Chess.com online championship
Bullet Chess Championship
How the event works, the 2026 results and prize money, the Indian players, and every winner since 2019.
The Bullet Chess Championship is the yearly bullet chess event of Chess.com: 16 of the fastest online players meet in a bracket where every game gives each player one minute. India's Nihal Sarin won the 2026 edition on 27 June, beating Alireza Firouzja twice in the grand final. Chess.com had not announced a 2027 edition by 24 September 2026.
Next Bullet Chess Championship
- Next edition
- 2027, not announced by 24 September 2026
- Organiser
- Chess.com, online
- Players
- 16: 8 invited, 8 from qualifier arenas
- Time control
- 1+0: one minute per player, no increment
- 2026 winner
- Nihal Sarin (India)
- 2026 prize fund
- $50,000
Chess.com has run the event since April 2019. The last three editions all ran in June: 10 to 13 June 2024, 25 to 28 June 2025 and 24 to 27 June 2026. The 2026 edition was announced on 2 June, about three weeks before its qualifiers. As of 24 September 2026 no 2027 date, field or prize fund is public. This page will add them when Chess.com announces the event.
Bullet Chess Championship format
Bullet is any game where each player has less than 3 minutes, according to Chess.com, and its most common forms are 1+0 and 2+1. The championship uses 1+0: one minute for the whole game, with no time added after a move. You can try these time controls over the board with our chess clock.
In 2026 the field had 16 players: 8 invited and 8 qualifiers. Any titled player could enter the Play-Ins, 8 separate arenas of 60 minutes, and each arena winner took one place. Chess.com's announcement dates the Play-Ins to 22 June, while its daily reports give 23 June. Alireza Firouzja, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, Oleksandr Bortnyk, Denis Lazavik and Sam Sevian were among the invited players.
The main event is a double-elimination bracket: a player is out only after a second lost match. Each match is a run of 1+0 games against the same opponent on a 30-minute match clock, and the winners semifinals, the winners final and the grand final get 45 minutes. When the clock runs out, a player must lead by 2 points; if not, the players go on until one of them does.
The winner of the winners bracket meets the winner of the losers bracket in the grand final. If the player from the losers bracket wins it, both players have lost once, so a second match, the grand final reset, decides the title. That happened in 2024 and again in 2026.
The format has changed over the years. The first edition in 2019 was a single-elimination event for 8 players with a final of tennis-style sets, and Chess.com's announcement called it the Bullet Chess World Championship. The event is not a FIDE title: even FIDE's report of the 2021 edition says it ran on Chess.com. FIDE's fastest official titles are the World Rapid and Blitz Championships every December.
Chess.com runs two other bullet events that people often mix up with this one. Bullet Brawl is a weekly two-hour arena of 1+0 games, scored on points against many opponents. The Hyperbullet Chess Championship uses 30-second games. The Speed Chess Championship mixes 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 in each match. Titled players also meet every week at Titled Tuesday, 11 rounds of 5-minute blitz games.
Bullet Chess Championship 2026 results
Nihal Sarin won the 2026 Bullet Chess Championship, and Alireza Firouzja, the champion of 2024 and 2025, finished second. Arjun Erigaisi was third and Andrew Tang fourth. The main event ran on Chess.com from 24 to 27 June 2026.
| Stage | Winner | Score | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winners quarterfinal | Alireza Firouzja | 10-7 | Ediz Gurel |
| Winners quarterfinal | Nihal Sarin | 10-6 | Parham Maghsoodloo |
| Winners quarterfinal | Andrew Tang | 10.5-6.5 | Oleksandr Bortnyk |
| Winners quarterfinal | Arjun Erigaisi | 12-9 | Le Tuan Minh |
| Winners semifinal | Alireza Firouzja | 12.5-9.5 | Nihal Sarin |
| Winners semifinal | Arjun Erigaisi | 16-6 | Andrew Tang |
| Winners final | Alireza Firouzja | 13-11 | Arjun Erigaisi |
| Losers quarterfinal | Nihal Sarin | 11.5-3.5 | Oleksandr Bortnyk |
| Losers quarterfinal | Andrew Tang | 9.5-5.5 | Ediz Gurel |
| Losers semifinal | Nihal Sarin | 11-6 | Andrew Tang |
| Losers final | Nihal Sarin | 13.5-7.5 | Arjun Erigaisi |
| Grand final | Nihal Sarin | 15.5-7.5 | Alireza Firouzja |
| Grand final reset | Nihal Sarin | 9.5-4.5 | Alireza Firouzja |
Firouzja went through the winners bracket unbeaten. He beat Nihal 12.5-9.5 in the semifinal and then Arjun 13-11 in the winners final, after the match clock ran out at 11-11. Arjun had beaten Andrew Tang 16-6 in the other semifinal.
Nihal dropped to the losers bracket after his loss to Firouzja. He then beat Oleksandr Bortnyk 11.5-3.5, Tang 11-6 and Arjun 13.5-7.5 to reach the grand final, his first. There he beat Firouzja 15.5-7.5, which forced the reset, and won the reset too. Across the two matches he won 15 games in a row. Chess.com's final report gives the reset as 9.5-4.5 in its summary and 9.5-5.5 in its text; the Liquipedia bracket also has 9.5-5.5.
"I definitely did not think I would beat him, and I just wanted to try to fight," Nihal said after the final, and he called his run "surely the best bullet of my life."
Bullet Chess Championship 2026 prize money
The 2026 prize fund was $50,000, the same as in 2025. Nihal won $10,000. Every player in the main event earned at least $1,275.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st: Nihal Sarin | $10,000 |
| 2nd: Alireza Firouzja | $8,000 |
| 3rd: Arjun Erigaisi | $6,000 |
| 4th: Andrew Tang | $4,500 |
| 5th-6th | $3,000 each |
| 7th-8th | $2,000 each |
| 9th-12th | $1,600 each |
| 13th-16th | $1,275 each |
The fund has moved with the years. It was $15,000 in 2019, $10,000 for the 2020 Bullet Open and $25,000 in 2021. It rose to $100,000 for 2022, 2023 and 2024, when the winner took $20,000, and fell to $50,000 in 2025.
Indian players at the Bullet Chess Championship
Two of the 16 players in 2026 were Indian, Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi, and both were invited. Nihal became the first Indian winner. Arjun beat David Paravyan 9-7, Le Tuan Minh 12-9 and Andrew Tang 16-6, then lost to Firouzja and Nihal and finished third, worth $6,000. The last three days of 2026 started at 9:30 PM IST.
Nihal told ChessBase India that the title "probably is the best result of my life so far". He had finished 5th-6th in both 2024 and 2025. In 2025 he lost 6.5-17.5 to Firouzja, the eventual winner. In August 2026 he tied for fifth at the Esports World Cup in Paris, where Magnus Carlsen beat him in the quarterfinals.
Indian players have reached the main event in every edition since 2021. Arjun reached the quarterfinals of the 2020 Bullet Open and finished 7th-8th in 2022. R Praggnanandhaa played in 2024, Raunak Sadhwani in 2021 and 2022, and Mitrabha Guha in 2025.
Bullet Chess Championship winners list
| Year | Dates | Winner | Runner-up | Final | Prize fund |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 3 to 7 April | Hikaru Nakamura | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3-0 in sets | $15,000 |
| 2020 (Bullet Open) | 19 to 20 December | Hikaru Nakamura | Alireza Firouzja | 6.5-3.5 | $10,000 |
| 2021 | 5 to 7 April | Alireza Firouzja | Andrew Tang | 11-6 | $25,000 |
| 2022 | 3 to 17 March | Hikaru Nakamura | Andrew Tang | 11-8 | $100,000 |
| 2023 | 17 to 21 July | Hikaru Nakamura | Magnus Carlsen | 17-15 | $100,000 |
| 2024 | 10 to 13 June | Alireza Firouzja | Hikaru Nakamura | 12.5-10.5 in the reset | $100,000 |
| 2025 | 25 to 28 June | Alireza Firouzja | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 19.5-5.5 | $50,000 |
| 2026 | 24 to 27 June | Nihal Sarin | Alireza Firouzja | 15.5-7.5, then 9.5-4.5 in the reset | $50,000 |
Hikaru Nakamura has four titles if the 2020 Bullet Open counts: 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. Chess.com called his 2023 win his fourth, beating Magnus Carlsen 17-15 in the final, while a 2026 report calls him a three-time champion. Nakamura did not play in 2026.
Alireza Firouzja has three titles, from 2021, 2024 and 2025, and has reached the final 5 times, counting the 2020 Bullet Open. His 19.5-5.5 win over Oleksandr Bortnyk in 2025 is the biggest winning margin in a final, 14 points. Nihal Sarin in 2026 is the only winner apart from Nakamura and Firouzja.
Bullet Chess Championship FAQ
What is the Bullet Chess Championship?
It is the yearly bullet chess event of Chess.com, first played in April 2019. In 2026, 16 players met in a double-elimination bracket of 1+0 games, where each player has one minute for the whole game and no time is added.
Who won the Bullet Chess Championship 2026?
Nihal Sarin of India won. He lost to Alireza Firouzja in the winners semifinal, came back through the losers bracket, and then beat Firouzja twice in the grand final, with a streak of 15 wins in a row.
What was the prize money in 2026?
The 2026 prize fund was $50,000. Nihal Sarin won $10,000, Alireza Firouzja $8,000 and Arjun Erigaisi $6,000 for third place. The fund was $100,000 in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and $50,000 again in 2025.
When is the next Bullet Chess Championship?
Chess.com had not announced a 2027 edition by 24 September 2026. The last three editions ran in June: 10 to 13 June 2024, 25 to 28 June 2025 and 24 to 27 June 2026. This page will add the 2027 dates when Chess.com announces them.
How do players qualify?
In 2026, eight players were invited and eight qualified. Any titled player could enter the Play-Ins, which were eight separate 60-minute arenas, and the winner of each arena took one of the eight places in the main event.
Who has won the most Bullet Chess Championship titles?
Hikaru Nakamura, with four titles if the 2020 Bullet Open is counted: 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. Chess.com called his 2023 win his fourth title. Alireza Firouzja has three titles, from 2021, 2024 and 2025.
Has an Indian player won the Bullet Chess Championship?
Yes. Nihal Sarin won the 2026 edition in his first grand final. Arjun Erigaisi finished third in the same year, and Indian players have reached the main event in every edition since 2021.
Is it the world bullet chess championship?
Chess.com runs the event, and it is not a FIDE title. Chess.com called the first edition in 2019 the Bullet Chess World Championship in its announcement, and it now uses the name Bullet Chess Championship, or BCC.
What time control is bullet chess?
Chess.com counts any game under 3 minutes per player as bullet. The most common forms are 1+0 and 2+1. The Bullet Chess Championship uses 1+0, and Chess.com runs a separate championship for 30-second hyperbullet games.
How is it different from Bullet Brawl?
Bullet Brawl is a weekly two-hour arena of 1+0 games on Chess.com, where players score points against many opponents. The Bullet Chess Championship is a yearly bracket of head-to-head matches with a fixed field of 16 players.
Where can I watch the Bullet Chess Championship?
Chess.com streams it live on its Twitch and YouTube channels, and the games are on the Chess.com event page. In 2026 the last three days started at 9:30 PM IST, which is 12:00 PM in New York.
For the classical events, dates and venues, see the chess events calendar. Chess.com's tournament for streamers and celebrities is PogChamps.
Facts on this page were checked on 24 September 2026 against the Chess.com event page, Chess.com news reports from 2019 to 2026, the Liquipedia 2026 bracket and the Liquipedia list of editions, which also give the prize tables.
