Hikaru Eclipses Carlsen After 46-Game Unbeaten Streak

GM Hikaru Nakamura monstered his way to a record 10th Bullet Brawl title on Saturday ahead of 168 titled players including GMs Magnus Carlsen and Oleksandr Bortnyk, who finished second and third.

Nakamura’s run to a winning score of 250 featured 67 wins, seven draws, and just two losses, the fewest that a winner has conceded in Bullet Brawl history. The American also produced the longest unbeaten streak of 46 games to close out the arena and claim the $400 first prize.

Greece’s FM Anastasia Avramidou once again won the $100 best female prize but faced a new challenger in WFM Ekaterina Fomkina, who finished three points shy of Avramidou. In the 287-player strong community event, user “icecreamiscream” blitzed the field with a score of 274.

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will take place next week on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CEST.

How to review games?
The games from September’s third Bullet Brawl can be found here.

As Chess.com’s 2023 Speed Chess Championship nears the pointy end, it was no surprise to see half of the remaining field (Nakamura and Carlsen), fine-tuning their bullet chess form in the lead-up to their respective semifinal clashes. With no increment to rely on in Saturday’s arena, speed and intuition were paramount to success, and Nakamura proved to be practically invulnerable.

A blistering win over GM Daniel Naroditsky was the perfect start for the American GM’s event. and previous winners GM Nihal Sarin and GM Matthias Bluebaum were the only players able to overcome him in the first hour of play. Carlsen did get a shot at Nakamura during this period, though an early blunder by the world number-one allowed his opponent to take control.

The second hour of the arena was when Nakamura was able to surge ahead. Astoundingly, after his loss to Bluebaum, the bullet juggernaut did not lose again. Wins over GMs Andrew Tang, Pranesh M, Vugar Rasulov, and Parham Maghsoodloo are just some of the highlights of Nakamura’s commanding run, and his unbeaten streak is marked by laser precision and astonishing consistency.

Famed FM Tani Adewumi made a cameo appearance in Nakamura’s win streak.

Not long after his convincing win over GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the SCC, Carlsen’s form was also electrifying, and the former world champion procured several satisfying tactical shots. See if you can find the combinations below of the highest-rated player of all time.

With overall participation across Saturday’s Bullet Brawl events reaching 455—168 of whom were titled players—the popularity of the event is undeniable. The weekly two-hour arena is a fantastic opportunity for titled players, aspiring titled players, and content creators to come together and test their skills.

Standings

Rank	Fed	Title	Name	Username	Rating	Score
1		GM	Hikaru Nakamura	Hikaru	3331	250
2		GM	Magnus Carlsen	MagnusCarlsen	3319	223
3		GM	Oleksandr Bortnyk	Oleksandr_Bortnyk	3130	210
4		GM	Daniel Naroditsky	DanielNaroditsky	3212	200
5		GM	Jose Martinez	jospem	3165	184
6		GM	Nihal Sarin	nihalsarin	3164	183
7		GM	Sergei Zhigalko	Zhigalko_Sergei	3098	164
8		GM	Arjun Erigaisi	GHANDEEVAM2003	3136	159
9		GM	David Paravyan	dropstoneDP	3160	159
10		GM	Andrew Tang	penguingm1	3073	150
11		GM	Matthias Bluebaum	Msb2	3050	144
12		IM	Kacper Drozdowski	Kacparov	2972	127
13		IM	Emin Ohanyan	OhanyanEminChess	2985	125
14		FM	Gabriel Arteaga	Gravity_Chess	2945	123
15		IM	Ediz Gurel	gurelediz	3017	122
16		GM	Mitrabha Guha	mitrabhaa	2922	121
17		FM	Arystan Isanzhulov	Arysya	2976	116
18		FM	Arman Geivondian	Ramosha	2801	113
19		IM	Deniz Ozen	denizozen	2940	111
20		FM	Petros Trimitzios	TrimitziosP7	2963	110

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 $2,500.

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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