Bullet Chess Championship 2025: Carlsen, Nakamura, Tang Excluded, Prize Fund Slashed by 50%
Chess.com recently announced seven of eight invited players for the 2025 Bullet Chess Championship, set to begin June 23, with a $50,000 prize pool. The lineup, featuring top speed chess talents, shockingly excludes world-renowned bullet specialists GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Hikaru Nakamura, and GM Andrew Tang aka PenguinGM. Carlen and Nakamura’s absence came with inevitable consequences, such as, a 50% reduction in the prize fund – From 100k down to 50k! The absence of these titans has stirred debate, especially after Tang publicly addressed the snub on X, confirming he’s not in contention for the final invitational spot.
Carlsen, the world’s top-rated player, and Nakamura, a bullet chess legend with four championship titles (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023), are notably absent despite their dominance in online speed chess. Not to mention that the players are essentially the ambassadors of the chess company. Tang, a hyperbullet and ultrabullet maestro, expressed frustration over being overlooked, highlighting his strong track record. In 2021, Tang reached the Bullet Chess Championship final but fell to GM Alireza Firouzja. In 2023, he was defeated by GM Daniel Naroditsky in the quarterfinals and has since claimed multiple Bullet Brawl titles.
Another notable absentee that many are not talking about is the American prodigy and current #1 on the bullet rating leader board, GM Andy Woodward. The 15-year-old currently has a massive rating of 3455, outrating players like Nakamura by 150 points!
The championship’s history boasts elite winners: Nakamura (four times), Firouzja (two times), and others, cementing its status as the premier bullet chess event. The decision to exclude these players raises questions about Chess.com’s selection criteria, especially as Tang’s X post fuels speculation of strategic or personal factors. Fans await the final invitee announcement, hoping for clarity on this unexpected shake-up.
Photo courtesy: Chess.com
