GMs Alireza Firouzja and Daniel Naroditsky will meet within the Winners Closing of the 2025 Bullet Chess Championship. Firouzja was a runaway practice in opposition to GM Nihal Sarin, profitable 17.5-6.5, whereas it took Naroditsky 32 video games, with tiebreaks, to defeat GM Sam Sevian by the slim 17-15 rating.
There are simply six gamers left within the Losers Bracket: GMs Jeffery Xiong, Oleksandr Bortnyk, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Denis Lazavik, who are actually joined by Nihal and Sevian.
Day three, that includes the Losers Spherical 3 and Quarterfinals in addition to the Winners Closing, is on Friday, June 27, beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET / 18:00 CEST / 9:30 p.m. IST.
It is simply Firouzja and Naroditsky within the Winners Bracket.
Winners 
We noticed the next eight gamers eradicated within the Losers Bracket: GMs Mitrabha Guha, Andy Woodward, Mahammad Muradli, Sergei Zhigalko, Tuan Minh Le, Arjun Erigaisi, Andrew Tang, and Yagiz Erdogmus.
Losers
Prizes have been distributed to the eradicated gamers as follows:
Winners Quarterfinals: Naroditsky Wins Marathon Match
Firouzja has, to this point, received each match by double digits. He beat Xiong 13.5-3.5, then Erdogmus 15.5-5.5, and now Nihal 17.5-6.5. The defending champion has but to be challenged.
It appeared the match had simply began when Firouzja was already up 3-0. Sport three, a gap catastrophe, lasted simply 14 strikes. When Nihal took the pawn on g2, he ensured an expedient dying for his black bishop.
Regardless of dropping the match, the Indian GM confirmed his bullet prowess and expertise in plenty of time scrambles, like within the following rook endgame that ought to have been lifeless drawn. Even Firouzja obtained tricked by the repetition of strikes.
Nihal will get away with one in a “lifeless drawn” rook endgame!https://t.co/cFenGIHqLD#BulletChess pic.twitter.com/5QlVR6IsIK
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 26, 2025
However Firouzja received way more video games than he misplaced. Firouzja took a 7.5.-2.5 lead when he turned a foul place right into a profitable assault, utilizing ways.
So far as finest particular person strikes, Firouzja’s cold-blooded 33…Rc6! was probably the greatest of the day. Calculated upfront—and in seconds—he noticed that (a) the rook can’t be taken and (b) it prevents checkmate beginning with 34.Qf6. Nihal collapsed.
Naroditsky, presumably preparing for his personal match with Firouzja, was watching. He typed the next phrases of reward within the Twitch chat for the opponent he’ll play on Friday, noting that Firouzja made just about no easy blunders regardless of the lightning-fast time management.
With the shape he is been in, it is exhausting to imagine anyone can beat Firouzja proper now. However Naroditsky mentioned in his interview on the finish of the day, “I do know individuals are burying me, however I am at the very least going to strive in opposition to Alireza.”
I do know individuals are burying me, however I am at the very least going to strive in opposition to Alireza.
—Daniel Naroditsky
As for the opposite semifinal match, Naroditsky and Sevian are removed from strangers. They performed within the Winners Semifinals final yr as nicely; Naroditsky received that match by 5 factors. This yr, it was a lot nearer.
At first, it regarded like Naroditsky would possibly run away with it identical to Firouzja did when he shot out to a 9.5-4.5 lead. He was incisively punishing sloppy blunders, like Nihal’s 26…Qg5?? with the concept of profitable the bishop on g3. It ran right into a one-move refutation.
He had a little bit of luck too, like when he captured the final pawn within the following place to make sure a draw… with 0.1 second left!
However Sevian began to battle again, first bringing the margin down to 3 factors, two factors, and finally one level. Naroditsky later defined that he felt he could not survive the openings when he had the black items, commenting on a recreation he performed within the Pirc: “I obtained completely wiped off the board as per normal.”
An early win in Sevian’s comeback featured a checkmate with a pawn.
Simply within the nick of time, Sevian managed to win the final recreation and produce the rating to 12.5-13.5 when the timer ended. As a result of Naroditsky did not have a two-point lead, the match would lengthen to tiebreaks with the next guidelines.
The momentum was undeniably on Sevian’s facet within the first two video games. He ought to have received the primary one, a rook endgame Naroditsky miraculously saved, however then tied up the match by profitable the second. Naroditsky later mirrored, “I truthfully thought at that time, I used to be already sort of writing the narrative in my thoughts, okay, one other choke… however in some way I simply tried my finest and I additionally advised myself that Sam’s additionally nervous, he is additionally human.”
I simply tried my finest and I additionally advised myself that Sam’s additionally nervous, he is additionally human.
—Daniel Naroditsky
Naroditsky received by a two-point margin after six tiebreak video games. The final two had been disappointing losses for Sevian. Within the first, a single mistake allowed Naroditsky’s handed pawn to win the sport with a single, correct transfer.
Sevian hung a rook within the final recreation and that was the match, one which Naroditsky mentioned “felt prefer it lasted 44 hours.”
Losers Rounds 1 & 2: Xiong, Bortnyk, Duda, Lazavik Keep Afloat
Of the 4 gamers to outlive day two within the Losers Bracket, three of them needed to win two matches. Bortnyk was the one participant who began his day in Losers Spherical 2, and he received convincingly 14-6 in opposition to Woodward. He’s merely one of many quickest gamers on the market, as seen within the clip under.
“That is likely one of the quickest time scrambles I’ve seen!” says Aman Hambleton.https://t.co/i4zVKKIiiA#BulletChess pic.twitter.com/aWTbyjhaSp
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 26, 2025
After defeating Mitrabha 10.5-7.5, Xiong received 12.5-10.5 in opposition to Arjun, however he practically dedicated what might have been the largest self-destruction in BCC historical past. With the match timer practically completed, all he needed to do was delay the video games, however strolling right into a again rank mate-in-one on transfer 22 gave Arjun the possibility he wanted. Even not shifting in any respect was arguably higher, because it might have expended extra time on the match clock.
Arjun received the subsequent recreation with a checkmating assault to succeed in tiebreaks, however Xiong shut it down within the very first recreation. He received with the black items and will breathe a sigh of aid.
Though Duda’s quantity 23 on the earth in classical chess, his win in opposition to bullet and hyperbullet specialist Tang—after already defeating Zhigalko 11-7—was most likely essentially the most spectacular match win of the day. He received 11-6, although he had moments of frustration, like when he blundered his queen and gave his desk a great whack.
Duda slams the desk! 👊#BulletChess pic.twitter.com/3oqDj7E1e8
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 26, 2025
He wasn’t the one participant, by the best way, to vent his frustration with a formidable thud.
The SECOND grandmaster desk slam of the day, this time from Danya!#BulletChess pic.twitter.com/dCITwXFiH4
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 26, 2025
Hambleton referred to as the next recreation “lovely” because the Polish fighter made use of his handed a-pawn, which was dormant for a while till it received the sport.
Lazavik, who continues to prosper in Chess.com’s tournaments regardless of the format or time management, received his match in opposition to Le 12.5-5.5 after which in opposition to Erdogmus 13-6. Whereas he is recognized for his strong fashion and python-like positional squeezes, typically it simply got here all the way down to soiled flagging, as within the clip under.
You gotta do what you gotta do, as they are saying.
Denis Lazavik wins by 0.3 of a second!https://t.co/mIUk848MgD#BulletChess pic.twitter.com/6iieAEy1EC
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 26, 2025
On the finish of Friday, there will likely be simply 4 gamers left within the occasion. The distinguished query is: can Naroditsky unseat the reigning king of bullet chess?
The 2025 Bullet Chess Championship takes place on Chess.com from June 25-28, after Play-ins on June 23. It’s the strongest on-line bullet event and determines who’s the quickest chess participant on the earth. The time management is 1+0. The whole prize fund is $50,000.
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