Season 12 premier division after RR7

Crosstable after RR7



There were 7/21 decisive games in RR7. The bottom of the table is almost decided, Jonny is 2 points below Ginkgo and has very little hope of closing the gap in the remaining games. The top of the table is still competitive, Stockfish and Komodo extended their lead a little in RR7 but Houdini is still within 1 point of the 2nd place. Houdini will win a tiebreaker against Komodo since it won a direct match, so it needs a good last round to have a chance to qualify to the superfinal. In the middle Fire and Andscacs have their private battle for 4th place.


A few interesting games

Stockfish - Jonny: Stockfish gave a rook for a bishop, then developed a strong king side attack. The black king was exposed and surrounded by white pieces, the game was adjudicated quickly. Stockfish leading again, with a score of +10.

Andscacs - Fire: Andscacs had an eval advantage from the start, its eval was over 1 for more than 40 moves but did not increase. Andscacs was a pawn up on move 30, Fire seemed to be holding. On move 41 Fire gave two rooks for a queen, it had an advanced passer and evals came down. However, Andscacs pushed its two passers and evals jumped again, increasing this time. Eventually Fire lost a piece to stop the passers, the game reached a RRB vs Q position and a win for Andscacs. Andscacs and Fire both have a -3 score, tied 4th place

Houdini - Andscacs: Houdini had an eval advantage from the start, it got a pawn to the 7th rank but Andscacs stopped ot there. Houdini was a pawn up but only got an opposite color bishop ending and a draw. A missed chance for Houdini, it needs wins to get to the superfinal.

Komodo - Jonny: Jonny gave a knight for 3 pawns early in the game. Evals remained low until move 25, then Komodo outplayed Jonny in a RNN vs RB position. Despite being 4 pawns down a single passer on the 7th rank was too strong. Komodo on +10 joint leader, 1 point ahead of Houdini. 

Stockfish - Ginkgo: Stockfish had an eval advantage from the start, evals remained low for the first 40 moves. After pawns locked the queen side Stockfish opened the king side and evals jumped over 1 and higher. Ginkgo gave a bishop for two pawns to stop the attack, the game reached a RRN vs RR position. Stockfish started to capture pawns and the extra piece was enough for a win. Stockfish in the lead with +11.

Komodo - Andscacs: Komodo created a pawn majority on the queen side and evals started to increase. Komodo's eval was over 4 when it created a queen side passer, it then gave a bishop to push the pawn to the 7th rank. This was more than enough compensation for the piece, the QB vs QBB position was winning for Komodo. Komodo is again tied with Stockfish in the lead.

Jonny - Houdini: Houdini took over the initiative on move 23 when it opened the king side and started to push pawns forward. The white king was exposed and under attack, Jonny gave a rook for a knight and exchanged pieces. The game reached a BB vs RB position, winning for Houdini. Houdini still only 1 point behind the leaders.


Featured game: Stockfish - Fire
Premier division, round 48
Link to game on TCEC

Stockfish had an eval advantage from the start, its eval increased over 1 very quickly. Material was balanced, Stockfish had a bishop pair and more space. Fire had control of the c file, while Stockfish prepared an attack on the king side.




Stockfish pushed pawns on the king side and opened the h file. Fire had only one pawn on the king side left, and Stockfish's queen and bishop targeted it. The white rook could join the attack and the LS bishop made it hard for Fire's pieces to move.




Fire lost the g pawn, it exchanged pieces to get to a RB vs RN position with Stockfish a pawn up and a king side passer. 




Stockfish pushed the passer to g6 where is was protected by the bishop, Fire had to use the king to block it. Stockfish had too many targets and Fire couldn't defend them all. With this win Stockfish is again sole leader with a score of +12.

Season 12 premier division after RR6

Crosstable after RR6


Another drawish RR with only 5/21 decisive games. Houdini was strong with 4.5/6, and it closed the gap to the leaders to only 0.5 points. Jonny had a solid RR with 3/6, but it only managed to get within 1 point of Ginkgo, even though it beat Ginkgo for the first time in the division after three losses.


A few interesting games

Andscacs - Houdini: Evals stayed close to 0 for the first 30 moves. Houdini's eval started to increase after it captured a pawn on the queen side, and then created a passer. Andscacs had a bishop pair as compensation, but in the long run it couldn't stop the black passer. Andscacs exchanged pieces and the game reached a RB vs RB position, Houdini was two pawns up and winning. Houdini improves to +6, still in 3rd place.


Houdini - Ginkgo: Houdini's eval increased as it pushed pawns on the king side. Houdini sacrificed a pawn and a knight to start an attack on the black king. After it gave a rook for a bishop and knight the game was adjudicated, the PV showed how Houdini regains the material and wins. A second win for Houdini, it is getting closer to the leaders with +7.

Ginkgo - Stockfish: Stockfish had an eval advantage in a RB vs RN position. After exchanging rooks the eval peaked close to 2, then dropped to 0 when the remaining pieces were exchanged and only pawns remained. A missed chance for Stockfish?

Houdini - Jonny: Evals were close to 0 until Jonny traded BN for R and Houdini's eval started to increase. Houdini opened the king side and the attack on the black king was deadly. The game was adjudicated before Jonny lost material. Houdini with a 3rd win in the RR, a score of +8 just 0.5 behind Stockfish and Komodo.

Ginkgo - Andscacs: Ginkgo had an eval advantage from the start, and was a pawn up from move 26. Evals stayed under 1 for more than 40 moves, Ginkgo had a pawn majority on the king side but the pawns did not move. When Ginkgo pushed pawns on the queen side evals started to increase, jumping over 3 after almost all the queen side pawns were gone. The game reached a RB vs RN position with Ginkgo 3 pawns up and winning.

Featured game: Jonny - Ginkgo
Premier division, round 42
Link to game on TCEC

As usual Jonny had a high eval close to 1 while Ginkgo's was close to 0. Jonny went up a pawn on move 19, its eval jumped when it created a passer on the king side, Ginkgo used it to hide its king and its eval stayed 0. 



After exchanging queens only RRB vs RRB were left, Ginkgo captured back a pawn and created a queen side passer. The engines shuffled for a long time, Ginkgo's eval jumped over 2 yet the position seemed static.


Ginkgo may have blundered during the shuffling, Jonny trapped one rook and its evals jumped higher. Even Ginkgo's eval slowly increased. With 10 moves left on the 50-move counter Jonny captured a pawn and created a second passer on the 6th rank.


Ginkgo soon realized it was losing.The black king was trapped, Ginkgo needed its rook to stop the f pawn queening, it was totally paralyzed.
 

Season 12 premier division after RR5

Crosstable after RR5


There were only 6/21 decisive games in RR5. Stockfish and Komodo extended their lead over Houdini, each had one win while Houdini drew all six games. Jonny had a weak RR with 4 losses, though one surprising win against Fire (again...). Ginkgo beat Jonny for the 3rd time in the division, it is 1.5 points clear of the relegation zone.

Andscacs and Fire have their small private race for 4th place. Fire has been ranked 4th in the last three TCEC seasons, it is somewhat surprising that Andscacs has a chance to overtake Fire.



A few interesting games

Stockfish - Jonny: Stockfish gave two pawns after the start, yet it had an increasing eval advantage. Jonny's king stayed uncastled in the center, Stockfish attacked the center and traded R for BN, evals over 2. It took Stockfish another 20 moves to find better squares for its pieces and capture a pawn. The game was adjudicated, PV showed a clear win. Stockfish's score is +9, leading the table. Jonny last with -9.

Komodo - Jonny: Komodo opened up the queen side, then gradually added pieces to the queen side attack. It started to push pawns supported by rooks from behind, then created a passer together with a strong knight pair. Jonny had no defense and the game was adjudicated before it lost material. Interesting to note that the final move of the game was the first piece exchange on move 40. Komodo joins Stockfish with +9, Jonny with a second loss is last with -10.

Jonny - Fire: See featured game below. This is the second win for Jonny in the division, both wins against Fire. It is still last with -9.

Andscacs - Jonny: Andscacs had an eval advantage from the start. The position was closed with only the d file open, Andscacs doubled rooks there and Jonny blocked with its minor pieces. After Andscacs opened a hole on the king side and exchanged knights to open the d file evals started to increase. Jonny exchanged pieces, Andscacs was soon up a pawn in a QN vs QB position and about to capture another pawn for the win. Jonny back to -10 with its 3rd loss in the RR.

Andscacs - Ginkgo: Andscacs took over the center on move 21 with evals jumping over 2. It was soon two pawns up, then gradually improved its position. On move 51 only QRR vs QRR remained, Andscacs captured a 3rd pawn and Ginkgo's defense collapsed after queens were exchanged. Ginkgo down to -8, still ahead of Jonny.

Ginkgo - Jonny: Ginkgo's queen removed all the black pawns on the queen side, Ginkgo was a pawn up with a connected pair of passers, evals around 0.5. Ginkgo opened the king side and evals started to increase. Jonny had to defend both sides of the board and couldn't hold the position for very long. The game was adjudicated after Jonny lost a piece and was a rook down. Ginkgo improves to -7, Jonny last with -11.

Featured game: Jonny - Fire
Premier division, round 32
Link to game on TCEC

Jonny had a strong bishop in the center from move 16. Its eval was over 1 while Fire's eval stayed close to 0. An over-optimistic eval is normal for Jonny, Fire had no cause for alarm at this point.  




Evals gradually increased as Jonny pushed pawns on both sides. Jonny had more space and Fire was beginning to feel pressure. The position was closed but Jonny had potential pawn moves that could open holes on either side of the board. Fire was in checkers mode...


Jonny played f4 and opened the king side. After a series of exchanges the game reached a RB vs RB position, material was equal but Jonny's eval was winning.




Fire could not defend the h pawn. The black king was trapped, Jonny captured a pawn and was about to capture another when the game was adjudicated. 

Season 12 premier division after RR4

Crosstable after RR4


Only 6/21 games were decisive in RR4, the reverse games were more drawish than RR3.

Komodo was able to get one win back after its two losses in RR3. It had a 4.5/6 score and it joins Stockfish in the lead. Stockfish only scored 3.5/6, same as Houdini which is still in the race in 3rd place.

Jonny and Ginkgo are trying to draw as many games as they can. Both scored 2/6 in RR4 and they are tied at the bottom. Ginkgo has an advantage with two head to head wins.

A few interesting games

Houdini - Komodo: See featured game below. Komodo wins the reverse game after losing in RR3, improving to +6, Houdini stays third at +3.

Jonny - Komodo: Evals were slightly negeative and close to 0 until move 23. After a series of exchanges only RBB vs QR remained, Jonny with 2 extra pawns and Komodo's eval close to 2. The black queen was very active and the white king exposed, it took Komodo 20 moves to capture all the white pawns on the queen side, its 2 remaining passers secured the win. Komodo joins Stockfish in the lead with +7, Jonny last with -7.

Stockfish - Andscacs: Stockfish had an eval advantage from the start, and its eval constantly increased. After closing down the queen side Stockfish developed a crushing king side attack. The game was adjudicated before Andscacs started to lose material. Stockfish is leading again with +8.

Houdini - Ginkgo: Ginkgo went up a pawn on move 20, but it was Houdini's eval that started to increase slowly. The game reached a QRB vs QRB position on move 34, Houdini eval was less than 1, its king had better protection than Ginkgo's and its pawn structure was better. For more than 40 moves evals increased gradually, Houdini captured two pawns but not a lot happened. After a few exchanges only Q vs RB remained, Ginkgo seemed to be holding until it apparently blundered and lost the game. Houdini is still in the race with +4, Ginkgo joins Jonny with -7. 

Komodo - Ginkgo: Komodo's eval began to increase after it locked pawns in the center. It attacked the king side and forced the black king to move to the center. Ginkgo had very little space for its pieces, it tried to defend by trading but Komodo was too strong. The game was adjudicated before Ginkgo started to lose material. Komodo with +8 is again joint leader, Ginkgo last again with -8.

Houdini - Jonny:Evals were close to 0 until move 45. Jonny started a series of exchanges on move 42 which led to a RRN vs Q position. It predicted this outcome but failed to notice that Houdini had a way to keep one last pawn. This was the difference between a draw and a win for Houdini, though it was very hard for me to understand the winning path. Houdini improves to +5, Jonny and Ginkgo are equal with -8.


Featured game: Houdini - Komodo
Premier division, round 22
Link to game on TCEC

Houdini had an eval advantage from the start, Komodo equalized by move 24. After a few exchanges the f file was opened, evals turned slightly negative and the engines started to shuffle. 


Komodo exchanged pawns on the queen side and created a connected pair of passers in the center. After exchanging queens only RRB vs RRB were left, Houdini had a passer on the queen side to counter the black center, evals were still close to 0.


Both engines pushed their passers and the evals increased a little. The engines exchanged a pair of rooks, and Komodo created a 3rd passer. Evals remained relatively low despite all the advancing pawns. However, when two black pawns reached the 2nd file evals jumped.


Both engines acknowledged that Komodo was winning, though the win was very complicated. Komodo captures the white passer and Houdini eliminated the b2 and e2 pawns. Komodo then brought its king forward and the PV showed how Komodo can win a piece and the game.

Season 12 premier division after RR3

Crosstable after RR3



There were many decisive games in the RR3 (13/21), and several surprising results. There were two decisive games within the top 3, and both Komodo and Houdini lost for the first time in the division. Jonny won its first game of the division as it fights against relegation.

The race to the superfinal continues to be close. Stockfish took the lead after a 5/6 score in the RR, it is the only engine without loss. Komodo lost twice but remains in second place after a 3/6 score, Houdini only 0.5 point behind after 3.5/6 with one loss.

Ginkgo had a low score of 1.5/6, it is joint last with Jonny who scored 2.5/6. Both engines had one win in the RR. Jonny beat Fire, quite a surprising result, while Ginkgo beat Jonny.

A few interesting games

Stockfish - Jonny: Stockfish was a pawn up early in the game, its eval increasing from the start. However, Jonny exchanged pieces and locked pawns in a way that Stockfish couldn't penetrate the black position. For almost 50 moves the eval remained close to 2, still only a draw.

Komodo - Houdini: Komodo had an eval advantage from the start, Houdini equalized by move 16 and evals became negative. The center was blocked and Houdini threatened the white king while most of Komodo's pieces were on the queen side. Houdini sacrificed a knight and got a pawn to g3, with evals over 2. Komodo gave a bishop to get rid of the dangerous pawn, but Houdini had too many threats on the exposed white king and Komodo couldn't defend without losing material. A first loss for Komodo and a first decisive game within the top 3. Houdini and Komodo joint leaders with +4.

Fire - Ginkgo: A series of exchanges after move 20 left Ginkgo a bishop up while Fire had two extra pawns and a pair of central passers facing Ginkgo's king which could not castle. Evals were over 3 and increasing as Fire used its advantage to reach a winning RRB vs RBN position.


Houdini - Andscacs: Houdini had an eval advantage from the start, Andscacs held evals below 1 until move 25. Houdini captured a pawn and created a passer on the queen side, Andscacs had to block the passer while protecting its king on the other side. The defense collapsed not long afterward, a win for Houdini, now with a +5 score.

Stockfish - Komodo: Incredible game, see featured game below. Second loss in a row for Komodo, both to its top 3 rivals, Stockfish in second place with a +4 score, Komodo down to third with +3.

Komodo - Jonny: Komodo took over the game quickly despite a small eval advantage for Jonny at the start. Komodo created a central passer on move 28, and after locking the queen side Komodo captured a pawn and created a second passer, connected to the first. The white king found safety behind a black pawn, Komodo attacked on the king side and drove the black king away. The game was adjudicated as the passers were about to march. Komodo stays close to the top with +4.

Andscacs - Stockfish: Andscacs was 2 pawns up early in the game, the center was open and Stockfish's rooks and bishops were very active, evals slightly negative. Stockfish controlled the board, after exchanging queens it trapped a white rook and exchaged it for a bishop. The game reached a RB vs RR position, it took Stockfish 50 more moves to convert the win. Stockfish joins Houdini in the lead with +5.

Jonny - Fire: Jonny's eval increased from the start and was over 1 by move 16. Fire was less impressed, Jonny is usually an optimist. However, after Jonny opened the king side, exposed the black king and forced it to move uncastled even Fire saw the danger. Jonny took a rook for a knight and the game reached a RRB vs RBN position. The game continued for 20 moves, Jonny remained calm and found a winning path. This is the first win for Jonny in the division, quite a surprise against a strong opponent. Jonny now has a -5 score, Ginkgo and Andscacs have -4, the relegation race is wide open again.

Stockfish - Ginkgo: Ginkgo's king couldn't castle, it was forced to move and remained in the center. Stockfish had an eval over 1 with a passer on the queen side, the game reached a QRB vs QRB position on move 40 with equal material. Evals started to increase after Stockfish went a pawn up and added a second connected passer on the queen side. Progress was slow, Ginkgo took the passers out for a bishop, Stockfish found a way to break the Ginkgo defense. Stockfish is leading with +6, Ginkgo joins Jonny at the bottom with -5.

Ginkgo - Komodo: Ginkgo had more space after the start, but evals turned negative after the g file opened and the white king became exposed. Ginkgo exchanged all the minor pieces by move 35, evals were over 1 and continued to increase. After exchanging the rooks Komodo could attack the white king and Ginkgo had many weak pawns, the queen ending was a win for Komodo. Komodo joins Houdini in second place with +5, Ginkgo with a second consecutive loss is last with -6.

Fire - Houdini: Evals were close to 0 from the start. Fire was up a rook for a knight but Houdini had two extra pawns, its king safe behind a white pawn. Fire's eval started to increase after move 30, it opened the queen side and created two passers. Houdini started a series of exchanges that left only QB vs Q on move 52, Houdini with 3 extra pawns. At first Houdini thought it was holding, but Fire kept its last pawn alive and when it started to march Houdini realized it couldn't stop the pawn. Quite an unexpected result, this is Houdini's first loss in the division and it is now 3rd with a +4 score.

Stockfish - Fire: Stockfish had an eval advantage from the start, it was around 1 from move 16. The engines castled in opposite directions, the king side was half open and the black king was under threat. Stockfish captured two pawns and managed to place pawns on f6 and h6, its eval over 1.5, Fire's counter on the queen side was weak. Evals remained constant for a while, Fire's king hid behind the white pawn and the engines seemed to be shuffling. Evals started to increase again when Stockfish found a way to push its pawns forward. It gave a rook for a bishop and created a central passer. A few exchanges later Stockfish had a second passer, with both on the 6th rank the game was over. A tough win, Stockfish extends the lead with a +7 score.

Andscacs - Ginkgo: Andscacs had an eval advantage, with more space in a closed position. The engines shuffed behind pawn lines until Andscacs opened the king side on move 65 and evals started to increase. Andscacs doubled rooks on the f file and threatened the black king. Ginkgo exchanged pieces and avoided mate, but Andscacs captured pawns on the king side and created two passers on the 6th rank, winning the game. Andscacs moves away from the relegation zone with -3, Ginkgo is last with -7.

Ginkgo - Jonny: Ginkgo had an eval advantage from the start, it won a knight for two pawns on move 17 with eval over 1. After the engines exchanged queens the evals stayed more or less constant, the game reached a RRN vs RR position. Ginkgo's eval was close to 2 when it was down to its last pawn, Jonny's eval dropped to 0 when it saw how to capture the last white pawn so that only one black pawn remained. For a while the game seemed to be heading for a draw, an 8-man position and tablebase support for both engines. Remarkably Jonny blundered and immediately lost the game. As a result Ginkgo and Jonny close the table, both with a -6 score.

Featured game: Stockfish - Komodo
Premier division, round 16
Link to game on TCEC

The game started with evals close to 0. Stockfish pushed pawns on the king side and its eval increased, reaching 1 on move 19. Komodo focused on the queen side and its eval remained low.


All pieces stayed on the board as Stockfish brought more pieces to the king side. On move 24 it made its first mate threat and Komodo realized it had to be careful. Still Komodo was hoping for a counter on the queen side, Stockfish's eval was already over 2.5.


The first exchange of the game was on move 30, a first hole in the black king's position. Stockfish's eval jumped over 6, it was sure it was winning. It took Komodo another move to realise it was losing, too many of its pieces were on the wrong side and Stockfish's pressure was too great.




It was not obvious to see how Stockfish can win, the engines followed the line in both their PVs and the game was adjudicated in the middle of a series of exchanges, which ends with Stockfish a piece up.

Season 12 premier division after RR2

Crosstable after RR2



Komodo is in the lead, one point ahead of Houdini and Stockfish. So far there have been only draws within the top 3 engines and their score is determined by their performance against the lower ranked opponents. Komodo is doing well, an improvement compared to last season. Houdini started with 6 draws, but came back in the reverse games. All three are looking good and anything can happen.

Chiron crashed 3 times in its first 5 games and was disqualified with automatic relegation. Jonny is the at the bottom of the table and is most likely to be the second relegated engine, it has no wins so far and Ginkgo is one point away in 6th.

A few interesting games

Stockfish - Jonny: Jonny held on until move 22 when it was tempted to take a pawn. Stockfish responded with a deadly king side attack while most of the black pieces were on the queen side. The game was over on move 31, just before Jonny started to lose material.

Jonny - Chiron: The game reached a R vs NN imbalance on move 15, Jonny two pawns up with an eval over 1. The engines started to shuffle in a closed position, Jonny avoided the 50-move draw and then evals became negative after move 100. The position opened a little and Chiron took over, the white king was in danger and Chiron used this to win a rook for a bishop and create a queen side passer. This led to a winning QR vs QRB position. Second loss for Jonny.

Fire - Ginkgo: Fire pushed its king side pawns leaving its king unprotected and the queen side undeveloped. Evals gradually increased, Ginkgo's king was trapped in the corner with a white pawn on f6.The position opened up and Fire won a pawn, and then a mate threat caused Ginkgo's defense to collapse, a win for Fire.

Komodo - Jonny: Komodo's eval started to increase on move 21 and was over 1 after a few moves. It opened the king side and Jonny had to be careful to defend its king. After a series of exchanges Komodo reduced to an opposite color bishops ending two pawns up, good for a win. Three losses in a row for Jonny, looks like it is going to be the punching bag of the division.

Houdini - Chiron: Chiron crashed in a losing position, this is Chiron's second crash in 4 games and it will probably be disqualified soon.

Komodo - Andscacs: Andscacs grabbed a pawn with its queen, evals were close to 0 until move 25. The black king was exposed and moved without castling, Komodo's eval jumped over 2 a few moves later. It attacked through the open diagonals, the black king was in danger even after Komodo sacrificed a knight. Andscacs tried to counter, giving back the material and pushing pawns against the white king, but it was hopeless. The pressure was too great, the game was adjudicated in a QRR vs QRN position with a white pawn on the 7th rank. 

Andscacs - Jonny: Andscacs had an advantage from the opening. On move 30 Andscacs had a rook for a knight and a queen side passer with eval over 1.5. On move 43 the game reached a RR vs RN position, with Jonny up a pawn and evals above 2. It took more than 30 moves for Andscacs to find the path to a win, could Jonny have held? Now 4 losses to Jonny in 5 games.

Ginkgo - Komodo: Evals were close to 0 after 40 moves, then Komodo started to take over. Evals jumped over 1 after Komodo created a passer on the king side. Ginkgo gave a pawn and tried to counter with an attack on the black king. Komodo's eval continued to increase, it reduced to a winning BN vs RN position with passers on both sides. Komodo's 3rd win in the first RR, it is leading the table.

Chiron - Stockfish: Chiron crashed for the third time, and it is disqualified in the first RR.

Stockfish - Fire: See featured game below. First loss for Fire, a qualilty win for Stockfish in 2nd place with a +2 score.

Andscacs - Ginkgo: Evals were close to 0 until move 32. Ginkgo had a pawn majority on the queen side, it started to push pawns and its eval started to climb. When it got a passer to the 3rd rank Ginkgo's eval was over 2. Andscacs gave a pawn and got nothing in return, when Ginkgo pushed a second passer to the 3rd rank the game was over. A small surprise, a win in black for Ginkgo, recall it promoted from division 1.

Ginkgo - Jonny: Evals remained close to 0 until move 42. After all the king side pawns were gone Ginkgo's king walked to the queen side for a little more safety. Jonny's king had no pawn support and the evals increased gradually. In a series of exchanges Ginkgo gave two rooks for a queen and the game reached a QN vs RRB position, evals around 1.5. For a while Jonny managed to hold but Ginkgo's queen was able to capture the two remaining black pawns and Jonny had no counter. Ginkgo's pawns started to advance and the game was soon over. Back to back wins for Ginkgo, it now has a 0 score.

Andscacs - Houdini: Material was equal, Andscacs controlled the center and had a weak bishop, Houdini had a pawn majority on the queen side and had a strong central knight. Evals remained close to 0 until move 48, then Houdini created a passer on the queen side and sent its queen forward. A mate threat caused Andscacs' defense to collapse, the game was adjudicated with Houdini up a rook for a bishop with connected passers. This is the first Houdini win of the division.

Houdini - Ginkgo: Houdini had a small eval advantage from the start, and although material remained equal the eval gradually increased. The black king was in the corner and the black pieces could hardly move, while Houdini slowly gathered its pieces for the attack. The king side opened and Houdini added two pawns to the attack, when the game was adjudicated Houdini saw mate in its PV, material still equal. Houdini's 2nd win, the usual top-3 is forming again. 

Ginkgo - Stockfish: Stockfish placed a pawn-bishop formation deep in white territory on move 20, and evals started to increase for black. More black pieces joined the attack on the king side, Ginkgo exchanged pieces and gave a rook for the annoying bishop. The evals jumped higher, the white king was exposed and Stockfish's rooks had open files. Stockfish sacrificed a rook, exchanged queens and used the advanced pawn to get the rook back. The game reached a BN vs RN position, Ginkgo couldn't protect its pawns and Stockfish was soon winning. Stockfish joins Komodo in the lead with a +3 score.

Komodo - Ginkgo: The evals were close to 0 for 50 moves, then the small eval advantage Komodo had started to increase. It had a central passer, and after a few exchanges Komodo created a second passer, connected with the first. Ginkgo was a pawn up and it reduced to a double rook ending, the white central passers were too strong when they started to march. Komodo completes a double win against Ginkgo, regains the lead with +4.

Houdini - Jonny: Houdini had an eval advantage from the start, it gave a pawn to create an advanced passer on move 21. Houdini gave a second pawn and then exchanged its passer for a knight, evals over 1. The game reached a QBN vs QB position, Jonny had a passer on the 2nd rank but Houdini controlled the queening square. The white knight was very active, threatening the king and targeting Jonny's pawns. Houdini captured a pawn and exchanged queens, leading to a won BN vs B position. Houdini with a +3 score, joint second place with Stockfish.

Komodo - Fire: Komodo had an eval advantage from the start that increased gradually, it had a strong central knight and a space advantage. The engines shuffled behind their pawn lines, then after a series of exchanges Fire got rid of the white knight, it had a passer on the queen side while Komodo had a central passer. Evals started to jump as Komodo exchanged a pair of rooks, king safety became important as the black king was exposed while the white king had pawn support. Fire exchanged down to a rook ending, Komodo's rook controlled the 7th rank and could capture pawns easily. Komodo was 3 pawns up after a few moves and the game was adjudicated. Komodo extending its lead with a +5 score, Fire's second loss.

Featured game: Stockfish - Fire
Premier division, round 6
Link to game on TCEC

Stockfish had an eval advantage from the start. The engines exchanged the DSBs early and Fire's king position had dark squares weakness, it tried to compensate with its queen and knights.




Stockfish pushed pawns on the king side, with evals increasing. After exchanging the remaining bishops Stockfish's eval was over 2, the pawn line on the king side looked dangerous as the pawns were ready to charge.



Stockfish opened the g file and its eval jumped over 3. The white knights took over the center and Stockfish increased the pressure on the black king. Fire gave a rook to remove one of the white knights, after exchanging a pair of rooks the game reached a QRN vs QNN position.



Fire's king was still under threat, and Stockfish pushed its central pawns as well. The game was adjudicated before Fire lost more material.

Season 12 live blogging, Saturday May 26th

Houdini and Stockfish are playing, the first game they meet in this division, in the season even.  They will play 8 times in the division, and 100 games in the superfinal if they both qualify.

This is the last game of the first RR. So far Chiron crashed 3 times and has been disqualified, all its past games ignored. In the new tournament settings all its future games have been canceled, so the season will be shorter than planned by 25%.

Komodo is leading with a +3 score, Stockfish with +1 is the only other engine with an above average score. Houdini has drawn all its games so far, but most of these have been with black (its white game against Chiron ended in a crash and was removed, it is now playing as white against Stockfish). Fire has one win and one loss, Ginkgo has two each. Andscacs has two losses and a win, while Jonny has 4 losses and will be relegated unless another engine starts to crash.

The games are 3 hours long or more, I will not be able to blog continuously through the whole game. We'll see how it goes.

move 14 - Stockfish played a rare move on move 9, right after book. Then on move 11 its king moved forward, no longer allowed to castle. The black rooks are connected and both are on the king side to counter a potential pawn attack by Houdini. Perhaps the black king will find safety on the queen side later.

--- had to go for an hour ---

move 34 - Stockfish managed to hold so far, evals remain close to 0. After exchanging all bishops Houdini attacked with its queen on the queen side, forcing the black king back to the center. Houdini doubled rooks on the open e file and Stockfish exchanged RR for Q. Houdini then won a rook for a knight and the game reached a Q vs RN position. The evals are low and Stockfish will hold, any result other than a draw will be a surprise.

move 39 - Evals are not moving, despite Houdini thinking for 10 minutes on move 36. This may take a while.

move 48 - Stockfish's eval has dropped to 0. The black rook now controlling the 4th rank, not allowing the white king to move forward.

move 55 - Houdini is still hopeful with eval over 0.2. I doubt it will blunder in its optimism, it just takes longer to realize it cannot win.

Houdini lowered its eval on move 64 and the draw rule was activated on move 70. Houdini completes the first round with 6 draws and in joint 3rd with Fire and Ginkgo. Komodo in the lead with a +3 score. Will this season be Komodo's comeback?