Bullet Brawl Jan 3, 2025: Nakamura Chases Down Gurel To Win 50th Bullet Brawl Title

GM Hikaru Nakamura was crowned as Bullet Brawl‘s first half-centurion on Saturday after he won the first edition of 2026 and took home the $400 first prize. In a field of 177 titled players, which included 13 players with ratings over 3100, Nakamura scored 51 wins, six draws, and 11 losses for a grand total of 173 points.

GM Ediz Gurel and GM Sam Sevian scored 159 and 151 points respectively, but neither could hold a candle to an in-form Nakamura. They, along with the fourth placed GM Tuan Minh Le, will receive $250, $150, and $100 for their efforts. WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya was the recipient of the $100 best women’s prize.

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will commence on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CET.

Standings

(Full final standings here.)

Almost three years on from the Bullet Brawl in January 2023, which Nakamura won, the American GM achieved an unprecedented milestone by becoming the first player to win 50 editions. 

In an arena fraught with menacing opponents such as the nimble GM Andrew Tang, an ever-solid Le, and a generational talent in Gurel, Nakamura had his work cut out for him on Saturday. However, with resilience and poise, Nakamura put together two decisive streaks to win the event.

HIKARU JUST WON HIS 50TH BULLET BRAWL 🥳 @GMHikaru pic.twitter.com/SDuMfRAroK

— Chess.com (@chesscom) January 3, 2026

An early showdown between Nakamura and Gurel was the curtain-raiser to a two-horse race for the title, and it was the Turkish prodigy who came out on top after a rambunctious, albeit dubious exchange sacrifice paid dividends.

Interestingly, the sacrificial opening that Gurel played, known as the Vienna Game: Max Lange, Vienna Gambit, Hamppe-Muzio Gambit, is related to the King’s Gambit Accepted: Muzio Gambit, which is an opening that Nakamura used himself in 2010 to defeat GM Dmitry Andreikin at the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship.

Following this game, Gurel went on to win 14 in a row before falling to IM Renato Terry, establishing a firm lead in the process. Although Gurel has, on occasion, been capable of outscoring Nakamura in Bullet Brawl, Nakamura seemed hungry.

Not long after, Nakamura posted a 14-game unbeaten streak of his own, full of tactical flourishes and colorful conversions. Playing against the U.S.’ eighth best player Sevian, Nakamura capitalized on his opponent’s 16…Rfc8??, which left the base of a key pawn chain vulnerable.

In another game against Argentinian FM Esteban Horacio Deichmann, Nakamura relentlessly removed defenders away from his opponent’s king and triggered a resignation when checkmate was in sight.

Despite Nakamura’s excellent performance in the first half, it was a 22-game unbeaten streak in the second half that sealed the title. 20 wins and two draws against players such as GMs Le, Tang, Sevian, Gurel, Jeffery Xiong, Saleh Salem, and Raunak Sadhwani, made this patch of play one of the most impressive in Bullet Brawl history.

In one of his best games, it only took 17 moves for Nakamura to topple the number one player from the United Arab Emirates with his trusty Grand Prix Attack.

Although Gurel played at a similar level to Nakamura on Saturday, volume was the difference. When the arena clock expired the players had the same amount of losses, but Nakamura had won three more games than his 17-year-old rival.

With 50 wins to his name, no one is close to catching Nakamura, but with time, a player like Gurel seems to have the chops to challenge the currently undisputed Bullet Brawl GOAT.