GM Hikaru Nakamura successfully returned to the Bullet brawl Arena after a two-week break, won his 27th title and the first prize of $400 with a convincing score of 69.5/77. GMs Andrew Tang and Jose Martinez completed the podium, which was hotly contested by a top 10 list of GMs.

With 106 points, WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya won the USD 100 Best Woman award ahead of FM Anastasia Avramidou, while Jason Leverett won the community event ahead of Eirik Berget and Cesar Frank Talledo Lagos.

The next Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, August 31, 2024, 12:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CEST.

Table position

Saturday’s Bullet Brawl was one of the most top-heavy editions in the event’s history, and with no less than 25 GMs playing, Nakamura had to be at his best to maintain his perfect podium finish rate.

✅ play Bullet Brawl again
✅ back to victory in Bullet Brawl@GMHikaru returned to the fastest arena of chess and won for the 27th time! pic.twitter.com/Aen0sJs13q

— Chess.com (@chesscom) 24 August 2024

Nakamura’s initial pairings were challenging and the American faced seven grandmasters in his first ten matches: grandmasters Tuan Minh Le (twice), Oleksandr Bortnyk, Martinez, Novendra Priasmoro, Aram Hakobyan and Andy Woodward.

However, Nakamura thwarted this setup with a score of 8/10. In his first game against Le, clever interludes were the trigger for his opponent’s resignation on move 26.

The middle period of the arena was the most competitive and the usual suspects – Martinez and Naroditsky – were the main fears. However, as Nakamura often does, he stepped up a gear, upped the pace and went on a 32-match winning streak that effectively gave him his 27th title.

Nakamura’s stunning run was characterized by significant time advantages and tactical precision, best demonstrated in a game against Australian hyperbullet fan CM Jesse Zafirakos, where he provoked IM Levy Rozman with a double rook sacrifice.

During this period, 11 more grandmasters fell victim to the American, and the only player to score against him was Tang with a perfect 3/3. Grandmasters Bortnyk, Le and Hakobyan each managed to score a win against Nakamura, but with 68 wins at the end of the arena, the defeats were a distant memory.

The gap between Nakamura and Naroditsky has widened once again before the end of Bullet Brawl’s second year, but the pair’s superiority is undeniable. For their victories alone, the American grandmasters have amassed nearly $20,000 in prize money, and that number could rise in the coming weeks as other top players head to Budapest for the 2024 FIDE Olympiad.

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