Nakamura, Naroditsky, Tang Comprise All-American Podium

GM Hikaru Nakamura won his 26th Bullet Brawl title and the $400 first prize after scoring 268 points and staving off a challenge from GM Daniel Naroditsky (253) on Friday. Rounding out the podium and claiming the $150 third prize was GM Andrew Tang, while GM Oleksandr Bortnyk secured fourth place and $100.

The $100 best women's prize was hotly contested in August's first event, but the class of WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya shone through as she surged to 14th place overall. Twitch streamer "GeneralZod" notched 67 wins, two draws, and six losses to win the community event.

The next Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at noon ET/18:00 CEST.

Standings

water is wet. the sky is blue. @gmhikaru wins #bulletbrawl. pic.twitter.com/QcpZvM5dw6

— Chess.com (@chesscom) August 3, 2024

A huge day for the U.S. at the Paris Olympics saw the country catapult up the standings in terms of gold medals and their best bullet chess players appeared to invoke the Olympic spirit to claim all three podium spots in August's first Bullet Brawl. The all-time Bullet Brawl gold medal tally leans heavily in favor of the U.S. 

Nakamura returned to the two-hour, weekly arena and edged out his compatriot Naroditsky after racing him to the finish line. The pair added another page to the legacy they are building. Of the now-64 editions of Bullet Brawl, Nakamura and Naroditsky have won a combined 47.

Signs of Nakamura's form were clear from the get-go, but it was in the middle stages of the event when the five-time U.S. champion demonstrated his prowess, most notably in games such as the following 11-move demolition of an opponent's Latvian Gambit-inspired opening.

The key to winning the event, though, was Nakamura's commanding 4.5/5 score against the 21-time winner Naroditsky which included one game where Nakamura played with over 96% accuracy.

Playing the French Defense: Classical, MacCutcheon, Exchange Variation, Nakamura liquidated into a queen and rook endgame before showing why he is the world number-two.

Speaking of world rankings, Naroditsky himself has been making moves on the FIDE blitz leaderboards. The 28-year-old clocked his first-ever 2700 rating this month following unbeaten runs in the Carolinas Blitz Classic and Charlotte Summer Open.

CONGRATS @GmNaroditsky 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/EeLn0vfVYZ

— Chess.com (@chesscom) August 3, 2024

Also finishing in the top 12 in Friday's event were prodigious juniors GM-elect Andy Woodward and IM-elect Faustino Oro. When the pair played against each other, it was the 14-year-old Woodward who got the better of 10-year-old Oro.

A move-7 novelty on the black side of the Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Countergambit set Woodward up for success, and he found all the right moves to rip open White's kingside. See if you can find the difficult moves Woodward found in the puzzle below.

The U.S. Paris Olympics gold medal tally will almost certainly grow over the next week as their strongest sport (athletics) gets underway. However, if bullet chess were an Olympic sport, then you'd best believe the country would have competition when deciding its most dominant event.

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