Nakamura Wins November Trifecta, Scores 74.5/79

GM Hikaru Nakamura scored 73 wins and conceded just three draws and three losses in one of his most dominant Bullet Brawl performances yet, finishing with a 42-point buffer over the second-placed GM Daniel Naroditsky to claim the $400 first prize.

Hyperbullet specialist GM Andrew Tang rounded out the podium with a score of 225, while IM Polina Shuvalova came in 12th, breaking the record for the highest finish by a female player in Bullet Brawl history.

The community event had 222 participants on Saturday, and the arena was won by Peru’s Cesar Frank Talledo Lagos who notched 72 wins amid 13 losses.

December’s first Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CEST.

Standings

Rank	Fed	Title	Name	Username	Rating	Score
1		GM	Hikaru Nakamura	Hikaru	3300	277
2		GM	Daniel Naroditsky	DanielNaroditsky	3175	235
3		GM	Andrew Tang	penguingm1	3180	225
4		GM	Oleksandr Bortnyk	Oleksandr_Bortnyk	3161	216
5		GM	Tuan Minh Le	wonderfultime	3113	196
6		GM	Christopher Yoo	ChristopherYoo	3060	188
7		IM	Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus	legendisback1	2949	182
8		GM	Leon Livaic	Elsa167	2901	139
9		M	Minh Truan Than	TranJMinh	2849	132
10		IM	Seo Jungmin	seopie	2869	125
11		IM		Rymuselmun07	2933	109
12		IM	Polina Shuvalova	Flawless_Fighter	2672	108
13		IM	Yoseph Taher	yosephtaher	3013	107
14		IM	Vuk Damjanovic	mind1mover	2809	106
15		NM	Sherif Khater	StellarChessPro	2728	103
16		NM	Kevin Bordi	Blitzstream	2724	98
17		IM	Illia Golichenko	Chesscoach_Golichenko	2691	97
18		FM	Shubh Laddha	chess123456s	2643	94
19		FM	Anastasia Avramidou	anasta10	2647	86
20		IM	Karina Ambartsumova	karinachess1	2661	85

(Full final standings here.)

Much attention has been drawn to Nakamura’s blitz escapades over the last few weeks. For this reason, it has been easy to miss the fact that the American’s bullet chess rating has also been on the rise.

Though Nakamura’s 3300 rating is a far cry from his Chess.com record of 3570, his current rating puts him in a trio (including Kostya Kornienko and GM Magnus Carlsen) well ahead of the world’s other top bullet chess players.

The current top-10 in bullet chess.

Following a game-one loss to Naroditsky, Nakamura went on a 29-game unbeaten streak and jumped out to an early lead. Winning quickly was a priority for Nakamura, as can be seen in this clip which is aptly titled “How to Beat a 2400 in 30 Seconds.”

As always, tactical brilliancies were an important part of the winner’s run. Check out the finishing touches Nakamura put on his game against WFM Maria Larina.

One of the more heartwarming moments of Saturday’s Bullet Brawl occurred when Georgia’s WFM Lile Koridze, who was streaming live on Twitch during the event, became one of the three players to defeat Nakamura during the arena (alongside Naroditsky and GM Tuan Minh Le).

Koridze, gobsmacked when the speed chess titan resigned, streamed for several hours after the event, bolstered by her excitement.

Shuvalova’s 12th-placed finish saw her end ahead of several prolific blitzers including IM Yoseph Taher and NM Kevin Bordi aka Blitzstream. The 2023 IM Not A GM Speed Chess Champion scored 38 wins, four draws, and 29 losses en route to a 108 score and played in her usual uncompromising style.

Having already surpassed the 2500 FIDE rating mark, Shuvalova needs just two more GM norms to secure the coveted title.

How to review games?
The games from November’s third 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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