Nakamura Puts On Tactical Masterclass To Win 14th Bullet Brawl Title
GM Hikaru Nakamura's supremacy over Bullet Brawl has continued into December as the world number-three coasted to a 253 score and his fourth-straight $400 victory. Landing in second place on Saturday was GM Oleksandr Bortnyk, who finished on 229, and GM Daniel Naroditsky rounded out the podium.
Fighting chess was the name of the game for FM Anastasia Avramidou, who scored 39 wins, 39 losses, and no draws en route to claiming the $100 best female prize, while streamer Ros1999 won the community event by a 14-point margin.
December's second Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, December 9, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CEST.
Standings
| Rank | Fed | Title | Name | Username | Rating | Score |
| 1 | GM | Hikaru Nakamura | Hikaru | 3274 | 253 | |
| 2 | GM | Oleksandr Bortnyk | Oleksandr_Bortnyk | 3175 | 229 | |
| 3 | GM | Daniel Naroditsky | DanielNaroditsky | 3214 | 215 | |
| 4 | IM | Renato Terry | MITerryble | 3107 | 181 | |
| 5 | GM | Tuan Minh Le | wonderfultime | 3115 | 180 | |
| 6 | GM | Jose Martinez | Jospem | 3125 | 166 | |
| 7 | GM | Rauf Mamedov | Baku_Boulevard | 3121 | 164 | |
| 8 | IM | Yoseph Taher | yosephtaher | 3014 | 159 | |
| 9 | GM | David Paravyan | dropstoneDP | 3096 | 159 | |
| 10 | GM | Dmitry Andreikin | FairChess_on_YouTube | 3004 | 150 | |
| 10 | IM | Kacper Drozdowski | Kacparov | 3006 | 150 | |
| 11 | FM | Arthur De Winter | IM_ArthurDW08 | 2862 | 144 | |
| 12 | GM | Salem AR Saleh | Salem-AR | 3033 | 141 | |
| 13 | GM | Eric Hansen | hansen | 2979 | 133 | |
| 14 | NM | Janak Awatramani | 12teen | 2901 | 131 | |
| 15 | FM | Toivo Keinanen | ToivoK3 | 3009 | 129 | |
| 16 | GM | Sergei Zhigalko | Zhigalko_Sergei | 3044 | 127 | |
| 17 | FM | Artavazd Hayrapetyan | Artooooo | 2748 | 115 | |
| 18 | GM | Pranav V | vi_pranav | 2987 | 115 | |
| 19 | CM | Eqor Baskakov | stollenmonster | 2870 | 113 | |
| 20 | CM | Nika Volkov | NikaVolkov | 2863 | 109 |
UNSTOPPABLE. @GMHikaru wins #BulletBrawl for the fourth week in a row 🏆🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/DQPb7MuhCv
— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 2, 2023
Nakamura's name has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, and the American streamer has been able to brush aside media commentary and continue performing at the highest level. During Saturday's Bullet Brawl, Nakamura racked up 70 wins, many of which were marked by cunning tactics.
The highlight of Nakamura's performance was a 21-move miniature against the 2729 FIDE-rated GM Dmitry Andreikin, where a move-eight brilliancy forced his opponent to give up his queen.
Chess.com's game review would mark Nakamura's performance rating as 3550!
Of Nakamura's eight losses, two of them came at the hands of the eventual second-place Bortnyk. These wins were a major part of how the Ukrainian came to finish second place, as he didn't let Nakamura get in the way of his streaks.
The 155-strong titled event continues to draw in the top bullet talent on the site as well as popular content creators. WFM Anna Cramling and GM Tuan Minh Le were two such creators to play in Saturday's Bullet Brawl and take their viewers along for the ride.
How to review games?
The games from December's first Bullet Brawl can be found here.
Bullet Brawl is an exciting new titled arena that features Chess.com's top bullet specialists and now 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!
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