Computer Chess Championships 2013: 3086-Rated Komodo Leads Stage 2

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

The 3086 elo rated engine Komodo is sole leader of Stage 2 the strongest computer event TCEC. Komodo has collected 11,5/16, a full point more than Stockfish and Gull. They are followed by Rybka and Hiarcs at 10,0/16 and Houdini and Critter at 9,5/16.

The ongoing TCEC Stage 2 consists of 19 rounds and the top 10 engines move on to the next stage. Stage 3 will start immediately after. It consists of the 10 engines that qualified from Stage 2. The format for Stage 3 is a double round robin and the openings are chosen randomly per pair so that each engine will play both sides of the same opening against each other. The top 6 will move on to Stage 4 while the rest is out of TCEC for the current Season. 90 games are played in Stage 3.

So far close to mathematical qualification for Stage 3 have achieved nine engines – Komodo, Stockfish, Gull, Hiarcs, Houdini, Rybka, Critter, Bouquet, and Naum. One place is to be decided and it looks like a fierce fight between Jonny, Shredder, Junior, and Spike. Watch the live games here / Visit the official website

Standings after R16
Engine ELO Points
1 Komodo 3086 11.5
2 Gull 3063 10.5
3 Stockfish 3098 10.5
4 Rybka 3092 10
5 Hiarcs 2979 10
6 Houdini 3146 9.5
7 Critter 1.6a 3072 9.5
8 Bouquet 1.8a 3069 9
9 Naum 2978 9
10 Jonny 2789 7.5
11 Spike 2921 7
12 Shredder 2942 7
13 Junior 2913 7
14 Equinox 3051 6
15 Spark 2889 5.5
16 Onno 2834 4
17 Tornado 2830 4
18 Toga 2857 3
19 Exchess 2702 3

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel

Computer Chess Championship: Gull II Takes Sole Lead

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Gull II, the chess engine by Vadim Demichev, is the sole leader of TCEC computer championship. After four rounds Gull has collected 3,5/4 and is half a point ahead of competition. So far Gull has three victories – against Dirty, Critter, and Spike and a draw with Chiron, according to a Chessdom report.

Gull is closely followed by five engines with 3,0/4. Among them is Houdini 3 with two victories and two draws. After a shaky start, Houdini recovered in the best possible way after beating Stockfish with black in a 101 moves thriller. Other engines sharing second position are the second seeded Komodo, Hiarcs 14.0b, Chiron 1,5, Rybka 4.1, and Vitruvius. In the group with 2,5/4 points, we find some of the top competitors as the third seeded Critter, by Richard Vida, rated 3104 ELO, as well as a well performing Scorpio 2.75 rated only at 2794 ELO.

The lowest scoring 3000+ engine so far – Equinox, started recovering with a victory against Crafty, and now stands at 2,0/4.

Read more »

Computer Chess Championship: Tough Battle!

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hi everyone,

After round 3 of the TCEC computer chess championship, reports Chessdom, there is not a single engine with perfect score in the 32 players field. Critter – Stockfish and Chiron 1.5 – Gull II made draws at the top tables to join Hiarcs 14.0b at the top of the table with 2,5/3.

Houdini was held to yet another draw. After failing to defeat Hiarcs in round 2, Houdini was effectively held by Komodo. The highest rated engine in the field is now sharing 6th-14th with Rybka, Komodo, Vitruvius, Shredder 12, Protector 1.5b, Junior 13, Texel, and Hannibal.

Equinox 1.65 is the underachiever of the high rated competitors. Having a rating of 3077, Equinox is in the bottom half with 1,0/3, after loss versus Protector and draws with Gaviota and Rybka.

Arsan, Gaviota, and Rodent, all rated under 2700 elo, are now with 1,5/3. Scroll down for the full standings.

TCEC director Martin Thoresen commented for Chessdom on the events from round 3, “The blunder Stockfish made in the endgame (122… c2??) against Critter cost it the full point. It proves that no programs are perfect… yet!” Thoresen also commented on Houdini’s poor start, “Anything can happen with so few games, people may expect Houdini to win everything but the truth is that even Carlsen draws many games even though he is rated 50-150 elo more than his opponents.


From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel