Bullet brawl A new champion was crowned on Saturday after 15-year-old Turkish prodigy GM Ediz Gurel scored 265 points, finishing ahead of American GMs Andrew Tang (261) and Daniel Naroditsky (211).

The winner of the $100 women’s grand prize with 103 points was WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya, while FIDE educator and Chess.com top blogger Moises Ford knocked Cesar Frank Talledo Lagos off the top spot in the community event.

The next Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, 24 August 2024, 18:00 CEST.

Table position

Saturday’s field featured 140 masters, from NMs to Super GMs, and famous figures like GMs Tang, Naroditsky, Nihal Sarin, Matthias Bluebaum, and Eric Hansen flocked to try their luck at Bullet Brawl. However, one GM less than half the age of many of his competitors towered above them all to claim his first crown… Gurel.

15-year-old Ediz Gurel wins his first #BulletBrawl 🏆

He beat Andrew Tang and Daniel Naroditsky to take the win! 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/rVbZTggZT

— Chess.com (@chesscom) 17 August 2024

The 15-year-old Turkish prodigy is quickly becoming a household name in rapid chess circles and has even attracted the interest of former World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen, who played five blitz games against Gurel on Chess.com earlier this week after they met at the 2024 Rapid and Blitz Team Championships.

In the arena on Saturday, Gurel took inspiration from Naroditky and managed 82 games, winning 72 of them. Although he lost 10 games, only three were against players rated below 3000. And why? Most of his opponents below that rating could not keep up with his tactical precision and uncompromising style.

NM Michael Romero was a victim of Gurel and from the dark side of the Vienna Game: Max Lange, Vienna Gambit, his Knight Tango at the end resembled more of a Moonwalk.

Gurel’s most important matches were those against podium contenders and Tang was his biggest rival on Saturday. Although the score was 2-1 in Tang’s favor, Gurel’s conversion technique in his only victory was telling.

The runner-up also had some of the fun, launching a puzzling attack with the Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit. Try to figure out the classic sacrifice that Tang used to secure a 13-move win.

Tang has been a little unlucky in terms of wins in Bullet Brawl, and although the US GM is fifth on the all-time list with two wins, if he could convert half of his second-place finishes into wins, he would be third ahead of GM Oleksandr Bortnyk.

All-time leaderboard

*Gurel’s first win will be added shortly.

A series of excellent results from Gurel and fellow 13-year-old compatriot and designated GM Yaqiz Erdogmus bodes well for the Turkish national team, and with the pair playing on the top boards for their country in the upcoming 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad, it is realistic to predict that they may do better than their 23rd position.

How do I review games?
You can find the games from this week’s Bullet Brawl Here.

Bullet Brawl is an exciting arena featuring Chess.com’s best bullet specialists, held weekly on Saturdays. The format is a two-hour arena with a 1+0 time control and the prize pool is $1,000.

Similar to 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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