Bullet Brawl Jan 10, 2025: Nakamura Mounts All-Time Comeback, Denies Tang

GM Hikaru Nakamura kept the Bullet Brawl ball rolling with his second straight win of 2026 after snatching the $400 first prize from GM Andrew Tang‘s grasp in the final moments of Saturday’s event. Tang dominated in the first half but slumped in the last 20 minutes, allowing Nakamura to mount a last-ditch comeback.

For finishing second, Tang will receive $250, while GMs Sam Sevian and Tuan Minh Le will receive $150 and $100 for finishing third and fourth. Meanwhile, Vietnamese WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram won the hotly contested $100 best women’s prize for the first time.

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will commence on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CET.

Standings

(Full final standings here.)

179 titled players participated in this week’s Bullet Brawl, with the headliners being the eight former winners who share 82 titles between them. A mob of talented juniors, who filled the majority of the 10th-20th positions, are also worth mentioning. They were IM Ilan Schnaider, IM Faustino Oro, FM Sergey Sklokin, CM Rauf Kasimov, CM Georgijs Germanovs, and FM Andrei Negrean.

For the first half of the arena, Tang seemed to have the Midas touch. He ruthlessly hunted his opponent’s kings and scored an indomitable 30/31. One of his victims was Romanian CM Matei-Valeriu Mogirzan, who was felled on the 16th move after his King’s Gambit transposed into a king gambit.

Later, Tang boxed in FM Menua Hakobyan‘s king in the middlegame despite having traded queens in the opening.

Even Nakamura’s king wasn’t safe from Tang. While playing his main rival, Tang found a pinpoint knight sacrifice, 37.Nf6!!, which ripped open Nakamura’s kingside and led to his resignation four moves later.

With a 35-point lead over his closest challenger, Tang was primed to win the event. Yet, an 18-game unbeaten streak by Nakamura, which ran parallel to a Tang slump, put the world number two back in contention.

In the final 15 minutes of the event, the players paired against each other three times. After winning the first two clashes, Nakamura found himself on the same score as Tang with three minutes left on the arena clock.

Their last game against each other, which was equal until move move 40, was decided by a Tang blunder that allowed Nakamura to trade into a winning king and pawn ending.

When Nakamura realized that he was about to win the game and seal his 51st title he declared “we got him” on Kick. Tang may well be the only player to post a 25-game winning streak in an edition of Bullet Brawl and still not win, further highlighting the difficulty of beating an in-form Nakamura.