Bullet Brawl Jan 31, 2026: Nakamura Caps Off Perfect Month With 5th Bullet Brawl Victory

GM Hikaru Nakamura‘s historic run in the Bullet Brawl arena continued on Saturday with a fifth consecutive $400 victory, marking the first time a player has won a full month of brawls since the events’ inception.

Reminiscent of the previous edition, Nakamura surged in the second half and scored 159 points, edging out the second-placed, $250 prize winner GM Ediz Gurel by 10 points.

Vietnam’s GM Tuan Minh Le and GM Sergei Zhigalko finished third and fourth place and will receive $150 and $100, while WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya clinched the $100 best women’s prize by a single point.

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will commence on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CET.

Standings

(Full final standings here.)

For the fifth week straight, GM Nakamura entered Saturday’s event as the favorite, though he was joined by a legion of former winners including GMs Andrew Tang, Bortnyk, Gurel, Jose Martinez, Le, and IM Reza Mahdavi. Despite the illustriousness and experience of the aforementioned group, it was the participation of 2026 Tata Steel Chess Masters-entwined Indian superstar GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu that turned heads.

Thanks to his 14-move draw with the in-form fellow Candidate GM Javokhir Sindarov in round 12, Praggnanandhaa was able to join Bullet Brawl, however, he wasn’t able to get through a high enough volume of games to challenge at the top.

The early leader on Saturday was the Charlotte-based Bortnyk, who strung together back-to-back, eight and 10 games streaks, laden with panache. Against Nakamura, Bortnyk used his theoretical knowledge in the Jobava-London System to procure an advantage, before weathering Nakamura’s counterplay.

Bortnyk’s start would have been flawless if not for a trio of losses to Gurel at each end of the two streaks.

Yet, a patient Nakamura loomed. Much like in recent weeks, the world number two was able to chase down the leader by stitching together lengthy unbeaten periods. On Saturday, it was a nine-game streak that saw Nakamura leapfrog Bortnyk.

Against each other, Nakamura forged a path towards an ending where he had two minor pieces and a rook vs. two rook ending and a 16-second time advantage. When Bortnyk realized that Nakamura’s minor pieces were controlling the board, he resigned immediately.

After Nakamura’s nine-game streak was snapped by GM Haowen Xue, Nakamura notched another 13-game unbeaten run, helping him consolidate the lead. Wins over Tang (twice), IM Renato Terry, Gurel (twice), Mahdavi, and Bortnyk (twice) quashed the comeback chances of most of his challengers, except for the irrepressible Gurel. Quick victories were the norm.

With five minutes left on the arena clock, Nakamura held a six point lead over the 17-year-old and the pair came head-to-head. By move 20, Nakamura was shaking his head, clearly unhappy with the position, however, a middlegame miss by Gurel evened the odds and before long, Nakamura seized control and confirmed his 54th Bullet Brawl victory by converting.

For the past three weeks, Gurel has been the main threat to Nakamura’s domination, but the Turkish prodigy will have to wait another week in the hopes that Nakamura slips up.

All-Time Leaderboard