Stoofvlees, ScorpioNN, Pedone and Arasan advance to league 1. The two NN engines Stoofvlees and ScorpionNN dominated the league, ScorpioNN had a +7 perfomance in the second half and ended the league without a loss. Arasan barely qualifed after a weak second half. The qualification race continued until the very last game.
Wasp, Nirvana, chess22k, Pirarucu, Marvin and Topple relegate down to qualification. The 4 AB qualifiers did not survive league 2. Nirvana had a weak second half performance of -6. Gull managed to stay in the league and it is safe for at least another TCEC season.
Next comes league 1 with Ethereal, Fire, Xiphos, Laser, Andscacs, Fizbo, Jonny, Chiron, Ginkgo, ChessBrain, Booot, rofChade and the 4 qualifying engines from league 2. The games will be longer at 45' per engine.
I will be mostly on vacation in the next two weeks, I'll try to catch up when i get back...
Notable games
Game 121, chess22k - Fritz: The game reached a RN vs RN position, the white king was trapped on the back rank and Fritz had a passer on the 3rd rank. Evals peaked over 2 for black but chess22k managed to hold the draw.
Game 132, Gull - Stoofvlees: Gull seemed to hold in a QN vs QB position. After 50 moves the engines exchanged all pieces and Stoofvlees was up a pawn. Both engines promoted a pawn to get a queen ending, Gull could still hold but without tablebase support it allowed Stoofvlees to reach a won 6-man position.
Game 143, ScorpioNN - Nemorino: ScorpioNN played better in a R vs NN ending two pawns up, Nemorino could not stop the passers on both sides of the board.
Game 147, Nemorino - Stoofvlees: Nemorino was two pawns up in a RRN vs RRB position, Stoofvlees' only counter was a rook on the 2nd rank. Nemorino couldn't find the right path and had to settle for a draw.
Game 149, Gull - Wasp: Gull had an advantage from the start. It won material through a king side attack, the game reached RRN vs RBN position. It took a while but Gull converted the win in the end.
Game 151, Texel - Fritz: The game reached a Q vs RR imbalance and for a long while the engines exchanged pawns until each had two left. Fritz slowly outplayed Texel, it managed to push a pawn forward until Texel was forced to give a piece to stop it, and won the game.
After 20 rounds the table was: Stoofvlees +11, Arasan +8, ScorpioNN +7, Pedone +5, Fritz +4, Nemorino and Texel +3, Vajolet 0. Wasp Gull and Nirvana -2, RubiChess -3, chess22k -5, Pirarucu -7, Topple -10, Marvin -10. With 10 games to go both the top and bottom races are open, though Stoofvlees will probably advance (3.5 points gap) and Topple and Marvin will relegate (4 points gap).
Game 171, Nirvana - Gull: The engines played a RN vs BBN ending for a long time. It took Gull more than 70 moves to create a passer, it gave a bishop but Nirvana gave the material back and more and tried to stop the passer. In the end Gull pushed the passer to promotion and won.
Game 172, Fritz - Pedone: Pedone gave a knight for two pawns and exposed the white king to attack. Fritz found safety for its king and reduced to a winning RB vs R ending.
Game 186, Texel - Gull: Texel opened the position with a rook for pawns sacrifice. Gull slowly exchanged pieces and the 4 extra pawns were not enough. In a RN vs B position Gull's remaining 2 pawns gave it the win.
Game 187, Arasan - Pedone: An advanced passer gave Pedone an advantage when the position opened. The game reached a double rook ending, a second advanced passer gave Pedone the win.
Game 192, Marvin - Stoofvlees: Stoofvlees gave a knight for pawns to create an advanced passer, Marvin blocked it and stayed calm. Stoofvlees then gave a second knight and attacked the white king, the attack failed and instead Marvin found mate.
After 24 rounds the table was: Stoofvlees +12, ScorpioNN +9, Arasan and Pedone +7, Nemorino +6, Fritz +5, Texel +3, Gull and Vajolet 0, RubiChess -2, Wasp -3, Nirvana -5, chess22k and Pirarucu -8, Marvin -10, Topple -13. Only 6 games left, ScorpioNN improved its position and will probably advance, chess22k and Pirarucu are close to relegation. There is a tight race of 4 engines for two qualifying spots at the top of the table. Gull improved its position and has a good chance of surviving this season.
Game 198, Nemorino - Arasan: The engines mostly shuffled for a long time. Arasan gave a knight and two pawns for a rook, giving Nemorino connected passers in the center in a NN vs RB position. The white king came forward to support the pawns, Arasan had to give a piece to stop a passer and lost the game.
Game 202, Vajolet - Pedone: Vajolet had a space advantage in a closed position. Pedone gave a rook for a bishop and pawn, after the position opened the game reached a Q vs RB opening. The white queen was strong enough to give Vajolet the win.
Game 203, Texel - Nemorino: When the engines opened the position the game reduced to a QR vs QR endgame. The black king was exposed and Texel had an advantage. It slowly improved its position and then exchanged rooks and went up a pawn. The queen ending with an advanced passer was a win for Texel.
Game 209, Wasp - chess22k:The game reached a RRN vs RRN position, the black rooks were strong and the white knight was pinned. chess22k captured two pawns and reduced to a winning RN vs RN endgame.
After 27 rounds the table was: Stoofvlees +14, ScorpioNN +11, Nemorino Pedone Arasan and Fritz +6, Texel +4, Vajolet +2, Gull and RubiChess -1, Wasp -4, Nirvana -6, chess22k -7, Pirarucu -10, Marvin -11, Topple -15. The bottom of the table is getting clear, only Wasp has a small chance to escape relegation but it has to close the 1.5 points gap in 3 games. At the top 4 engines are tied in the race for two spots, and evel Texel still has a chance.
Game 218, Gull - Nemorino: Gull gave a rook for a bishop and pawn, the game reached a BN vs RB position. Gull created connected passers on the king side and Nemorino gave the rook to stop them, the remaining white pawns were enough for a win.
After 28 rounds the race at the top was: Pedone Arasan and Fritz +6, Nemorino and Texel +5. At the bottom the gap for Wasp is still 1.5 points, two games remaining.
Game 231, RubiChess - Gull: The game reached a RB vs RB position and seemed to be a draw with the engines shuffling. Then Gull blundered and allowed RubiChess to exchange rooks, the bishops were of opposite colors but RubiChess created advanced passers that were enough to win.
Game 232, Nemorino - Pedone: Pedone was better after the opening, it had a space advantage and it pushed the queen side pawns facing the white king. An advanced passer cost Nemorino a rook and the game.
One round to go. Wasp cannot close the gap after RubiChess won, the relegation race is over. At the top the scores are: Pedone +7, Arasan and Fritz +6, Texel +5, Nemorino +4. Nothing is over but Pedone improved its chances and Nemorino is almost surely out.
Nemorino and Pedone won, Texel lost, as a result Pedone ensured 3rd place and Texel was in 7th place. Arasan drew its game, so Nemorino was out. Fritz needed a win in its last game since Arasan was better on tiebreaks. However, Fritz only drew against Topple, and Arasan qualified.
