New York: American Grandmaster (GM) Hikaru Nakamura emerged as champion in the Bullet Chess Championship 2023 championship, winning the title after shutting down GM Magnus Carlsen’s comeback in overtime in an epic Grand Final.
Having dropped down to the Losers’ Bracket earlier in the tournament, Norway’s world champion Carlsen shifted gears to storm back into contention by making it to the event’s Grand Final, defeating GM Daniel Naroditsky and taking his revenge on GM Alireza Firouzja.
Then, in the set-piece final, Carlsen found himself trailing again and had to fight back against the reigning champion Nakamura’s five-point lead, tying the match and forcing overtime.
Ultimately, Nakamura came out on top but needed to use all his ability to increase the pressure on the board and the clock to win his fourth Bullet Chess Championship. It was a stunning display of speed chess from the two top stars.
By claiming the crown, Nakamura wins $20,000 for his fourth title, while Carlsen earns $16,000 for his second. Firouzja takes home $12,000, and Naroditsky gains $8000.
It’s no surprise that despite the lightning-fast time control, it ultimately came down to the top two classical players, Carlsen and Nakamura, wrestling it out for the crown.
Carlsen started the day in the Losers Bracket after being knocked down in the semifinals by Firouzja. Both Naroditsky — a grandmaster known for his middle-of-the-night bullet marathons — and the ever-tricky Firouzja stood in the way of Carlsen’s chance to square off against Nakamura for the first time in bullet format.
Amazingly, despite their nearly lifelong rivalry, Carlsen and Nakamura have never before played each other in this format.
Carlsen’s debut culminated in their Grand Final matchup. The moves of Carlsen and Nakamura blazed across the board at inhuman speeds much like the iconic characters flash across the screen, bending the laws of physics.
Game two was a spectacular display of the skills of both players. Nakamura was down 10 seconds in the early middlegame, yet he found a way to shut down Carlsen’s attack, winning a piece in the process and soon equalizing on the clock. Then, down a rook, Carlsen kept the battle going, finding a perpetual check in the last seconds.
Nakamura can flag opponents in drawish positions with ease. One of his favourites seems to be the classicly drawn bishop and wrong-colour rook pawn, which he won three times in this event, once against Carlsen and twice against Firouzja in the Winners Final.
In the middle of the match, Nakamura reached a flow state, dancing to music as he went on a four-game winning streak, gaining a five-point lead.
The second half of the match was a tug-of-war between Carlsen’s attempts to cut into Nakamura’s lead, and the American grandmaster’s efforts to maintain it. They created breathtaking games along the way, pushing each other to the max.
As the match raged on, the ever-persistent Carlsen accumulated fragments of progress, shrinking his opponent’s lead to two points. When Nakamura struck back, Carlsen countered again.
Then, in a mutually creative game, Carlsen fended off Nakamura’s strategic queen sacrifice, cutting the American grandmaster’s lead down to one point with three minutes remaining.
As the final grains of sand fell from the hourglass, Carlsen won again, tying the match and sending it into overtime.
Surprisingly, in such an extraordinary duel, Carlsen hadn’t taken over the lead once. In overtime, Nakamura yet again stepped ahead on the scoreboard. In the fourth game, he seized the opportunity to race his unstoppable passer to promotion, sealing the required two-point edge to end the match.
(IANS)
