A powerful performance by GM Daniel Naroditsky in Saturday’s Bullet Brawl saw the 29-year-old join GM Hikaru Nakamura as the only player to win 30 titles in Chess.com’s weekly titled arena.
In a field brimming with elite bullet chess exponents, Naroditsky won 51 games, drew four, and lost 18, posting a score of 172 and capturing the $400 first prize. GM Andrew Tang scraped into second place with 143 and will receive $250 for his efforts, while Iran’s GM Parham Maghsoodloo bagged the $150 third prize.
Maghsoodloo’s compatriot, WIM Mitra Asgharzadeh, has recently turned Bullet Brawl into a cash cow—she won the $100 best women’s prize for the third consecutive week.
The next edition of Bullet Brawl will commence on Saturday, August 30, at noon ET/17:00 CEST.
Standings
| Number | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score |
| 1 | GM | DanielNaroditsky | Daniel Naroditsky | 3180 | 172 | |
| 2 | GM | penguingm1 | Andrew Tang | 3225 | 154 | |
| 3 | GM | Parhamov | Parham Maghsoodloo | 3224 | 153 | |
| 4 | GM | gurelediz | Ediz Gurel | 3210 | 149 | |
| 5 | GM | Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3230 | 149 | |
| 6 | IM | FaustinoOro | Faustino Oro | 3075 | 127 | |
| 7 | GM | ChessLover0108 | Mahammad Muradli | 3123 | 127 | |
| 8 | GM | Vaathi_Coming | Aravindh Chithambaram | 2994 | 119 | |
| 9 | IM | TanitoluwaAps116 | Tanitoluwa Adewumi | 2992 | 117 | |
| 10 | IM | ProfessorChess101 | Yichen Han | 2931 | 114 | |
| 11 | IM | hakanazeri2 | Khagan Ahmad | 2957 | 108 | |
| 12 | IM | IlanSchnaider | Ilan Schnaider | 2942 | 106 | |
| 13 | IM | Alonmindlin | Alon Mindlin | 2893 | 104 | |
| 14 | IM | Adar_07 | Adar TARHAN | 2842 | 104 | |
| 15 | CM | NikaVolkov | Nika Volkov | 2953 | 102 | |
| 16 | IM | Sven_Tica | Sven Tica | 2813 | 99 | |
| 17 | CM | calmberserk | Vihaan Jammalamadaka | 2822 | 94 | |
| 18 | FM | EddieMarsalla | Ivan Vihor Krsnik Cohar | 2822 | 92 | |
| 19 | CM | Germanovs_Georgijs | Georgijs Germanovs | 2882 | 89 | |
| 20 | FM | RuperezA | Antonio Ruperez Benito | 2761 | 88 | |
(Full final standings here.)
Among the 13 previous winners, Naroditsky is the second most credentialed Bullet Brawler, having won more than twice as many as the next most prolific, GM Oleksandr Bortnyk.
All-Time Leaderboard
| Player | All-Time Wins | 2025 Wins | 2024 Wins | 2023 Wins |
| GM Hikaru Nakamura | 46 | 12 | 19 | 15 |
| GM Daniel Naroditsky | 30 | 6 | 14 | 10 |
| GM Oleksandr Bortnyk | 12 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| GM Andrew Tang | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| GM Jose Martinez | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| GM Ediz Gurel | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| GM Sam Sevian | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| GM Nihal Sarin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| GM Yagiz Erdogmus | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| GM Alireza Firouzja | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| GM Tuan Minh Le | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| IM Yoseph Taher | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| IM Reza Mahdavi | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
History aside, Naroditsky entered Saturday’s Nakamura-less arena as the fifth seed by rating, with Bortnyk, Tang, Maghsoodloo, and Ediz Gurel comprising a menacing group of 3200+ rated contenders.
From the get-go, Naroditsky’s back was against the wall, courtesy of an endgame drubbing delivered by a problematic first-round opponent, the 11-year-old “Messi of Chess,” IM Faustino Oro.
However, the class of Naroditsky shone through, and he responded by scoring 17 out of 19 in the subsequent games. Four GMs, three IMs, five FMs, and a slew of other titled players were put to the sword by the player once dubbed “The Prophet” of chess.
A 51-move win with Black over Gurel, which required pinpoint precision in a knight and pawn ending, was one of his grittiest wins in this period.
Following his galvanized run, Naroditsky was once again stifled by a prodigy, although this time it was his countryman, 14-year-old IM Tanitoluwa Adewumi. On move 15 of the English Opening, Adewumi uncorked a brilliant discovered attack with his knight, encouraging his opponent’s resignation one move later.
Despite young talents proving to be a thorn in Naroditsky’s side, the veteran’s consistency got him over the line. A 13-game unbeaten streak in the second half cemented his position at the top, and with 24 minutes left on the arena clock, he had built a 10-point lead over the then-second-placed Gurel.
The eventual winner then converted key games against his closest competitors, ensuring he couldn’t be caught. Against Tang, Naroditsky cleverly decided not to recapture a knight, instead prioritizing checkmate.
Later, he completed his pièce de résistance against Maghsoodloo after spotting a timely pawn gambit in a rook, bishop, and pawn endgame.
The dominance of Naroditsky and Nakamura is showing no signs of slowing down; however, the gap at the top is closing thanks to the rise of a new generation of tactically exceptional players. In Saturday’s event, five out of the top 12 were younger than 16, and three of these players managed to beat the winner.
How to review games?
The games from this week’s Bullet Brawl can be found here.
Bullet Brawl is an exciting arena featuring Chess.com’s top bullet specialists. It takes place weekly on Saturdays. The format is a two-hour arena with a 1+0 time control; the prize fund is $1,000. 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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