After 30 games Stockfish leads 7-5 with 18 draws. Stockfish won a game pair and extended its lead to +4, but then Leela won two game pairs and the gap is back to +2. There was one game pair with two white wins and one with two draws. Stockfish is in the lead but Leela is fighting back, still a long way to go.
Games 21-22 started with a rare line in QGD with an advantage for black. In game 21 the engines castled in opposite directions, Leela pushed pawns on the king side and the black queen moved forward on the queen side. After exchanging queens the engines played out a long PV agreement, they opened the center and exchanged most pieces, (negative) evals slowly increased. On move 32 the game reached a RN vs RB position, a few moves later Stockfish captured a pawn and created a passer on the king side.
Stockfish slowly pushed the passer to the 2nd rank, Leela captured it there but then Stockfish exchanged minors and reduced to a rook ending a pawn up. The black king moved forward, after a while Stockfish captured another pawn and the game ended in a tablebase win.
In game 22 again the engines castled in opposite directions. Stockfish opened the c and e files, both queens moved forward but they remained on the board. Again there were long PV agreements but evals slowly came down. The engines gradually exchanged pieces and the game reached a QR vs QR position on move 42. The engines shuffled and the game was adjudicated when Leela lowered its eval. Stockfish wins the game pair, it leads 6-2.
Games 23-24 started with a 20-ply line in the Sicilian Scheveningen, Keres attack, that used to be played in high level human games 40 years ago. In game 23 both engines castled long and there were no exchanges after the start. Leela had a space advantage, Stockfish tried to avoid opening the center and traded both its bishops for knights. The h file opened and the engines exchanged a pair of rooks, then a pawn exchange opened the d file on move 47.
The engines shuffled for a long time, Stockfish played waiting moves and Leela tried to find a way into the black fortress. After move 70 evals started to increase, Leela placed a bishop on b6 and restricted the black pieces. Then the white king walked to the king side and Leela slowly arranged its pieces on the queen side. Stockfish moved a rook forward and captured a pawn, but evals were already high.
In a series of exchanges Leela captured a knight and reduced to a RB vs R position. Leela created a passer on the king side, it was on time to stop the black a pawn and then queened its passer. The game ended in a tablebase win.
In game 24 the engines again castled long. Stockfish didn't push pawns forward, from move 21 the engines played out a long PV agreement and evals came down. Stockfish gave a rook for two knights, then after exchanging bishops Stockfish captured a rook for a bishop. The game reached a RBN vs RB position with black two pawns up. Evals were close to 0 despite the material imbalance, Leela created connected passers and Stockfish lost material to stop them and the game was adjudicated. Leela wins the game pair, Stockfish leads 6-3.
Games 25-26 started in the Queen Pawn's game, anti Torre variant, the black queen was out in the center. In game 25 Leela had a bishop pair advantage and queens were exchanged early. Leela had a space advantage, evals increased steadily as it blocked the center and king side. The white king walked to g5 to complete the pawn line on the king side.
Leela attacked the center, Stockfish gave a knight for two pawns and the c file opened. Stockfish moved a rook forward but alone it was weak. Leela moved a rook to the 7th rank and captured the other black rook. Stockfish lost more material and was mated.
In game 26 Stockfish had a bishop pair advantage, but the queens stayed on the board. On move 22 the engines exchanged a pair of pawns and Stockfish created a passer in the center. The engines seemed to shuffle for a while but evals increased steadily. After exchanging a pair of rooks the white queen moved forward on the queen side. Leela still refused to exchange queens, after a series of exchanges the game reached a QB vs QN position with white a pawn up.
Now Stockfish avoided exchanging queens, Leela in desperation gave the knight for two pawns and created passers on the king side, also exposing the white king. Stockfish used the bishop to keep its king safe, then captured pawns and pushed a passer forward. Leela lost its queen and the game ended in a tablebase win. There were two white wins in this game pair, Stockfish leads 7-4.
Games 27-28 started with a short 6-ply line in the French Benoni opening. In game 27 the engines opened the center and exchanged queens. The black king walked to the queen side and the white king castled long. After some more piece exchanges the game reached a RRN vs RRN position, evals were already over 2.
Material was equal but the white rooks controlled the center and restricted the black king. Leela captured a pawn on move 40, then another on move 49 to create a passer on the king side. Stockfish captured a pawn and created a passer on the queen side. On move 57 Leela captured another pawn and was two pawns up.
Leela slowly pushed passers forward and forced Stockfish to exchange pieces. The game ended in a tablebase win.
In game 28 the engines repeated 19 plys of the reverse game, opening the center and exchanging queens. Stockfish castled long and captured a pawn, then the engines exchanged all rooks through the open center. In a BB vs BN position Stockfish thought it had a small advantage, but its extra pawn was doubled and Leela found a way to block any attempt of attack. The engines shuffled with pawn moves extending the 50-move counter, the game was adjudicated on move 141. Leela wins the game pair, Stockfish leads 7-5.
Games 29-30 started with a 20-ply line in the KID Saemich, closed variation. All pieces were on the board, the center was blocked and the c file was open. In game 29 Leela kept its king uncastled in the center, there were no exchanges until Leela captured a pawn on move 22. Evals came down, the engines exchanged queens and a pair of bishops. The white king walked to the king side and Stockfish opened the f file. In a series of exchanges the engines reduced to a RN vs RN position, evals were low and the game was adjudicated. In game 30 Stockfish captured a pawn and created a passer on the queen side, then it castled its king. The engines exchanged pieces and evals came down, Leela moved a rook forward and the engines shuffled for a while. After exchanging queens Stockfish gave back a pawn and created a passer in the center, Leela gave a bishop and captured the two white passers. The game reached a RN vs R position with black 3 pawns up and was adjudicated.
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