Nakamura Scores Near-Perfect 74.5/76

GM Hikaru Nakamura triumphantly returned to the Bullet Brawl arena on Saturday, scoring 74.5/76 en route to a resounding victory ahead of 150 titled players. Boasting a score of 288, Nakamura finished with a 14-point buffer separating him from GM Daniel Naroditsky, his rival who dropped just six games himself. The battle for third place was eventually won by GM Tuan Minh Le after thwarting GMs Eric Hansen and Alireza Firouzja.

GM Harika Dronavalli, who notched a score of 87 was the winner of the $100 best female prize while regular César Frank Talledo Lagos topped the community event.

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at noon ET/18:00 CEST.

Standings

Even for the world's most decorated bullet chess player, going undefeated in a two-hour titled arena has seemed like a bridge too far. However, after Nakamura's latest performance in the 50th edition of Bullet Brawl, it seems to be merely a matter of time until this feat is achieved.

74 WINS, 1 DRAW, 1 LOSS@GMHikaru returned to #BulletBrawl action with a BANG, and claimed his 22nd victory in the event 💥 pic.twitter.com/EJ7KmZAkzi

— Chess.com (@chesscom) April 27, 2024

Following his agonizing draw against GM Gukesh Dommaraju in the final round of the "long, slow" FIDE Candidates Tournament, Nakamura joined Saturday's Bullet Brawl with a fire in his belly. Kick viewers were treated to the American's live commentary as he decimated every challenger he came across, barring GMs Jose Martinez and David Paravyan who were the only players to defeat and draw with him, respectively.

Streaming Bullet Brawl, which I missed during that long slow tournament. https://t.co/8aLBKR31Tx pic.twitter.com/uAnk4tzAs3

— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) April 27, 2024

Unfortunately, despite Firouzja's participation in this week's Bullet Brawl, the Candidates' competitors did not square off.

While Nakamura's attacking prowess was on full display throughout the arena, defensive resources were what allowed the eventual winner to build 44- and 27-game winning streaks and run away with the title. Against Canada's FM Anthony Atanasov, Nakamura sacrificed a knight to defend against an erroneous Greek Gift sacrifice, flipping the initiative in the process.

In another game, Nakamura dispatched FM Martin Szabo with an incisive exchange sacrifice that completely exposed his German opponent's king. 

In an unusual twist, the first and second places—Nakamura and Naroditsky—played just once, meaning that the podium race to first came down to their results against other opponents. For Naroditsky, king hunts were on the cards, and New In Chess writer NM Han Schut found out just how dangerous "The Prophet" can be.

After 50 weeks of Bullet Brawl, Nakamura stands firmly at the top of the all-time leaderboard with 22 wins. Combined with Naroditsky, the pair has won an immense 76 percent of arenas held. Such is their dominance that just five other players have managed to wrestle titles from their grasps.

Bullet Brawl is an exciting new 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