Nakamura becomes first to pass 3500 in Chess.com blitz, but Artemiev beats him to win Titled Tuesday

Hikaru Nakamura has set another online chess milestone. On Monday, 5 October, the American grandmaster became the first player to reach a 3500 blitz rating on Chess.com, and on Tuesday he pushed it to 3503 during the weekly Titled Tuesday tournament, which he streamed from Sithonia in Greece.

The record night did not end with a trophy, though. Nakamura lost the final round to Russia's Vladislav Artemiev, who used the win to take the 6 October Titled Tuesday on tiebreaks.

A new ceiling for online blitz

Chess.com ratings work differently from FIDE's classical ratings, and the strongest online players regularly sit far above 3000. Even so, 3500 had never been reached in blitz on the site before this week. Nakamura, the most active elite player on Chess.com and the world No.2 on the official FIDE list, set the mark on Monday and improved it to 3503 on Tuesday.

He has warned that keeping such a rating is hard work. He explained that unless he skipped Titled Tuesday every week, there was no way to keep his rating at that level, since every event pits him against dozens of grandmasters. In practical terms, any loss to a lower-rated opponent costs many more points than a win earns.

This is a separate achievement from his recent Bullet Brawl run, where he set a calendar-year record with a fourth straight win. The 3500 mark is in the three-minute blitz pool, not bullet.

How Titled Tuesday unfolded

The 11-round event was tight at the top. Artemiev, Alexander Grischuk and Alexey Sarana all finished on 9.5/11, and Artemiev took first place on tiebreaks. Early leaders included Wesley So, Sina Movahed, Sarana, Awonder Liang and Vietnam's Le Quang Liem.

The decisive game came in the last round, when Artemiev faced Nakamura. Chess.com's report said Nakamura made an incorrect capture that turned a small advantage into an equal position, then followed it with another wrong move that led to his resignation. At the same time, Grischuk beat Dmitrij Kollars, but Artemiev's win gave him the better tiebreak.

Artemiev collected the $2,500 first prize. Nakamura finished ninth on 8.5/11 and earned $250. The tournament's $4,500 bounty for a perfect score went unclaimed.

Southeast Asian interest

Le Quang Liem, Vietnam's top player and the highest-rated player from Southeast Asia on the FIDE list, was among the early leaders and finished 19th with 8/11. Titled Tuesday is a weekly online event open to titled players, and Malaysian fans can follow it through Chess.com's live broadcasts and players' own streams.

Busy week online

The week also saw GM Awonder Liang win the 2026 Seirawan Chess Championship, a variant event using two extra pieces per side, the hawk and the elephant. Liang won all four of his matches 3-0 for a perfect 12-game record and took the $750 first prize, beating Poland's FM Jakub Chyzy in both the winners' final and the grand final.

Key takeaways

• Nakamura became the first player to reach 3500 in Chess.com blitz on 5 October and rose to 3503 a day later.
• Vladislav Artemiev won Titled Tuesday on 6 October on tiebreaks, beating Nakamura in the final round.
• Artemiev, Grischuk and Sarana all scored 9.5/11; Nakamura finished ninth on 8.5.
• Vietnam's Le Quang Liem was 19th with 8/11.
• Awonder Liang won the Seirawan Chess Championship with a perfect 12-0 game score.

FAQ

What is Hikaru Nakamura's record Chess.com blitz rating? He reached 3503 on 6 October 2026, a day after becoming the first player to pass 3500 in Chess.com blitz.

Who won Titled Tuesday on 6 October 2026? GM Vladislav Artemiev, on tiebreaks ahead of Alexander Grischuk and Alexey Sarana, all on 9.5/11.

Is a Chess.com rating the same as a FIDE rating? No. Chess.com ratings are calculated separately for online play and are not comparable with official FIDE ratings, where Nakamura is rated 2792.

Sources: Chess.com, ChessBase