Season 28 league 2

Final standings

Reckless, PlentyChess, Integral and Stormphrax advance to league 1. Integral and PlentyChess started in the entrance league this season, Integral and Reckless are new to TCEC. Integral, PlentyChess and Reckless led from the start, with Stormphrax close behind. After RR1 Booot, Uralochka and Horsie were also close to the leaders, only Booot remained in the race after RR2. After RR3 Stormphrax and Booot couldn't keep up with the three leaders, and in the last RR Booot dropped from the race as well.

Reckless and PlentyChess finished the league with 13 game pair wins and no losses, each with two game losses. Somehow Ginkgo gave both a free win by crashing. Integral also finished with only 2 game losses, it won 11 game pairs and lost one to Reckless. Stormphrax also crashed twice, but only as it was about to be mated so there was no unwanted effect on the scores.

The four qualifiers will play in league 1 together with:
played in the premier division in season 27: Caissa, Seer
played in league 1 in season 27: Ceres, RubiChess, rofChade, Viridithas, Stoofvlees, Revenge

Interesting games

game 3, Booot - Starzix: Booot had a bishop pair, a passer in the center and control of an open file on the queen side. The game reached a QRB vs QRN position with white a pawn up, Booot gave the pawn back, pushed the passer and exchanged queens. Starzix captured the passer but lost all its pawns, Booot won the rook ending. 

game 11, Ginkgo - Booot: Both engines had a passer on the queen side in a closed position. Ginkgo moved its king to the queen side and blocked the black passer. After some shuffling Ginkgo pushed pawns and opened the king side. The black king ran to the center, Ginkgo gave a rook for a knight and captured pawns to create more passers. The game reached a RB vs RR position with 5 white pawns, Booot couldn't avoid a queening and mate.

game 18, Integral - PlentyChess: Integral captured a pawn and after some preparation created a passer on the queen side. The game reached a RBN vs RBN position and Integral captured another pawn. After exchanging minor pieces Integral pushed passers forward to win. 

game 34, Reckless - Horsie: Reckless was a pawn up early, it gave the pawn back but the black king was stuck in the center and Horsie had a trapped rook. By the time Horsie freed its rook Reckless opened the king side and threatened the black king. In a QRN vs QRN position Reckless captured a pawn, then reduced to a 7-man queen ending, it took more than 50 moves to mate.

game 47, Booot - Horsie: Horsie grabbed a pawn on the king side, Booot captured one on the queen side and created a passer. The engines opened the center and Horsie created a passer there, the game reached a QRN vs QRB position and Booot connected a second passer on the queen side. Horsie delayed with checks but eveentually lost material to stop the white passers, Booot won a 7-man QN vs Q ending in over 50 moves. 

game 55, Stormphrax - Ginkgo: The game reached a RB vs RB position with white a pawn up. For a long time it seemed the position was drawn, even after Stormphrax created a passer. However Ginkgo' s defense failed in time trouble, Stormphrax pushed the passer and Ginkgo lost a rook followed by mate. 

Standings after RR1: Integral PlentyChess Reckless +3, Uralochka Horsie Stormphrax +2, Booot +1, Velvet -2, Ginkgo Arasan Igel -3, Starzix -5. There are 7 engines with a positive score, 4 of them are without loss - Integral, Reckless, Uralochka and Stormphrax. It is still early for predictions, the picture will be clearer after the reverse games are played. The first several Ginkgo games were replayed because the wrong version was used, it still crashed in one game this RR. 

game 71, PlentyChess - Uralochka: The game reached a BN vs BN position that looked drawn. PlentyChess created a passer in the center and captured a pawn. After exchanging knights evals increased, PlentyChess exchanged pawns, Uralochka avoided a 7-man position by giving a pawn. PlentyChess queened a passer to win.

game 72, Integral - Horsie: Horsie had a passer on the queen side, Integral threatened to open the queen side and also threatened the black king on the king side. Horsie gave a knight for a pawn, this also created a passer for Integral. Integral gave a rook for a bishop and captured the black passer, it pushed its own passer forward. The black queen moved to capture the passer, Integral gave a bishop on the king side and mated.

game 84, PlentyChess - Integral: There was a series of exchanges after the start, then evals increased very slowly. After move 46 PlentyChess opened the king side and reduced to a RBN vs RBN position. The black pawns were weak and PlentyChess captured three pawns. It queened a passer to win.

game 91, Stormphrax - Booot: The engines castled in opposite directions and pushed pawns facing the opponent's king. Stormphrax locked the queen side pawns and opened the f file. It captured a pawn and created connected passers on the king side. After over 30 moves of exchanging pieces slowly the game reached a RB vs RB position with white a pawn up, Booot could not avoid a queening and mate.

game 93, Reckless - Uralochka: Uralochka captured an early pawn but was slow developing its pieces and its king was stuck in the center. Reckless moved a rook forward, regained the pawn and created a passer in the center. Uralochka lost some material to capture the passer, the game reached a RR vs RN position. It took some time for Reckless to capture pawns and create passers, Uralochka gave up and was mated.

game 94, Ginkgo - Horsie: Horsie was a pawn up but its king moved without castling, Ginkgo gave a knight for a pawn and exposed the black king. Horsie gave a rook for a bishop but was under a lot of pressure. Ginkgo doubled rooks on the 6th rank, after a series of exchanges the game reached a queen ending with white two pawns up. The endgame was slow, it took Ginkgo more than 70 moves to mate.

game 101, Uralochka - Velvet: Velvet was a pawn up from the start, the engines exchanged pieces and Uralochka traded two rooks for the black queen. Uralochka captured a pawn and reduced to a RR vs Q ending, this was probably a mistake as evals jumped. Velvet exchanged pawns, then it trapped the white king with its rooks and forced Uralochka to trade its queen for a rook, with mate following.

game 105, Velvet - Horsie: Evals slowly increased with all pieces on the board, Velvet captured a pawn on the king side and Horsie opened the queen side. This led to a series of exchanges that reduced to a RB vs RN position with white two pawns up. Velvet gave a pawn back and created a passer, then it created a second passer, queened and mated.

game 121, Ginkgo - Stormphrax: Ginkgo had a passer in the center and it pushed pawns on the queen side. The queen side opened, Stormphrax block a file with a knight. Stormphrax tried to keep the king side closed and lost a pawn. After a series of exchanges Ginkgo gave a rook for two knights and captured most of the black pawns. Ginkgo pushed passers and gained more material, Stormphrax crashed before mate.

game 127, Stormphrax - Horsie: All pieces were on the board and evals slowly increased. Stormphrax captured a pawn and opened the king side, then it shifted to the queen side and opened files there as well. After some preparation Stormphrax captured another pawn and created a passer on the queen side. Horsie lost more material, the game reached a QR vs QN position with white 3 pawns up. Horsie blocked the white passer but couldn't avoid mate.

Standings after RR2: PlentyChess Integral Reckless +6, Stormphrax +5, Booot +3, Uralochka 0, Ginkgo Horsie -2, Velvet -3, Starzix -5, Igel -6, Arasan -8. At the halfway point there are 5 engines with a positive score. Uralochka and Horsie had a weak RR2 and their ranking dropped. Only Reckless is without loss. Integral, PlentyChess and Stormphrax have not lost a game pair.

game 133, Reckless - Stormphrax: Reckless had a space advantage in a closed position, Stormphrax moved its queen forward and captured a pawn. Reckless trapped the black queen and captured it for two minors. Reckless gave a rook for a knight and threatened mate, Stormphrax gave back the material to save its king. The engines reduced to a Q vs BN ending, Stormphrax crashed in a 7-man lost position.

game 143, Ginkgo - Booot: Booot had a passer in the center but its king was a little exposed. It gave a knight for a pawn to protect its king and attacked the white king through the open h file. Ginkgo kept its king safe, it opened the queen side and the white queen moved forward. The engines exchanged pieces and Ginkgo captured two pawns, then reduced to a winning king and pawns ending.

game 159, Uralochka - Reckless: The engines exchanged pieces and pawns and the game reached a RN vs RN position with white a pawn up. The black pawns were isolated, after a while Uralochka captured all of them and was 3 pawns up. Reckless couldn't stop the white pawns, Uralochka queened all three and mated.

game 173, PlentyChess - Ginkgo: PlentyChess had a blocked passer on the king side in a closed position, for a very long time the engines shuffled. Something went wrong for Ginkgo in time trouble, after move 105 evals started to increase slowly. In a series of exchanges on move 139 PlentyChess reduced to a RN vs RR position, both engines queened and the game went into a tablebase queen ending which PlentyChess won after 45 more moves. 

game 177, Reckless - PlentyChess: PlentyChess moved its king without castling, it tried to find safety on the queen side and evals slowly increased. Reckless captured a pawn, after some preparation it moved a rook forward and captured a second pawn. The engines reduced to a queen ending, Reckless exchanged queens and then queened a passer to win.

game 181, Uralochka - Stormphrax: There were no exchanges after the start and Uralochka had a space advantage. Evals started to increase after Uralochka opened the center, it threatened the black king using long diagonals. Stormphrax was forced to give material to let its king escape, this only delayed the mate.

game 183, Integral - Booot: Integral gave a pawn and pushed its center pawns forward, Booot gave a bishop for the two white pawns. The engines slowly exchanged pieces until only QB vs Q remained. Integral captured a pawn and exchanged queens, the white bishop controlled Booot's pawns and Integral moved its king forward to capture the pawns and win.

game 195, PlentyChess - Igel: The center was closed with open files on both sides. The engines shuffled for a long time, in time pressure after move 85 evals started to increase. The game reached a queen ending with white a pawn up, both engines had a passer. PlentyChess managed to capture black pawns, then pushed passers to win.

Standings after RR3: Reckless +11, PlentyChess +10, Integral +9, Stormphrax +5, Booot +2, Uralochka 0, Horsie -1, Ginkgo -2, Starzix -5, Velvet -7, Igel -10, Arasan -12. After RR3 there are 3 leaders with Stormphrax a bit behind in 4th place. Booot is still in the race but it is 3 wins behind Stormphrax. Reckless lost its first game of the league against Uralochka. 

game 223, Stormphrax - Booot: Evals slowly increased in a closed position, all knights were gone and Stormphrax had a passer in the center. Stormphrax opened a file on the queen side and moved its major pieces there. The game reached a QRB vs QRB position and Stormphrax captured a pawn. In a series of exchanges Booot lost a piece and the engines reduced to a RB vs R ending. Booot lost more material, Stormphrax queened a passer and mated.

Standings with 5 rounds to go: Reckless PlentyChess +12, Integral +11, Stormphrax +7, Booot +2, Ginkgo 0, Uralochka -2, Horsie -3, Starzix -5, Velvet Igel -11, Arasan -12. At this point the three leaders have a 4 win gap to 4th place, all three will qualify but their relative standings may still change. Booot is out of the qualification race, especially after losing to Stormphrax.

game 238, Reckless - Integral: Reckless gave two pawns and exposed the black king, it then captured pawns and the game reached a QNN vs QBN position with white a pawn up. The white knights could protect each other, Reckless used the exposed black king for extra moves. After 30 moves the engines exchanged a pair of knights, 20 moves more and Reckless was 3 pawns up. Reckless exchanged queens and pushed its passers to win.

game 243, PlentyChess - Reckless: PlentyChess was a pawn up, Reckless castled long and opened the king side. PlentyChess kept its king safe and opened the queen side, the game reached a RRB vs RRN position. PlentyChess exchanged a pair of rooks and captued two more pawns, Reckless lost more material and was mated.