New engines
DefenChess and Demolito are in the top 3 engines in the league and will probably move up to league 2. FabChess and Counter are at the bottom, losing too many games to have any chance of qualifying. Gogobello's score is close to even, it is also not in the qualification race. PeSTO and iCE are in the group of engines fighting to get to places 4-6.
Season 16 engines
Of the engines that were relegated from league 2, Pirarucu is in the top 3 heading back to league 2, while Topple and Marvin have a real chance of joining it. Winter, Igel and Minic are also in the qualification race, they have improved their performance compared to last season. Asymptote is weaker than it was last season relative to its current opponents, Cheese and Tucano remain weak as they were before.
Qualification race
Six engines in the league will qualify to league 2. As of now the top 3 engines, DefenChess, Demolito and Pirarucu, are leading the table with scores of +6, +7 and +8 and one loss in their combined games. The race is for the remaining 3 spots, and there are 7 engines with a real chance - Minic, Topple, PeSTO, Igel, iCE, Winter and Marvin. Their scores are in the range of +2 to +4, any decisive games within this group has a dramatic effect on the standings and there have been quite a few of those so far.
Notable games
Game 5, PeSTO - Minic: Minic without tablebase support blundered in a RR vs RN ending.
Game 6, Winter - Igel: Winter outplayed Igel in a closed position, it reduced to a NN vs BN position with the black bishop trapped, and used the knight pair to win.
Game12, Minic - Winter: In a RRB vs RRN position Minic gave the knight to stop a pawn on the 2nd rank, leading to a won endgame for black.
Game 18, iCE - DefenChess: A pawn storm on the queen side facing the white king forced iCE to lose a knight, DefenChess converted the win.
Game 22, Topple - Minic: Topple gave two minors for a rook and two pawns in what appeared to be a drawn position. In a RR vs RBB position the black bishop pair gave Minic a win.
Game 29, Tucano - Winter: Winter was better in the endgame, but without tablebase support it was tempted to capture a knight for pawns, and the remaining RN vs R position was a draw.
Game 32, Demolito - iCE: iCE blundered in a R vs RN position, white 3 pawns up. It gave a rook for the white pawns giving Demolito a tablebase R vs N win.
Game 41, FabChess - Igel: Igel was two pawns ahead when it overlooked a crushing attack on its king. FabChess gave RN for the black queen and reached mate on the board.
Game 61, DefenChess - Marvin: DefenChess outplayed Marvin in a RRN vs RRB endgame.
Game 63, iCE - Winter: iCE missed a win in a RB vs RN endgame, it let Winter capture all the white pawns winning the knight, but the remaining RB vs R position was a draw.
Game 67, Topple - iCE: Topple was up an exchange but ignored a king side attack. iCE won back the material and reduced to a winning rook endgame.
Game 79, Gogobello - Topple: Gogobello converted a QR vs RRN endgame, though it took more than 60 moves.
Game 80, PeSTO - Winter: PeSTO was up a pawn in a RB vs RB ending, leading to a winning same color bishop ending.
Game 83, Marvin - Gogobello: Marvin was up a pawn in a RRB vs RRB position, Gogobello advanced a passer to the 7th rank and used it to capture pawns and win the endgame.
Game 91, DefenChess - Minic: DefenChess exposed the black king, opened the position and went a pawn up, enough for a win.
Game 101, Igel - iCE: Igel played the RB vs RN endgame better, it used a passer to win a piece and the game.
Game 111, Winter - Pirarucu: Winter tried to hide its exposed king behind a black pawn, Pirarucu went a pawn up and then reduced to a winning double rook ending.
Game 114: Pirarucu - Topple: Pirarucu blundered in a NN vs BN ending with black a pawn up, it allowed Topple to exchange knights and the black bishop was much better than the white knight in the endgame.
Game 116, Igel - PeSTO: Igel converted an eval advantage to a double rook endgame with a pawn up, it used a passer on the 7th rank to capture pawns and win the game.
Game 120, Cheese - DefenChess: Cheese managed to hold a rare draw in a long RN vs Q ending against the leader.
Game 125, Minic - PeSTO: Minic gave a rook and pawn for a knight and attacked the black king. PeSTO gave the material back, Minic used advanced passers to win a piece and the game.
Game 128, Pirarucu - Marvin: Marvin captured a pawn with its queen, and it was too far when Pirarucu attacked the black king and captured a piece. Pirarucu reduced to a won QB vs Q ending.
Game 132, Winter - Minic: Winter attacked on the king side and was a pawn down. Minic gave a rook for a knight to protect its king, it used a pair of connected passers on the queen side to reduce to a winning RR vs QN ending.
Game 136, Demolito - DefenChess: DefenChess had an advantage in a RN vs RR ending but couldn't find the winning path, Demolito held the draw.
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