Martinez Captures 4th Bullet Brawl Title Ahead Of Nakamura, Naroditsky, Tang

13 months of silver and bronze medals have come to an end for GM Jose Martinez, who rose to capture his fourth Bullet Brawl title and the $400 first prize in Saturday's event. Battling against GMs Hikaru Nakamura, GM Daniel Naroditsky, and 188 other titled players, Martinez scored 73/80 and posted a score of 264, eclipsing Nakamura by 13 points. Naroditsky rounded out the podium and will receive $150, while GM Andrew Tang will receive $100 for his fourth-place finish.

A tight tussle for the $100 best women's prize was won by IM Karina Ambartsumova, who cleared FM Anastasia Avramidou by a single point, while a mysterious new victor, "lethalspider7," was crowned in the community event.

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will take place on Saturday, December 7, 2024, at noon ET/18:00 CEST.

Standings

Having been unceremoniously thrust into the limelight at the beginning of 2024 and forced to defend his reputation, Martinez has dealt with off-the-board trials and tribulations thrown his way with grace and humility. Impressively, the Peruvian-born GM has also managed to maintain his world-beating form online and cashed in on the latest edition of Bullet Brawl.

Martinez kicked off the tournament in style, responding to an early loss at the hands of GM Nihal Sarin, with a 35-game unbeaten streak which included 10 wins over GMs: Emin Ohanyan, Eric Hansen, Yagiz Erdogmus, Sergei Zhigalko, Nihal (x2), Ediz Gurel, Anatoly Bykhovsky, Rodrigo Vasquez, and Naroditsky. 

Though none of these games were particularly clean-cut, owing to Martinez's ability to generate chaos, the 25-year-old was able to flaunt his indomitable pace in his clash with Chessbrah's Hansen.

Against non-GM opposition, Martinez focused on ambushing his opponents who tried to hold pace. Even IM Yoseph Taher, himself a former Bullet Brawl winner, fell victim to Martinez on three occasions. 

Coincidentally, Martinez and Nakamura never paired against each other in Saturday's event, meaning that their streaks against other participants were crucial. A 15-game winning run by Nakamura at the tail end of the arena brought him within 13 points of Martinez, but the gap proved insurmountable.

Despite Nakamura's finishing second, the pressure of the moment brought out his best chess. In the penultimate game, he uncorked a scintillating combination culminating in a smothered checkmate.

With his latest victory, Martinez joins Tang in fourth place on the all-time Bullet Brawl leaderboard and will also be hunting for a top-five finish on the Titled Cup leaderboard after a slew of solid results over the last month.

All-Time Leaderboard

*Martinez's fourth win will be added 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:

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