug, VP of Marketing, Stella Artois before the event. "Like our beer, chess is meant to be savored together. It’s such a beautiful game where you truly take the time to soak up every moment of the match and enjoy each other’s company, which is made even better with a Stella Artois in hand."