Naroditsky Runs Riot In Bullet Brawl

GM Daniel Naroditsky won first place and $400 in August’s first Bullet Brawl on Saturday after scoring 74 wins and amassing a score of 275 in the two-hour arena. Previous winners GMs Jose Martinez and Oleksandr Bortnyk, who finished in second and third places respectively, fought valiantly to keep up with Naroditsky, however, the American content creator was in punishing form.

An intense battle for the $100 best female prize took place between IM Karina Ambartsumova and WFM Leslie Carolin Torres Hernandez and was eventually claimed by the former in the dying minutes of the event while user “theopera” achieved a dominant victory in the community brawl.

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will take place next week on Saturday, August 12, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CEST.

For several years now, Naroditsky’s name has been uttered in the same breath as the likes of GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja, and Andrew Tang as the foremost bullet chess players in the world. On Saturday, he reinforced his supremacy in the time control.

Naroditsky proved to be an absolute “knight-mare” early on against every opponent he came across, and his early games were an exhibition of the power of the stallions. In an interview after the 2023 Chess.com Bullet Chess Championship, Naroditsky shared that winning at bullet chess boils down to “flash pattern recognition” and “who sees more short-term tactics.” This certainly rang true during Saturday’s arena.

With the top three players having scored over 60 wins, it is clear that the best bullet chess players are continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible inside a two-hour arena. In 2021, Nakamura set a new world record for the most victories against unique opponents in one hour in the 1+0 time control, and while repeat opponents are common in Bullet Brawl, recent results beg the question of what other records can be set in the near future.

Martinez was hot on the heels of Naroditsky for much of Saturday’s event, but his first-place ambitions were marred by three straight losses to GM Jose Ibarra, FM Juan Cruz Arias, and Naroditsky himself, which allowed the latter to catapult himself ahead of the field. 

The clashes between the Peruvian and Naroditsky throughout the rest of the event also heavily favored the American, with a 6/7 score being posted by the eventual winner. Many of the games were decided by lengthy tactical sequences, and the puzzle below shows just how hard players often work for a single-pawn advantage. 

Ambartsumova needed every second to capture the top female prize in August’s first Bullet Brawl as she faced a late challenge from Torres. With 15 minutes left on the arena clock, the six-time winner of the best female prize seemed to have the prize wrapped up, though she would concede four losses and two draws, allowing Torres to surpass her by a single point.

Going back to her roots, Ambartsumova launched a rapid queenside assault on FM Arman Geivondian and secured a crucial win to leapfrog Torres and followed this up with a quick draw in the final game to ensure she could not be caught.

As the FIDE World Cup progresses and more of the world’s top players are eliminated from the tournament, Bullet Brawl’s fields will continue to strengthen throughout August. Tune in next week to witness the speediest tacticians compete or consider going for glory in the community event.

Standings 

Bullet Brawl is an exciting new titled arena that features Chess.com’s top bullet specialists that 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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