New tournament with lots of different AIs

[TracySMiller]

I decided to play a little tournament with a huge mixture of chess AIs: dedicateds, old DOS programs, windows Chess programs, and strong chess engines. Field of 16 will battle it out for the honor of facing Stockfish 13. Participants are (from highest seed to lowest):

1. Arasan 23.31
2. Defenschess 2.2
3. DGT Centaur
4. Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition
5. Millennium King Performance
6. Mephisto Master
7. Novag Citrine
8. MChess 8
9. Mephisto MMV
10. Tasc R40
11. Rebel 12
12. Kasparov's Gambit
13. Excalibur Grandmaster
14. Radio Shack 1850
15. Radio Shack 1650 Fast response
16. Fidelity Chess Challenger 7

Round One will be Best of 6. Round Two will be Best of 8. Quarterfinals will be Best of 10. Finals will be Best of 12. Championship match vs. Stockfish will be Best of 24.

[TracySMiller]

The first match will be #1 seed Arasan 23.3 vs. #16 seed Fidelity Chess Challenger 7. Best of 6 games. I realize that these first few matches will be beatdowns. But this tournament will be a good way to get my computers out again after a few years of inactivity and make sure they're all still working!

Game One goes to Arasan. A miniature showing the massive discrepancies in strengths, like me playing Magnus Carlsen.

Arasan leads 1-0.

WHITE Fidelity Chess Challenger 7
BLACK Arasan 23.3
RESULT 0-1
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Bb5 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Nge2 Bc5 10. Qd3 O-O 11. Be3 Ba6 12. Qxa6 Bxe3 13. Qxc6 g5 14. Rf1 gxf4 15. Qd6 Rc8 16. Nxf4 Qh4+ 17. g3 Qxh2 18. Qxd7 Qd2#

[TracySMiller]

Another beatdown. Arasan leads 2-0.

WHITE Arasan 23.3
BLACK Fidelity Chess Challenger 7
RESULT 1-0

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Nc6 5. Bxb4 Nxb4 6. a3 Nc6 7. Nbd2 Nf6 8. e3 O-O 9. Qc2 Qd6 10. b4 Bd7 11. Bd3 a5 12. b5 Ne7 13. c5 Ne4 14. cxd6 cxd6 15. Qc7 Rfd8 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Bxe4 Nd5 18. Bxd5 exd5 19. a4 Bf5 20. Qxb7 Be4 21. Ng5 f6 22. Ne6 Bxg2 23. Qxg7#

[TracySMiller]

Fidelity Chess Challenger 7 makes it 27 moves this game. Getting slightly better. Arasan now leads 3-0.

WHITE Fidelity Chess Challenger 7
BLACK Arasan 23.3
RESULT 0-1

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Qd3 g6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Qe3 dxc4 7. Bd2 Bg7 8. Qe5 Na6 9. e4 Nh5 10. exf5 Bxe5 11. dxe5 Nb4 12. g4 Nc2+ 13. Kd1 Nxa1 14. gxh5 gxh5 15. Bxc4 b5 16. Be2 b4 17. Na4 Qd5 18. b3 Nxb3 19. axb3 Qxb3+ 20. Ke1 Qxa4 21. h3 O-O-O 22. Rg1 Qa1+ 23. Bd1 Rxd2 24. Kxd2 Qc3+ 25. Ke2 Rd8 26. Rg7 Qd3+ 27. Ke1 Qxd1#

[TracySMiller]

Arasan puts Fidelity Chess Challenger 7 out of its misery with a lovely King hunt ending in pretty Knight checkmate. Arasan wins the match 4-0 and advances to Round Two.

WHITE Arasan 23.3
BLACK Fidelity Chess Challenger 7
RESULT 1-0

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3 Qe6 5. e4 Nf6 6. e5 Bd7 7. Be2 Ng4 8. Nf3 Na6 9. h3 Nh6 10. Ng5 Qf5 11. Bd3 f6 12. Bxf5 Nxf5 13. e6 Bc8 14. Nf7 Rg8 15. d5 Nc5 16. O-O g5 17. Qh5 h6 18. Nxg5+ Kd8 19. Nf7+ Kc7 20. Qxf5 cxd5 21. Qf4+ Kc6 22. Nd8+ Kb6 23. Nxd5+ Kb5 24. Qb4+ Ka6 25. Nc7#

[TracySMiller]

The next match pits #2 seed Defenschess 2.2 against #15 seed Radio Shack 1650 Fast Response. Again, this will be Best of 6.

The first game goes to Defenschess in a tactical obliteration. Defenschess leads 1-0.

WHITE Radio Shack 1650 Fast Response
BLACK Defenschess 2.2
RESULT 0-1

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Qf3 e6 6. g4 Bxe4 7. Qxe4 Nf6 8. Qf4 Qd5 9. f3 Bd6 10. Qg5 Qxd4 11. Qxg7 Bb4+ 12. c3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Qxc3+ 14. Kd1 Rg8 15. Qxg8+ Nxg8 16. Rb1 Na6 17. Rb3 O-O-O+ 18. Bd3 Rxd3+ 19. Ke2 Qc2+ 20. Bd2 Rxd2+ 21. Ke3 Rg2 22. Nh3 Qd2+ 23. Ke4 Re2+ 24. Re3 Qxe3#

[TracySMiller]

Radio Shack 1650 makes it 31 moves, but Defenschess is still way too strong for it, and makes a pretty Queen sacrifice to finish the game. Defenschess leads 2-0.

WHITE Defenschess 2.2
BLACK Radio Shack 1650 Fast Response
RESULT 1-0

1. d4 f5 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. c4 dxc4 6. Nbd2 Qd5 7. O-O Bd6 8. e3 Qb5 9. Qc2 c3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Re1 Nbd7 12. c4 Qa6 13. c5 Be7 14. a4 Nd5 15. Bf1 Qa5 16. Nb3 Qc3 17. Qb1 Qb4 18. Bd2 Nc3 19. Qc2 Nxc5 20. Nxc5 Bxc5 21. Bxc3 Qb6 22. dxc5 Qxc5 23. Red1 a5 24. Rac1 Qc6 25. Qb2 Qxf3 26. Bxg7 Re8 27. Bh6 Qg4 28. Rxc7 e5 29. Qxe5 Rxe5 30. Rd8+ Re8 31. Rxe8#

[TracySMiller]

Defenschess continues brutalizing Radio Shack 1650, although the little RS unit made it 32 moves, the longest resistance yet in this tournament. Defenschess leads 3-0.

WHITE Radio Shack 1650 Fast Response
BLACK Defenschess 2.2
RESULT 0-1

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bb4 5. e3 Ne4 6. Qd3 c5 7. dxc5 O-O 8. Bxb8 Rxb8 9. Qb5 Ba5 10. b4 Qf6 11. O-O-O Qxc3 12. bxa5 Nxf2 13. Bd3 Nxh1 14. Rxh1 Bd7 15. Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. Qd3+ Qxd3 17. cxd3 Rfc8 18. d4 b6 19. Ne5 bxc5 20. Nxd7 cxd4+ 21. Kd2 Rb2+ 22. Kd3 Rc7 23. Nf8+ Kg8 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. exd4 Rxg2 26. a3 Rgc2 27. Ke3 g5 28. Kf3 R7c3+ 29. Kg4 Rg2+ 30. Kh5 Kg7 31. h4 Rc8 32. a6 Rh8#

[TracySMiller]

Defenschess ends the match with a miniature involving the Nxf7 sacrifice to draw the King out into the open. The game didn't last too long after that. Humorous to see Black's Queen, both Rooks, and a Bishop still sitting on their starting squares.

Defenschess wins the match 4-0 and advances to Round Two.

WHITE Defenschess 2.2
BLACK Radio Shack 1650 Fast Response
RESULT 1-0

1. Nc3 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nxe4 e5 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Ng5 Nd5 6. d4 h6 7. Nxf7 Kxf7 8. Qf3+ Ke6 9. Ne2 Nc6 10. dxe5 Kxe5 11. Bf4+ Ke6 12. O-O-O Nb4 13. Rxd5 Nxd5 14. Nd4+ Kd7 15. Qxd5+ Bd6 16. Qe6#

[TracySMiller]

The next match features #3 seed DGT Centaur vs. #14 seed Radio Shack 1850. Best of 6.

The first game saw the immense tactical prowess of DGT Centaur as it engaged in a complex combination that saw it emerge victorious. There was a cute underpromotion to a Knight. I usually play these games out to mate, but my cat stepped on the board and screwed something up, and I didn't feel like fixing it, since we were obviously just a few moves from mate regardless.

DGT Centaur leads the match 1-0.

WHITE Radio Shack 1850
BLACK DGT Centaur
RESULT 0-1

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 c5 6. Be3 b6 7. dxc5 bxc5 8. O-O-O Bb7 9. Kb1 d6 10. Bf4 Bxc3 11. Qxc3 Ne4 12. Qe3 d5 13. Ng5 d4 14. Qb3 Nxf2 15. Qxb7 Nxd1 16. Qxa8 Qb6 17. Kc2 Nc6 18. Qxf8+ Kxf8 19. Kxd1 Qxb2 20. Nxh7+ Ke8 21. Ng5 Qb1+ 22. Kd2 e5 23. Bg3 Na5 24. e4 Qxa2+ 25. Ke1 Qb1+ 26. Kd2 Nb3+ 27. Ke2 d3+ 28. Kf2 d2 29. Be2 Qxh1 30. Nf3 d1=N+ 31. Bxd1 Qxd1 32. Nxe5 Nd2

[TracySMiller]

The amazing DGT Centaur unleashes a brutal attack against the enemy King and finishes the game in 27 moves. The DGT Centaur leads the match 2-0.

WHITE DGT Centaur
BLACK Radio Shack 1850
RESULT 1-0

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 e6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. a4 Bb4 8. Na3 Bxa3 9. Rxa3 O-O 10. Nd2 Nb6 11. a5 Nbd5 12. Nxc4 Bd7 13. Bd2 Qe7 14. e4 Nc7 15. Rb3 Rfb8 16. Bf4 Be8 17. g4 Kh8 18. Rh3 Rd8 19. g5 Ng8 20. Qh5 h6 21. gxh6 f6 22. hxg7+ Kxg7 23. Qh8+ Kf7 24. Rh7+ Kf8 25. Bh6+ Qg7 26. Qxg7#

[TracySMiller]

More bloodshed from the powerful DGT Centaur, which this time finishes things up in 23 moves. DGT Centaur now leads the match 3-0.

WHITE Radio Shack 1850
BLACK DGT Centaur
RESULT 0-1

1. Nf3 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nxd4 Nf6 4. Nc3 e5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Bb4 7. Qd3 d5 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Nd2 d4 10. Nce4 f5 11. Ng3 e4 12. Qb5 a6 13. Qa4 b5 14. Qb3 Be6 15. c4 dxc3 16. Qc2 cxd2+ 17. Kd1 Nd4 18. Qb1 Rc8 19. e3 Rc1+ 20. Qxc1 dxc1=Q+ 21. Kxc1 Qc7+ 22. Bc4 Qxc4+ 23. Kb1 Qc2#

[TracySMiller]

The DGT Centaur finishes the match in the same fashion as the other three games, with a quick, brutal attack on the King. DGT Centaur wins the match 4-0 and advances to Round Two.

WHITE DGT Centaur
BLACK Radio Shack 1850
RESULT 1-0

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 dxe4 4. fxe4 e5 5. Nf3 Be6 6. Nc3 exd4 7. Nxd4 Bb4 8. Be2 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qh4+ 10. g3 Qxe4 11. O-O Nf6 12. Bf3 Qe5 13. Re1 Qc5 14. a4 Nbd7 15. Ba3 Qc4 16. Nf5 Kd8 17. Nd6 Qxc3 18. Nxb7+ Kc7 19. Bb2 Qxb2 20. Qd6+ Kc8 21. Qxc6+ Kb8 22. Nc5 Nxc5 23. Rab1 Qxb1 24. Rxb1+ Bb3 25. Rxb3+ Nxb3 26. Qb7#

[Tibono2]

Hi Tracy,
which time control are you please using in this tournament?
About the Centaur: are you using an adaptative level, or (I assume so) full strength?
And you listed some DOS programs, what are the conditions to run them (which hardware PC or which emulator performance setting?)
Sorry for the burst of questions! (that's the consequence of your tournament triggering some interest )
Cheers,
Eric

[TracySMiller]

Good questions! I'm using 30 sec/move average time control. For the DGT Centaur, I'm using full strength (not adaptive). I'm running the DOS programs under the QEMU emulator on my AMD Ryzen 5 2600 six-core 3.4 GHz processor, so the DOS programs are going to be pretty strong. The Fidelty Chess Challenger 7 and TASC R40 I'm using the great program CB-Emu to emulate, so they'll play at their usual strength. All the other dedicateds are actual chess machines I own.