Season 22 league 3

Final standings

Koivisto and Seer advance to league 2. There were three engines leading the league from the start, Koivisto, Seer and Berserk. Seer lost to the other two in their direct matches, but it won more games against the weaker engines. Koivisto also beat Berserk in their head-to-head match, so of the three it deserved to be first. Berserk was very close to Seer during the whole RR2, but it was unable to catch up.

 

At the bottom Topple and Pirarucu are heading to league 4, if relegation works properly next season. Marvin and Drofa may be joining them.

 

It is somewhat disappointing that Berserk did not advance to league 2. It seemed to be a strong engine based on its performance in the swiss event, and I thought (like others in the chat) that it would be more successful in the leagues. Unfortunately there were only two promotion spots, and the competition was hard. It is still quite possible that Berserk is stronger than most engines in league 2. It will have to wait for the next season to try again.

 

Seer was much better that expected. In RR1 it beat all engines except Koivisto and Berserk, to which it lost. In RR2 its score was more normal with 7 draws. Tucano was also a surprise, in the swiss event it was behind Topple and Pirarucu while here it finished 4th with a +6 score.

 

Koivisto and Seer join the following engines in league 2:
played in season 21 league 2: Fritz, Minic, Halogen, Vajolet, Winter, ClassicAra

 

This season only 8 engines will play in league 2, Booot and Defenchess do not participate this season. There was no relegation from league 1 because of engines dropping out in higher leagues (Xiphos and AllieStein). League 2 will be a 2 DRR event.

Interesting games

game 1, Seer - Drofa: Drofa went up a pawn but the white pieces were much more active. Seer pushed a pawn to the 7th rank, then gave its queen for two minor pieces. Drofa felt safe for a while, but Seer captured two pawns and Drofa blocked the passer with a rook, both engines realized Seer had a clear advantage. Drofa was forced to lose a rook for the passer, in the end Seer reduced to a B vs pawns tablebase win.

game 3, Wasp - Weiss: Wasp created a passer on the queen side, Weiss pushed the h pawn until it was also a passer but its king remained uncastled. Wasp gave a knight and connected a second passer on the queen side, Weiss lost a bishop to stop one passer. In a series of exchanges Weiss stopped the second passer and the game reached a RRB vs RR position. Eventually Wasp was able to reduce to a bishop vs pawns tablebase win.

game 11, Bit-Genie - Wasp: Wasp was up a pawn from the KGA opening book line. The engines gradually exchanged pieces and (negative) evals increased. The game reached a N vs B ending, Bit-Genie was forced to give its knight to stop a passer and Wasp had enough pawns to win.

game 12, Seer - Arasan: Evals increased after the start, but then stayed mostly constant for a long time, with the engines shuffling and pushing pawns. On move 68 Arasan traded a knight for 3 pawns, it had 3 passers but Seer used the extra piece to gradually capture pawns. The game reached a RN vs R position, Seer captured all the black pawns and had enough of its own to win.

game 14, Wasp - Seer: The game started with an eval advantage for white, but after the engines castled in opposite directions evals became negative. Seer opened the f file and the white king was exposed to attack. Wasp tried to open the queen side, the black king remained safe and Seer went up a pawn with a passer. Seer gave a rook for a knight and reduced to a R vs N ending 3 pawns up. Wasp had to give the rook to stop a passer, Seer had enough pawns to win.

game 16, Koivisto - Weiss: After a slow increase in evals the game reached a QRR vs QRR position with Koivisto a pawn up. The engines exchanged a pair of rooks and then Koivisto captured two more pawns. Koivisto was not in a hurry, it took 25 moves to exchange all pieces and promote a passer to a queen. It had a million ways to win but Koivisto shuffled for 50 moves and captured a pawn before finally mating.

game 27, Koivisto - Seer: Seer went up a pawn, letting Koivisto take control of a file in the center. The black king side pawns advanced leaving the black king vulnerable. Koivisto reduced to a QB vs QB position and used attacks on the black king to capture pawns. Koivisto was a pawn up when both engines promoted a pawn, 4 queens on the board. Koivisto had a big advantage since its king was safe, it reduced to a winning queen ending two pawns up.

game 36, Wasp - Tucano: Tucano pushed pawns on the queen side and (negative) evals increased slowly. For a while the engines shuffled, then Tucano gave a rook for a knight and attacked in the center. Wasp exchanged pieces quickly and reduced to a QRB vs QBB position. Tucano was two pawns up, it pushed a passer to the 2nd rank, and that was enough to win after almost all pieces were exchanged.

game 38, Koivisto - Wasp: There were only a few exchanges after the start, Koivisto had an eval advantage but for a long time evals did not change and it seemed the game was heading for a draw. On move 61 evals started to increase again, the engines reduced to a QRR vs QRR position. Koivisto used an advanced passer and threats on the black king to gain materlal, the game reached a rook vs pawns ending which Koivisto dragged on for 25 moves before matng.

game 47, Wasp - Marvin: Wasp gave 3 pawns and exposed the black king to attack. The white king was also exposed and uncastled, but Marvin had no time to exploit this. Wasp gradually increased the pressure, and in a series of exchanges it won material and reduced to a BNN vs N position, game over.

game 49, Koivisto - Drofa: In a RBB vs RRN position Koivisto trapped the black king and a rook in the corner, then used its king as an additional piece to attack and gain material. The black king was mated still in the trap with its rook.

game 53, Berserk - Seer: There was only one exchange of a pair of pawns which opened the a file, the engines formed long pawn lines and stayed behind them. Berserk had more space and an eval advantage, but for a very long time the engines just shuffled. On move 81 there was an exchange of bishops, by move 96 all rooks were gone and finally a pawn exchange but still evals did not change. The engines were in blitz mode, after more exchanges only QN vs QB remained and evals started to increase. All the black pawns were on squares the same color of the black bishop, which was basically trapped and passive. After exchanging queens Berserk had two passers that only the black king could stop. Berserk used the time to go two pawns up and win.

game 55, Drofa - Bit-Genie: The engines started to shuffle on move 26, with a few pawn moves that reset the 50-move counter. Bit-Genie's clock came slowly down and on move 159 it lost on time.

game 57, Arasan - Berserk: Berserk was up a pawn from the start, (negative) evals increased gradually as the engines exchanged pieces and reduced to a double rook ending. The engines shuffled for a while, then Berserk exchanged a pair of pawns and evals moved up again. Berserk had passers on the queen side, eventually Arasan had to give a rook to stop one. The game ended in a tablebase win.

game 62, Pirarucu - Koivisto: The engines shuffled in a QBB vs QBN position. On move 98 Pirarucu offered a queen exchange, Koivisto accepted and (negative) evals increased. It took Koivisto another 25 moves to move its king forward, and 10 more moves to force a bishop exchange. The white pawns were weak, Koivisto captured them all to reach a tablebase win on move 149.

game 64, Berserk - Wasp: Berserk was up a pawn after the opening with a queen side passer. The engines quickly reduced to a QRR vs QRR position, after some shuffling and exchanges the game reached a queen ending. Wasp delayed as much as it could, but Berserk slowly pushed its passer forward. Wasp captured 2 pawns but couldn't prevent a queening, game over.

Standings after RR1: Koivisto Seer +7, Berserk +6, Tucano +2, Wasp 0, Bit-Genie Arasan Drofa -1, Marvin -2, Weiss -3, Topple Pirarucu -7. There are 3 engines leading the table, but only two will advance. Seer has an unusual result of 11 games without draws, it lost to the two other leaders but won all other games. At the bottom Topple and Pirarucu are losing most of their games. 

game 75, Koivisto - Berserk: The center was blocked and there were no exchanges after the start. The first pawn exchange opened a file on the queen side where Koivisto had rooks doubled. Berserk tried to react on the king side, it gave a knight and moved a pawn to h2. Koivisto hid its king behind the black pawn, gave a rook for a bishop and pushed a passer on the queen side forward. Koivisto avoided opening the king side, Berserk exchanged pieces and managed to capture the white passer but this led to a dangerous attack on the black king. Berserk had to give material and was eventually mated.

game 76, Tucano - Weiss: Weiss blundered in a RB vs RN position, Tucano managed to trap the black rook with a passer and its bishop. The black pawns were all isolated and Weiss couldn't defend them all. Tucano used the passer to reduce to a winning bishop vs pawns tablebase win. 

game 82, Weiss - Koivisto: Evals started positive but became negative after move 20. Weiss pushed the king side pawns forward, leaving its king without pawn support. Koivisto gave two pawns and attacked through the center, with its queen threatening on the diagonal. Weiss struggled to defend its king, after a series of exchanges only RN vs RR remained. Koivisto captured all the white pawns and reduced to a tablebase win.

Standings with 6 rounds to go: Koivisto +10, Seer +8, Berserk +7, Tucano +4, Drofa 0, Wasp Arasan -1, Bit-Genie Marvin -3, Weiss -4, Topple -8, Pirarucu -9. Koivisto takes the lead after winning 3 games, including one against Berserk. Seer only won one game and drew 4, after not drawing a single game in RR1. Seer and Koivisto drew their game. Berserk had one loss but it won two games for a total score of +1. It only drew against Pirarucu, which could be significant in the final standings. The game between Seer and Berserk may decide the engine in 2nd place.

game 97, Berserk - Drofa: There were a few minor piece exchanges and one pawn exchange after the start, Berserk had an eval advantage. After move 18 there were no exchanges, the engines shuffled and pushed pawns and evals did not change. On move 60 Berserk exchanged pawns on the king side and threatened the black king. Evals increased rapidly as Berserk went 2 pawns up and reduced to a RRB vs RRB position. After Drofa lost a rook for a passer the win was a matter of time.

game 104, Wasp - Koivisto: Wasp had an eval advantage after the start, but Koivisto's eval became negative after move 23. Koivisto attacked through the center and the game reached a QBB vs QRB position with white a pawn up. After a very long shuffle Wasp grabbed a pawn and (negative) evals started to increase again. The engines exchanged queens and Wasp pushed a passer to the 7th rank. Koivisto blocked and captured the passer, pawn captures continued until there was only one black pawn in a 7-man position on move 114. It took Koivisto another 27 moves to promote its pawn and win.

game 110, Berserk - Bit-Genie: Berserk had an eval advantage from the start but for a long time evals did not change or drifted down a little. The game reached a RRN vs RRB position on move 51, after some shuffling evals started to increase. Bit-Genie captured a pawn but Berserk moved its rooks forward and managed to capture the black bishop. The engines reduced to a RN vs R ending, a win for white.

game 111, Topple - Seer: Topple had an eval advantage from the start and it was a pawn up. Seer managed to place a strong knight on the 3rd rank and evals became negative. Topple got rid of the black knights with exchanges, Seer regained the pawn and took over the center in a QRR vs QRR position. It pushed a passer slowly forward, won a piece for it and won.

Standings at the top with 3 rounds to go: Koivisto +11, Seer +10, Berserk +9. Koivisto still leads, though it won only one game in 3 rounds. Seer and Berserk won two games, Seer is still ahead by 0.5 points. They still have to play each other.

game 119, Seer - Berserk: Evals increased from the start, Seer had a protected passer on the 6th rank, it was a pawn up in a QRB vs QRB position. After exchanging queens Seer captured a second pawn and it appeared to be heading for a win. However, Berserk exchanged rooks and only opposite color bishops remained. Despite the high evals the position was a draw. Seer wouldn't lower its eval and the game ended by the 50 move rule.

In round 20 Berserk managed somehow to hold a draw against Seer and to keep its hope of promoting alive. Berserk has a head-to-head advantage over Seer in case of a tiebreak. Koivisto only managed a draw against Drofa, no change in scores at the top. Standings with 2 rounds to go: Koivisto +11, Seer +10, Berserk +9.

In round 21 the 3 leaders drew their games, scores remain unchanged. The final standings will be determined in the last round. Standings before the last round:  Koivisto +11, Seer +10, Berserk +9. 

In the last round Koivisto beat Pirarucu easily to ensure first place. Berserk as black drew its game against Wasp. In the last game of the league Seer was white against Bit-Genie in a KGA with advantage for black. Seer only needed a draw to promote, in the end it managed to turn the tables and win. Final standings: Koivisto +12, Seer +11, Berserk +9.