Affordable Computer Chess Tournament - QUARTER-FINALS

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TracySMiller
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Affordable Computer Chess Tournament - QUARTER-FINALS

Post by TracySMiller »

So eight dedicated chess computers survive Round One to move on to the Quarter-Finals. It was a fun Round One, with some intriguing games, but for the most part the favorites got the win. I am starting this new thread to increase visibility and to keep the first thread from becoming unwieldy.

So here are the matchups:

Novag Citrine vs. Excalibur Grandmaster

Radio Shack Champion 2250XL vs. Radio Shack Chess Master

Radio Shack Master 2200X vs. Excalibur Ivan

Mephisto Advanced Travel Chess vs. Radio Shack Mega 2050X


The Quarter-Finals will be best of 16, so the first unit to at least 8.5 points will win and advance to the Semi-Finals.

I'd love to entertain some predictions, both in outcome and the scores.
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spacious_mind
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Re: Affordable Computer Chess Tournament - QUARTER-FINALS

Post by spacious_mind »

TracySMiller wrote:So eight dedicated chess computers survive Round One to move on to the Quarter-Finals. It was a fun Round One, with some intriguing games, but for the most part the favorites got the win. I am starting this new thread to increase visibility and to keep the first thread from becoming unwieldy.

So here are the matchups:

Novag Citrine vs. Excalibur Grandmaster

Radio Shack Champion 2250XL vs. Radio Shack Chess Master

Radio Shack Master 2200X vs. Excalibur Ivan

Mephisto Advanced Travel Chess vs. Radio Shack Mega 2050X


The Quarter-Finals will be best of 16, so the first unit to at least 8.5 points will win and advance to the Semi-Finals.

I'd love to entertain some predictions, both in outcome and the scores.
I'll predict the winners for you but scores is a different guess.

Citrine beats Grandmaster - Score 9 - 3
RS2250XL beats Chess Master - Score 8.1/2 - 5
RS2200 beats Ivan - Score 9-3
ATC v Mega is a toughie - Score 8-8

regards
Nick
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paulwise3
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Re: Affordable Computer Chess Tournament - QUARTER-FINALS

Post by paulwise3 »

Thanx for continuing the tournament Tracy.
And I admire your courage to make it now best of 16!
I agree with Nick's prediction of the winners, but to win the price I will enter some different scores ;-)

Citrine beats Grandmaster - Score 8,5 - 2,5
RS2250XL beats Chess Master - Score 9 - 4
RS2200 beats Ivan - Score 8,5-5,5
ATC v Mega is indeed a toughie - Score 8-8 (they could be clones)

Best regards,
Paul
2024 Special thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12741
2024 Special results and standings: https://schaakcomputers.nl/paul_w/Tourn ... 25_06.html
If I am mistaken, it must be caused by a horizon effect...
TracySMiller
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Post by TracySMiller »

Thanks for the predictions! Just to be clear, if a matchup gets to 8-8 after the regulation number of games, I'm going to play two additional games, giving each unit the chance to play white. If still tied after that, yet another two games, etc.
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Post by paulwise3 »

Ok, after some more study it seems the ATC may be running at 10 MHz versus the 2050X at 7 MHz.
So I predict a win for the ATC: 9-7.
2024 Special thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12741
2024 Special results and standings: https://schaakcomputers.nl/paul_w/Tourn ... 25_06.html
If I am mistaken, it must be caused by a horizon effect...
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Not sure what time setting you are playing with Citrine, but the old Citrine used to have a problem with 30 seconds per move average time as it resulted in it moving faster and faster and as a result not sticking well to 30 seconds per move. Better setting (can't remember if it has it or not) would be 60/30 Tournament setting as with this setting it doesn't do that. Ricardo a forum member who I have not seen around for a while used to swear on the 30 minute per game setting instead of 30S.

Regards
Nick
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Post by TracySMiller »

spacious_mind wrote:Not sure what time setting you are playing with Citrine, but the old Citrine used to have a problem with 30 seconds per move average time as it resulted in it moving faster and faster and as a result not sticking well to 30 seconds per move. Better setting (can't remember if it has it or not) would be 60/30 Tournament setting as with this setting it doesn't do that. Ricardo a forum member who I have not seen around for a while used to swear on the 30 minute per game setting instead of 30S.

Regards
Interesting. I am using level B5 on the Citrine (Average time = 30 seconds). I must admit I didn't observe this behavior during the first two games I've already played against the Grandmaster, but it's possible I wasn't paying enough attention to the time spent. I'll see if a similar time control (to a 60/30 tournament setting) can be used on the Excalibur Grandmaster.
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Post by spacious_mind »

TracySMiller wrote:
spacious_mind wrote:Not sure what time setting you are playing with Citrine, but the old Citrine used to have a problem with 30 seconds per move average time as it resulted in it moving faster and faster and as a result not sticking well to 30 seconds per move. Better setting (can't remember if it has it or not) would be 60/30 Tournament setting as with this setting it doesn't do that. Ricardo a forum member who I have not seen around for a while used to swear on the 30 minute per game setting instead of 30S.

Regards
Interesting. I am using level B5 on the Citrine (Average time = 30 seconds). I must admit I didn't observe this behavior during the first two games I've already played against the Grandmaster, but it's possible I wasn't paying enough attention to the time spent. I'll see if a similar time control (to a 60/30 tournament setting) can be used on the Excalibur Grandmaster.
Well, your Citrine might not have that problem, the first version when it first came out suffered from it. Novag later offered a firmware upgrade that fixed it. So just watch for it. If it doesn't occur then your Citrine has the later firmware upgrade and should be ok. If however you find that it moves a lot within 10-15 seconds or less and does not keep to an average 30 seconds overall then it probably still has it.

Regards
Nick
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Novag Citrine leads 1.0-0.0

Post by TracySMiller »

The Novag Citrine draws first blood in this first match of the Quarter-Finals in this Queen's Gambit Accepted. The Excalibur makes two big blunders which seal its fate. In the following position, things are already pretty tough for white, but it has to play Rc1 to try to stop the passed pawn...

[fen]3r2k1/5p1p/p1R3p1/4Q3/1q6/3p2P1/1P3PKP/8 w - - 2 42[/fen]

...but after the Rc7, it's all over.

Here's the game: https://lichess.org/pE8988wA
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Match is tied 1.0-1.0

Post by TracySMiller »

The Excalibur Grandmaster strikes back and evens the match with this win. This time the Novag Citrine gets greedy and tries to go for the win instead of going for a draw. In the key position, White must play Qh4+ and go for the repetition of position:

[fen]N7/4Q3/4B1pk/1n6/8/7K/1q2p3/8 w - - 6 58[/fen]

White chooses incorrectly, however, with Qf8+, and now the match is tied one game apiece.

Here's the game: https://lichess.org/KhhlbnUN
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Match is tied 1.5-1.5

Post by TracySMiller »

Opposite colored Bishop ending produces a draw. Novag Citrine is two pawns up but the endgame victory eludes him. Here's the scenario:

[fen]5k2/p1b2pp1/8/3B4/8/2p1KP1P/8/8 w - - 1 36[/fen]

I'm not sure if a win a guaranteed here: Stockfish doesn't see past about a 2.00 advantage in any of the next 20 moves. The match is still tied 1.5-1.5.

Here's the game: https://lichess.org/MGpMpMom

As a reminder, here is the Tournament Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
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Novag Citrine leads 2.5-1.5

Post by TracySMiller »

This was a serious beatdown. Excalibur GM makes a mistake early on, and the Novag Citrine pounces. In the following position, it seems that black can take that d4 pawn, because two attackers vs one defender. But there's a trap:

[fen]r1bqk2r/pp3ppp/2n1pn2/6B1/1b1P4/2NB1N2/PPQ2PPP/R4RK1 w kq - 7 11[/fen]

After Nxd4, Nxd4, Qxd4...Nb5!, with a winning attack. The Citrine finishes the game very swiftly, and takes a 2.5-1.5 lead in the match.

Here's the game: https://lichess.org/tjIIHcxm
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Novag Citrine takes a 3.5-1.5 lead

Post by TracySMiller »

What a great game by the little Novag Citrine, with no mistakes or blunders, and only one inaccuracy the entire game. The Excalibur GM played solidly early on, and as late as move 26 the game was even. But it made two crucial blunders eventually. Here's the most egregious:

[fen]8/p4pk1/P1p3pp/1p1nP3/1P4P1/8/5PB1/6K1 w - - 2 33[/fen]

Bxd5?? Why would it choose to trade its last remaining piece, already being a pawn down? Bad decision, Excalibur. The Novag Citrine takes a 3.5-1.5 lead in the match.

Here's the game: https://lichess.org/pWvOmj7X
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Novag Citrine leads 3.5-2.5

Post by TracySMiller »

This time it was Excalibur GM's turn to play a nice clean game, with no mistakes or blunders, and only one inaccuracy. Novag Citrine made two blunders, the biggest of which was this one:

[fen]4r3/7p/2p3k1/pp1p4/5B2/2P2PN1/rP1R2KP/8 w - - 0 31[/fen]

Here white played the losing 31. b3??, letting Black trade rooks and removing White's last hope of stopping these Queenside pawns. The match is starting to get tight, with Novag Citrine still leading 3.5-2.5.

Here's the game: https://lichess.org/dRlsj3tN
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Novag Citrine leads 4.5-2.5

Post by TracySMiller »

8 inaccuracies, 3 mistakes, and 1 blunder for the Excalibur GM vs just 1 mistake for the Novag Citrine. All those inaccuracies seriously impacted White's position until not much could be done about it. Novag Citrine now leads 4.5-2.5.

It's fun to see a game end without a pawn promotion. Notice how white's Queen is just sitting by helpless while Black's two rooks and bishop deliver the mate. Here's the final position:


[fen]6k1/1p3p2/p5r1/7K/P5bP/1Q6/1P4r1/8 w - - 4 44[/fen]

Here's the game: https://lichess.org/Y96MaLQW
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