Bullet Chess Championship: All The Info

RESULTS:

• Alireza Firouzja won the first qualifier on April 3 and claimed the eighth seed in the knockout.
  • Twitch Stream
  • Crosstable and Games
• Federico Perez Ponsa won the second qualifier on April 4 and received the seventh seed in the knockout.
  • Twitch Stream
  • Crosstables and Games
• Olexandr Bortnyk won the round-robin qualifier on April 5th and receives the sixth seed in the knockout.
  • Twitch Stream
• Hikaru Nakmura and Olexandr Bortnyk each defeated their halves of the bracket on April 6 to reach the Bullet Chess Championship finals.
  • Twitch Stream
• Hikaru Nakamura defeated Oleksandr Bortnyk in straight sets to win the first Bullet Chess Championship on April 7.
  • Twitch Stream

Bracket:

Matchups and pairings are based on FIDE standard ratings as of March, 2019.

Round 1:

• (1) Hikaru Nakamura vs (8) Alireza Firoujza
• (2) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs (7) Federico Perez Ponsa
• (3) Alexander Grischuk vs (6) Olexandr Bortnyk
  
• (4) Levon Aronian vs (5) Sergey Karjakin

Prizes:

Bullet Chess Championship: $15,000+ total prizes

Swiss qualifiers (two): $2,000 total prizes

1. $500 and spot in championship bracket
2. $250 and spot in the round-robin qualifier
3. $125 and spot in the round-robin qualifier
4. $75 and spot in the round-robin qualifier
5. $50

Round-robin qualifier: $2,000 total prizes

1. $750 and spot in championship bracket
2. $500 
3. $250
4. $125
5. $100
6. $75
7. $75
8. $50
9. $50
10. $25

Championship bracket: $11,150 total prizes

1. $4,000 and title of Chess.com Bullet Chess Champion
2. $2,000
3. $1,500
4. $1,250
5. $600
6. $600
7. $600
8. $600

Schedule: 

All games are 1/0 (one minute per game with no increment).

• April 3, 12 p.m. PT: Swiss qualifier (25 rounds). Winner through to championship bracket, places 2-4 to round-robin qualifier.
• April 4, 12 p.m. PT: Swiss qualifier (25 rounds). Winner through to championship bracket, places 2-4 to round-robin qualifier.
• April 5, 10 a.m. PT: Round-robin qualifier (10 players, each player plays every other player twice as White, twice as Black). Winner through to the championship bracket.
• April 6, 10 a.m. PT: Championship bracket (8 players) quarterfinals and semifinals.
• April 7, 10 a.m. PT: Third-place game followed by Championship bracket finals

Rules and Format:

Both Qualifiers will use the same rules:

• Titled players only
• 25 Round Swiss with Chess.com's Tournament Pairing Software
• Winner secures spot in Quarterfinals Championship Bracket
• 2-4 place secures spots in Round-Robin Qualifier
• Chess.com tiebreaks used to determine final standings
• If a qualifying spot is won by someone on the second day qualifier event whom already qualified for the Quarterfinals or Round-Robin Qualifier, then the seat will go to the next person in line in terms of Chess.com tiebreaks.

Round-Robin:

• 6 players seated by 2-4 place finishes from the previous two days of qualifiers
• 4 "Wild Cards" will be seated and announced by Chess.com following the second qualifier completion on April 4th
• All players will play each other 4 times, rotating colors, with the higher rated player receiving the White pieces in the first and third games
• The total best score will move onto the Quarterfinals Championship Bracket
• If two players are tied with the same total score, they will play two-game sudden death matches until one player scores 1.5/2. These mini matches will start after a brief (5 minute break) following the conclusion of the main Round-Robin portion.

Quarterfinals:

• The bracket will pair the 1 vs the 8 seed, 2 vs the 7 seed, and so forth
• Each match will consist of 30 minutes of non-stop Bullet chess, with a countdown timer running down on the live show (found at twitch.tv/chess)
• Players are responsible for following the total time remaining in the 30 minute match
• Games started before the total 30 minutes runs out will count toward the total score
• If a match is tied at the end of the 30 minutes, players will continue to play Bullet until someone wins

Semifinals:

• Each match will consist of 60 minutes of non-stop Bullet chess, with a countdown timer running down on the live show (found at twitch.tv/chess)
• There will be a small break (3-5 minutes) at the halfway mark (30 minutes roughly, as any game in progress that goes past 30 minutes will need to finish)
• After resuming play, play continues with whatever time remains on the clock, with either player having the option to resign the match, should they wish to do so, any time after 45 minutes of total time has elapsed
• Players are responsible for following the total time remaining in the 60 minute match
• Games started before the total 60 minutes runs out will count toward the total score
• If a match is tied at the end of the 60 minutes, players will continue to play Bullet until someone wins

Finals and Consolation Match:

• Games are played until one player has won 6 Games/Points
• 6 Games/Points wins a Set
• A Set must be won by two Games/Points
• Draws count as 0 points toward the total score in that "Set"
• The 3rd Place Consolation Match is a Best of 3 Set series to win the Match
• The Championship is a Best of 5 Set series to win the Championship