Naroditsky Back On Top In Bullet Brawl, Bortnyk Sings His Way To Second

GM Daniel Naroditsky returned to the winner's circle and scooped up the $400 first prize in December's second Bullet Brawl after accruing 227 points, four more than GM Oleksandr Bortnyk, who finished four points behind on 224.

The contest for the $100 top women's prize came down to the wire. IMs Karina Ambartsumova and Polina Shuvalova both finished on 95 points, though it was the former who took out the prize having won one extra game.

The community event was won by Sundram Kumar aka "SpeedyBoss," who lived up to his username and won 63 games in the two-hour arena. 

December's next Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CEST.

Standings

Back on top for his 9th #BulletBrawl victory! @GmNaroditsky 👏 pic.twitter.com/s0CmhtWgSZ

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 9, 2023

Naroditsky has toiled away in the last few Bullet Brawls and has been edged out in some tight tussles with GM Hikaru Nakamura but on Saturday, he went one better and claimed his ninth title. Following two losses to kick off the event, the American commentator ran rampant and played 88 games, winning 67 in the process.

The sheer number of games Naroditsky was able to complete drew the commendation of his nearest competitor, Bortnyk, who stated on his Twitch stream: "I don't know how to stop Danya. He's playing so fast. I'm playing so fast but not enough."

In between praising his rival, Bortnyk spent much of his time singing to his viewers while delivering brutal checkmates.

With 30 minutes left on the arena clock and a sizeable gap opening up between them, Bortnyk scored a crucial win over Naroditsky that put him within reach of surpassing "The Prophet," meaning that the event had become a two-horse race. 

Despite the loss, Naroditsky was still able to get over the line, courtesy of several miniatures that he produced during the tail end of the arena, including a blistering sacrifice against NM "CarlMagnuson." See if you can find the common tactic that Naroditsky employed below.

While the duel between Naroditsky and Bortnyk unfolded, Ambartsumova was in the process of wresting the top female prize from Shuvalova's grasp. Two wins against the I'M Not A GM Speed Chess Championship Winner in the final quarter of the event went a long way to decide who finished on top.

We have covered many of Ambartsumova's crushing attacks in previous editions of Bullet Brawl, but her final game against Shuvalova, who is a prodigious attacker in her own right, brought home the bacon.

Bullet Brawl is an exciting new titled arena that features Chess.com's top bullet specialists and now 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:

• Announcing Chess.com Community Bullet Brawl Tournaments
• Introducing Bullet Brawls And New Arena Options