The engines that promote to league 2 are: DefenChess, Demolito, Winter, Pirarucu, Igel and iCE.
DefenChess and Demolito led the table from the start and were clearly better than the other engines. Winter started slowly and used a strong second half to reach 3rd place. The race for the remaining 3 spots was very close and continued to the very last round. Igel managed to climb up by beating its direct opponents PeSTO and iCE twice each. Minic was very close but it lost to iCE and gave it the opportunity to equalize, and then a crash in the final round meant that Minic would lose its spot on a tiebreak to iCE.
Gogobello crashed twice and was close to being removed from the competition, which would have affected all scores. However, Gogobello survived to the end. Its game against Minic in the last round ended in a crash, but it was Minic and not Gogobello that crashed.
League 2 engines other than the 6 engines promoting from the qualification league are: Pedone, Fire (old version, not NN that played in season 16), Fritz, Nemorino, Texel, Vajolet, Gull, RubiChess, Wasp and chess22k.
Notable games
Game 138, DefenChess - iCE: DefenChess opened a file on the king side and attacked the black king. The black pieces were too far and iCE preferred grabbing a rook for a bishop, then it was forced to lose material to save its king, giving DefenChess the win.
Game 139, Cheese - Gogobello: A 13-move miniature that ended in a 3-fold repetition.
Game 142, Minic - Topple: After a long shuffle the engines opened the position and reduced to a RBN vs RR endgame. Minic played better, a pawn on the 7th rank put pressure on Topple and a second passer was enough for a win.
Game 146, Pirarucu - Igel: The game reduced to a RR vs Q ending, the white rooks were very active and after capturing two pawns the game was over.
Game 150, PeSTO - Cheese: PeSTO thought it was safe in a RRN vs RRN position, ignoring the strong black central pawns. Cheese reduced to a RN vs RN ending and captured 2 pawns, PeSTO realized it was losing but too late. First real win for Cheese in the league, previous win was a Gogobello crash.
After 20 rounds the top of the table was:
DefenChess +10, Demolito +8, Pirarucu +7, Winter Minic +5, iCE Topple PeSTO +3, Marvin +2, Igel +1. The top 3 engines will probably promote, the race for the remaining 3 spots is still wide open with 10 rounds to go. Gogobello has two crashes, a third will delete all its games and could affect all scores.
Game 166, Winter - DefenChess: In a RRB vs RNN position DefenChess used an advanced passer to capture a rook. Winter was two pawns up but DefenChess kept one pawn and reduced to a winning R vs RN endgame.
Game 171, Demolito - Winter: After 60 moves of low evals Winter outplayed Demolito in a N vs BN endgame with white 3 pawns up.
Game 172, DefenChess - Topple: DefenChess was better in a closed position. It exposed the black king while Topple's pieces were too far, the game was over quickly.
Game 174, Tucano - Pirarucu: Tucano put a lot of pressure on the black king, but it couldn't find the win and Pirarucu held the draw.
Game 181, Marvin - DefenChess: DefenChess was much better, it reduced to a R vs RB endgame and won, though it took 30 moves.
Game 187, iCE - Topple: Topple's king and rook were trapped and isolated on the king side, iCE broke through with a knight sacrifice and the game was over quickly.
Game 188, Demolito - Marvin: Marvin grabbed two pawns early, Demolito's pieces were better with a passer on the 7th rank. Demolito traded the passer for a piece and reduced to a RN vs R ending two pawns down, it took 35 more move to get the win.
Game 189, DefenChess - Pirarucu: DefenChess captured a pawn in a RN vs RB position, then reduced to a winning rook endgame.
After 24 rounds the top of the table was:
DefenChess +14, Demolito +8, Pirarucu +7, Minic +6, Winter +5, iCE PeSTO +4, Igel +3, Topple Marvin +2. DefenChess is ready for league 2 with 4 straight wins. Minic and Igel improved their chances, Topple going down but still in the race. Gogobello still with 2 crashes.
Game 197, Pirarucu - Demolito:The black knights were better than the white bishop pair in a closed position. Demolito went a pawn up, then gave a rook for a bishop and two more pawns, the knights and passers gave Demolito the win in a NN vs RB position.
Game 199, Topple - Gogobello: Topple was slowly outplayed in the game, Gogobello completed the win with a mating attack on the white king.
Game 201, FabChess - Winter: The engines shuffled from move 31, avoiding the 50-move draw 3 times. When the position opened Winter played better and won after 225 moves. Could have been a draw.
Game 202, PeSTO - Topple: Topple's king was exposed, PeSTO used the open files for a quick and deadly attack with the major pieces.
Game 215, Marvin - PeSTO: PeSTO did not see the danger to its king, Marvin sacrificed a bishop to expose the black king and PeSTO was forced to lose a queen to avoid mate.
Game 216, Topple - Winter: The white king moved forward in the center, Winter opened the position and attacked with its major pieces, reaching a winning QR vs QB position.
After 27 rounds the top of the table was:
DefenChess +15, Demolito +9, Minic Winter +7, Pirarucu +6, PeSTO iCE Igel +4, Marvin +3, Topple -1. PeSTO, iCE, Igel and Marvin are all trying to get to the 6th and last qualification spot, with 3 rounds to go. Topple is probably out of the race after 3 straight losses. Gogobello still with 2 crashes.
Game 218, Winter - Marvin: Winter had a space advantage from the start. After opening the position the game reduced to a Q vs RB ending, the queen was strong enough to win.
Game 221, iCE - Igel: iCE had an advantage from the opening but couldn't improve. Then Igel took the initiative, captured a piece and reduced to a winning RN vs RBN position.
Two rounds to go: Winter +8, Minic +7, Pirarucu +6, Igel +5, PeSTO +4, iCE +3, Marvin +2. Igel's win over iCE is a dramatic result for both engines, Igel is 6th and iCE is a point away. Igel and PeSTO will play in the last round in a game that may determine the final qualifier.
Game 228, Minic - iCE: Minic was a pawn up in a RRB vs RRN position, iCE used a connected pair of passers to create a significant advantage. Minic gave material and captured one pawn, leading to a B vs R ending and a win for iCE.
Game 231, Pirarucu - Winter: Pirarucu went a pawn up and exposed the black king, Winter used the open files to threaten the white king with its major pieces. Pirarucu's king side was paralyzed, Winter gradually captured pawns and created passers that won the game.
One round to go: Winter +9, Minic +6, Pirarucu Igel +5, PeSTO iCE +4, Marvin +2. Winter promotes to league 2 officially, Marvin is out. After this round there are 5 engines within a point of each other, and three open qualification spots.
Game 236, PeSTO - Igel: Igel exposed the white king and attacked, capturing a pawn in the process. Then it captured a second pawn and reduced to a winning RN vs RB ending. Igel secures a qualification spot, PeSTO is out.
Game 237, Gogobello - Minic: The engines shuffled in a RB vs RB drawn position when Minic crashed. Gogobello with two crashes survives the league
Game 238, iCE - Counter: iCE managed to turn a drawn position to a winning rook ending. The win means iCE qualifies instead of Minic, the crash in the previous game causes Minic to lose in the tiebreak.
Pirarucu and Winter won their games to qualify.
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