Tang Wins 4th Bullet Brawl By 20-Point Margin Over Nakamura
GM Andrew Tang won his fourth Bullet Brawl by a 20-point margin over GM Hikaru Nakamura. Tang began and ended on undefeated streaks to score 256 and take home the $400 first prize.
Nakamura won $250 for second place. IM Renato Terry earned the $150 third prize with 226 points, and GM Jose Martinez finished fourth for $100. IM Karina Ambartsumova scored 94 points to win the $100 best women's prize.
Scoring 215, Veijalainen from Finland won the community event by a 21-point margin.
The next Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at noon ET/18:00 CEST.
Standings
| Rank | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score |
| 1 | 1 | GM | penguingm1 | Andrew Tang | 3157 | 256 | |
| 2 | 1 | GM | Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3171 | 236 | |
| 3 | 1 | IM | MITerryble | Renato Terry | 3123 | 226 | |
| 4 | 1 | GM | Jospem | Jose Martinez | 3108 | 222 | |
| 5 | 14 | GM | Philippians46 | Andy Woodward | 3144 | 199 | |
| 6 | 1 | GM | dropstoneDP | David Paravyan | 3088 | 197 | |
| 7 | 1 | GM | vi_pranav | Pranav V | 3034 | 150 | |
| 8 | 1 | GM | TheSilmarils | Giorgi Margvelashvili | 2955 | 138 | |
| 9 | 1 | FM | GoltsevDmitry2000 | Goltsev Dmitry | 2865 | 127 | |
| 10 | 1 | FM | TanitoluwaAps116 | Tanitoluwa Adewumi | 2910 | 127 | |
| 11 | 1 | NM | Abund | Qingyu Yuan | 2857 | 122 | |
| 12 | 1 | IM | mind1mover | Vuk Damjanovic | 2864 | 121 | |
| 13 | 1 | IM | yosephtaher | Yoseph Theolifus Taher | 3038 | 111 | |
| 14 | 1 | GM | vugarrasulov | Vugar Rasulov | 2931 | 110 | |
| 15 | 1 | GM | KNVB | Aman Hambleton | 2902 | 109 | |
| 16 | 1 | GM | ChessSharkz | Kayden Troff | 2874 | 108 | |
| 17 | 21 | CM | AmbartsumianTyhran2012 | Tyhran Ambartsumian | 2707 | 104 | |
| 18 | 1 | FM | Electrodynamic_Dracula | Havard Haug | 2830 | 97 | |
| 19 | 1 | CM | Turboplombir | Sergey Sklokin | 2654 | 97 | |
| 20 | 93 | IM | Mykola-Bortnyk | Mykola Bortnyk | 3049 | 95 | |
| 21 | 1 | FM | ManuDavid2910 | Manu David | 2870 | 95 |
(Full final standings here)
After starting with a draw vs. GM Pranav V, Tang went on a tear, kicking off a 27-game winning streak. Along the way, he defeated Nakamura for his 13th straight win and then GM Vugar Rasulov for his 14th. In both games, Tang escaped dangerous attacks by his opponents. Against Rasulov, the 24-year-old grandmaster's monarch fled from his crumbling queenside, and in the end, it was Tang's king attack that prevailed.
When Tang was given another shot vs. Pranav, the tournament leader defeated the Indian prodigy in 29 moves.
It was Martinez who finally stopped Tang’s winning streak, serving the hyperbullet champion his first loss of the day. Once Tang’s streak stalled, Nakamura seized the opportunity to take over the lead. At the halfway point, Nakamura gained his revenge vs. Tang in a madhouse of a game.
Nearing the final quarter of the arena, Tang regained the lead with a nine-game winning streak. Nakamura countered with a 12-game winning streak himself, tying up the score at 183.
Tang broke through the tie and built up his lead by finishing with a 21-game unbeaten run. In his double-edged duel vs. CM Volen Dyulgerov, Tang found a picturesque tactical idea to penetrate with his rook.
Ambartsumova, the top scoring woman for a second week in a row, won an attacking miniature vs. Rasulov with a striking mating finish.
All-Time Leaderboard
*Tang's 4th win will be added to the leaderboard shortly.
Bullet Brawl is an exciting titled arena that features Chess.com's top bullet specialists and takes place weekly on Saturdays. The format is a two-hour arena with a 1+0 time control; the prize fund is $1,000.
Much 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!
Previous coverage:
Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.
You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West
