Hat-Trick Hero Naroditsky Secures 19th Title

In a near-carbon copy of June's earlier editions, GM Daniel Naroditsky scored a dominant 235 points to secure his third straight Bullet Brawl title in the $1,000 event. With 66 wins, four draws, and just 13 losses to his name, Naroditsky finished ahead of prize-winning regulars GMs Oleksandr Bortnyk (223), Andrew Tang (219), and Nihal Sarin (206).

Winning the $100 best women's prize was WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya who battled against the usual suspects while DRM_CHAMP3 traded blows with Cesar Frank Talledo Lagos and eventually finished ahead of all 334 players in the community event.

The next Bullet Brawl will commence on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at noon ET/18:00 CEST.

Standings

Naroditsky's recent run of form in Bullet Brawl has been impressive, albeit unsurprisingly; however, in the latest event Naroditsky had to overcome no less than a dozen 3000+ rated players. Among them were former winners Bortnyk, Tang, and Sarin as well as GM Matthias Bluebaum, who boasts a FIDE classical rating of 2647.

Daniel Naroditsky tops the standings in today's arena, and wins #BulletBrawl for a 19th time! pic.twitter.com/8vfTeZTw7i

— Chess.com (@chesscom) June 15, 2024

A lackluster 3.5/6 start to the event threatened to hinder Naroditsky's hat-trick prospects and despite playing several stunning combinations, the commentator couldn't find his groove. Two brilliant moves weren't enough to topple Maltsevskaya, who notched her third career win in 13 tries against Naroditsky. 

As the saying goes, form is temporary and class is permanent. As the halfway point drew near, a 27-game winning streak by Naroditsky would leave all contenders in his wake.

These games were a motley collection of miniatures, scrambles, and swindles with the only consistent feature being the winner of each game. A game against NM Anant Adury stands as a representative of the chaos that transpired in this period. Forewarning... this game is messy!

Having had his streak snapped by Germany's Bluebaum, Naroditsky entered a two-horse race with Bortnyk and eventually paired against him in what was likely a winner-takes-all encounter.

Playing White, Naroditsky played the English Opening and until move 83, the evaluation bar flatlined. Then, with two seconds on the clock compared to Bortnyk's 10, Naroditsky spotted a problem with Bortnyk's 83...Be2??. A scramble ensued and with 0.3 seconds left, Naroditsky found checkmate.

Adding a 19th title to his Bullet Brawl trophy cabinet has closed the gap between Naroditsky and GM Hikaru Nakamura and extended the lead over Bortnyk. Amazingly, excluding Nakamura, Naroditsky has six more titles than all of the other Bullet Brawl winners combined. 

Bullet Brawl is an exciting titled arena that features Chess.com's top bullet specialists and 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!

Previous coverage:

• • Announcing Chess.com Community Bullet Brawl Tournaments
  • Introducing Bullet Brawls And New Arena Options