Battle of the Goths 2012 (live broadcast)

[TonyJH]

Thanks for running this tournament HG! Congrats to Ferd!
It's interesting that the previous champion Joker80 came in 5th place this time, although it was not far at all from the 2nd through 4th place programs.
I hope there are more tournaments like this in the future.

[Ferdy]

Thanks hgm for running the tourney, and the efforts developing many variants, and of course the further development of winboard.
I promise to develop it further for next year's championships .

[Ferdy]

Thank you for the tourney hgm and congratulations to the World champion Ferdy Mosca and Bihasa! I hope the Shannon trophy is on its way already.

Martin

I was surprised with 1 lose and 2 draws . I will send the trophy to you as soon as I received it I heard you will participate with a monster next year .

[Ferdy]

•Play Pawn moves first, that open the long diagonals for Bishops.

With bishop mobility engines can do this without other special codes, I guess most engines have this. I also have pawn and bishop color scoring, if I have only 1 bishop, would try to put some pawns in the dark board color in the middle game if I have a white bishop. This would also protect weak square with the missing bishop color.

•Develop your Knights before you develop your Archbishop/Chancellor and Queen.

I solved this by tweaking the piece square tables penalizing the first rank of minor pieces (B and N). I don't know if this is optimal.

•Create a skeleton of Pawns before moving the Chancellor and Archbishop and the Queen.

In my test, encouraging placement of heavy piece behind own pawn works. I don't know what pawn structure turned out. But I can see a somewhat improved pawn and pieces coordination, yeah because by placing the pieces behind it will not obstruct the path of the pawns. you will get surprised also that when the advanced pawns were exchanged, the rooks, queen and chancellor are already positioned and will be scored when you have heavy pieces in half-open file or in full open file when opp has no pawns also. If program will put pieces in front of own pawns there might be tactical situation that it tries to solved.

•NEVER(ok almost never) develop Chancellor or Archbishop in the 3rd(6th for black) rank in the opening. Usually it's bad. 2nd(7th) row is always the best. (of course that doesn't mean the first move of A or C should not be on 3rd rank. No. It means that in the opening phase they should not be placed there. But if the position is more advanced and the characteristics of it, i.e the skeleton of Pawns is well defined and the other pieces have been developed, then if a good square for A or C is in the 3rd rank, then yes you should place it there of course)

I guess my point above will solve this.

•Be aggressive on the center and don't let the opponent to dominate it.

One idea here is use pawn as much as possible to attack the center.

•Bishop's development should not be rushed. They can wait.

This is difficult, perhaps when engine has many eval features, the bishop will not attack on his own.

The general rule of course is avoid playing a piece twice in the opening.

I see a situation like this where a bishop moves to weaken the pawn structure of opp and then goes back to its orig square, maybe this is forgivable.

Thank you for the comments george.

[mar]

I was surprised with 1 lose and 2 draws . I will send the trophy to you as soon as I received it I heard you will participate with a monster next year .

Surprised? Well at least it is possible to score against your monster! Lol I doubt that i will have anything competitive But in the case you get the trophy I will send you my address
Seriously amazing performance so congrats again and enjoy being world #1 in 10x8!

[George Tsavdaris]

I will play some game against as many participants from the tournament as i can find.
Time control 40/10.
2 games against each one.

First opponent Sjaak 470. I won easily 2-0.
Here are the games.

[Event "Computer Chess Game"]
[Site "??"]
[Date "2012.02.03"]
[Round "1"]
[White "George"]
[Black "Sjaak 470"]
[Result "1-0"]
[TimeControl "40/600"]
[Variant "gothic"]
[Annotator "1... +0.08"]

1. f4 Nc6 {+0.08/9 1.2} 2. d4 d5 {+0.04/10 6} 3. g3 g6 {+0.12/10 0.8} 4. c3
Cd6 {+0.20/9 9} 5. h3 Af6 {+0.32/9 12} 6. Ah2 Be6 {+0.31/9 7} 7. Nj3 h5
{+0.24/8 8} 8. Bf3 Nh6 {+0.23/8 10} 9. Cg2 Qd7 {+0.25/8 14} 10. e3 b5
{+0.23/8 11} 11. b4 a5 {+0.38/9 28} 12. O-O Bg7 {+0.48/8 1:42} 13. Bd2 axb4
{+0.44/8 1:08} 14. cxb4 Nf5 {+0.47/8 35} 15. g4 hxg4 {+0.71/8 6} 16. hxg4
O-O {+0.49/9 1:46} 17. g5 Rxh2 {-0.33/9 1.1} 18. Cxh2 Rh8 {-3.32/10 6} 19.
Bxj7+ Kj8 20. Cxh8+ Bxh8 21. gxf6 Ce8 {-7.64/12 6} 22. Ni5 Cf8 {-7.70/13 5}
23. Nh7+ Cxh7 24. Rxh7 Qe8 {-7.70/12 24} 25. Qi6 Ng3 {-7.70/10 13} 26. Qj5
Ni4 {-8.83/10 23} 27. Nc3 Nj6 {-7.90/9 1.5} 28. Rah1 Bxf6 {-12.06/10 3} 29.
e4 Bc8 {-5.95/6 10} 30. f5 g5 {-5.70/7 2.4} 31. Rxi7 Qh8 {-159.88/8 2.2}
32. Rxf7 Qi7 {-159.88/8 8} 33. Rxi7 Be5+ {-159.92/9 1.0} 34. dxe5 Nxe5
{-159.94/7 5} 35. Qxj6 Bd7 {-159.98/3 4} 36. Rh8#
{Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 1-0

[Event "Computer Chess Game"]
[Site "??"]
[Date "2012.02.03"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Sjaak 470"]
[Black "George"]
[Result "0-1"]
[TimeControl "40/600"]
[Variant "gothic"]
[Annotator "1. -0.06"]

1. Nc3 {-0.06/10 4} d5 2. d4 {+0.05/10 0.9} g6 3. Af3 {+0.13/9 1.5} c6 4.
Nj3 {+0.11/8 6} f5 5. Cd3 {+0.25/8 8} h6 6. Bf4 {+0.32/8 12} Na6 7. g3
{+0.24/8 6} Nj6 8. Qd2 {+0.29/8 19} e6 9. Bg2 {+0.39/7 40} Bf6 10. Be5
{+0.27/7 12} Bg5 11. e3 {+0.28/8 17} Ae7 12. a3 {+0.32/8 15} Nh7 13. h4
{+0.31/8 7} Bf6 14. b4 {+0.30/8 8} O-O 15. Ra2 {+0.35/7 12} Nc7 16. Nh2
{+0.36/8 18} Bd7 17. O-O {+0.32/9 26} Cg7 18. Kj1 {+0.30/9 41} h5 19. i4
{+0.24/8 34} i6 20. Rha1 {+0.31/7 1:05} Nj6 21. Bxf6 {+0.38/7 2.2} Axf6 22.
j3 {+0.29/8 29} hxi4 23. jxi4 {+0.28/8 21} Qe7 24. Rb2 {+0.27/7 1.1} g5 25.
hxg5 {-0.02/7 23} Axg5 26. Ki2 {-0.09/9 29} Aj2 27. Rh1 {-4.39/8 1.8} Qi3+
28. Kj1 Cg6 29. Rbb1 {+0.00/7 17} Ci5 30. Ae5 {-159.92/7 8} Qh3+ 31. Kxj2
{-159.94/7 7} Nxi4+ 32. Ki1 {-159.96/5 4} Nxg3+ 33. Ni4 {-159.98/3 4} Cxi4#
{Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 0-1

Next opponent Heretic 0.3.

[Evert]

First opponent Sjaak 470. I won easily 2-0.

I'm not surprised.

I guess Sjaak is similar to Fairy-Max (and Nebiyu) in that it's supposed to be a fairly general engine that can play many variants and can be configured to play new ones. As such, I don't expect it to ever be "the best" at any of them unless it happens to be the only engine that plays a particular variant.

Still, I'm always happy for general evaluation terms that can be added and improve play across variants. I'll look at your games also and see what I can learn from them. Sometimes human games give you a different perspective than engine games.

[George Tsavdaris]

This time it was against Heretic 0.3
Same result. I won 2-0. The game with myself having white was tough one, since Heretic played very aggressively and smart!! It was actually a pain in the ass to deal with Heretic as it constantly was making moves that i didn't anticipate and i usually know what moves computers will play. But it kept playing surprise moves and good ones!

In the second game with me having black, i expected a similar resistance and even more since with black i'm not that good with computers, but surprisingly enough i won very very easily.

[Event "Computer Chess Game"]
[Site "??"]
[Date "2012.02.03"]
[Round "1"]
[White "George"]
[Black "Heretic 0.3"]
[Result "1-0"]
[TimeControl "40/600"]
[Variant "capablanca"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNBQCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]

{--------------
r n b q c k a b n r
p p p p p p p p p p
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
P P P P P P P P P P
R N B Q C K A B N R
white to play
--------------}
1. f4 d5 {+0.03/10 0.9} 2. d4 g6 {+0.13/10 4} 3. Be3 Nh6 {+0.24/10 2.9} 4.
g3 Nc6 {+0.28/9 0.7} 5. c3 Cg7 {+0.28/10 2.1} 6. h3 Ch5 {+0.30/10 12} 7.
Bf2 Ng4 {+0.49/10 13} 8. Bf3 Nxf2 {+0.52/11 21} 9. Axf2 Cj5 {+0.48/10 5}
10. Nj3 Ah6 {+0.52/9 8} 11. Nh4 Cj4 {+0.61/9 1:30} 12. Cg2 i5 {+0.61/9 2.2}
13. Nj3 Bg7 {+0.64/8 1:00} 14. Ni1 i4 {+0.68/8 17} 15. Nd2 i3 {+0.77/9 13}
16. Nj3 ixj2 {+0.86/8 47} 17. Qb3 e5 {+1.46/8 10} 18. dxe5 Ri8 {+1.40/8 34}
19. Nh4 g5 {+1.55/7 8} 20. fxg5 Axg5 {+1.44/8 7} 21. O-O-O Bxe5
{+1.19/7 34} 22. Kb1 Ae7 {+1.34/7 24} 23. Ae3 Bg7 {+0.98/7 21} 24. Bxd5 Na5
{+1.18/8 9} 25. Cf2 f5 {+1.12/7 2.7} 26. Qa4 c6 {+0.27/8 0.8} 27. Nxf5 Cxa4
{+0.94/7 2.2} 28. Nxe7+ Ke8 {-4.04/9 6} 29. Bf7+ Kxe7 {-5.24/9 2.8} 30.
Ag5+ Kd6 {-8.03/10 7} 31. Nc4+ Kc5 {-8.07/10 22} 32. Rxd8 Nxc4 {-8.27/10 6}
33. Bxc4 Cxc4 {-8.28/9 7} 34. Rxi8 Kb5 {-8.79/8 8} 35. Af7 b6 {-9.91/8 24}
36. Axc4+ Kxc4 {-12.10/10 7} 37. Ce4+ Kb5 {-12.60/10 7} 38. Cg5+ Be5
{-15.89/11 12} 39. Cxe5+ c5 {-18.04/12 5} 40. Ce7 a6 {-18.84/11 6} 41. Rxc8
Rxc8 {-327.59/59 1.2} 42. Cxc8 c4 {-327.59/59 8} 43. b3 cxb3
{-327.61/59 1.2} 44. axb3 Ka5 {-327.63/59 3} 45. Cc6+ Kb5 {-327.65/59 0.9}
46. Ce5#
{Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 1-0

[Event "Computer Chess Game"]
[Site "??"]
[Date "2012.02.03"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Heretic 0.3"]
[Black "George"]
[Result "0-1"]
[TimeControl "40/600"]
[Variant "capablanca"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNBQCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]

{--------------
r n b q c k a b n r
p p p p p p p p p p
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
P P P P P P P P P P
R N B Q C K A B N R
white to play
--------------}
1. d4 {+0.08/10 0.7} g6 2. Cd3 {+0.06/9 1.1} d5 3. Af3 {+0.02/9 5} f5 4. g3
{+0.22/9 2.3} c6 5. a4 {+0.32/9 7} Be6 6. Nh3 {+0.42/9 10} h6 7. Ah4
{+0.38/9 8} Bf7 8. Cb3 {+0.36/9 13} Bf6 9. Ag2 {+0.30/10 11} b6 10. a5
{+0.29/9 1.1} b5 11. j4 {+0.24/9 12} Nj6 12. j5 {+0.20/9 7} Ah7 13. Cc5
{+0.19/8 12} Qc8 14. Nc3 {+0.08/9 8} Nd7 15. Cb3 {+0.16/8 12} O-O 16. Be3
{+0.20/7 13} g5 17. Ae1 {-0.08/8 9} Ni4 18. Kg1 {-0.07/10 45} e5 19. a6
{-0.01/9 39} f4 20. dxe5 {-0.11/9 7} Nxe5 21. gxf4 {-0.17/9 1:01} Ng4 22.
fxg5 {-0.19/8 14} Nxe3 23. fxe3 {-0.70/8 11} Qc7 24. Af2 {-0.72/7 9} Qxh2+
25. Kf1 {-0.96/8 17} hxg5 26. Ca5 {-2.88/8 18} Af5 27. Qd3 {-2.56/8 32}
Cxe3+ 28. Ke1 {-5.35/9 18} Qxf2+ 29. Nxf2 {-4.44/9 6} Axd3+ 30. Nxd3
{-4.53/9 11} Rae8 31. Bf3 {-4.63/8 7} Bxc3+ 32. bxc3 {-5.46/10 6} Nh2 33.
Kd2 {-6.32/10 5} Nxf3+ 34. Kc1 {-7.00/10 0.8} Cxe2+ 35. Kb2 {-6.55/10 12}
Nd2 36. Rje1 {-6.57/10 13} Cxi2 37. Ri1 {-7.08/10 19} Cg2 38. Rag1
{-7.13/11 9} Cxi1 39. Rxi1 {-7.19/13 1.2} Nc4+ 40. Cxc4 {-7.19/12 8} dxc4
41. Nc5 {-7.69/13 4} Re2 42. j6 {-7.73/14 0.9} i6 43. Rc1 {-7.81/13 1.3}
Rhh2 44. Nb7 {-8.02/15 4} Rxc2+ 45. Rxc2 {-4.93/19 1.2} Rxc2+ 46. Kxc2
{-8.93/19 20} i5 47. Nd8 {-8.82/19 1.2} Bd5 48. Kd2 {-12.21/19 0.8} Kh7 49.
Ke3 {-9.88/19 2.1} Ki6 50. Kf2 {-7.49/20 0.9} Kxj6 51. Nb7 {-6.99/21 2.0}
i4 52. Nc5 {-6.47/18 1.6} Ki5 53. Kg3 {-6.16/18 1.1} j5 54. Nd7
{-6.20/18 9} j4 55. Nf6 {-9.42/18 6} i3 56. Nh7+ {-8.64/16 7} Kh6 57. Nf6
{-8.24/16 46} Be6 58. Ne4 {-16.30/15 10} j3 59. Kf2 {-17.01/14 4} j2 60.
Ng3 {-16.38/12 2.9} j1=A 61. Ni4+ {-23.53/15 6} Kg6 62. Ng3 {-18.15/12 2.6}
Ah3+ 63. Ke2 {-22.84/13 1.0} Ag4+ 64. Kd2 {-23.51/13 4} i2 65. Ne4
{-327.59/15 5} Bf5 66. Ng3 {-327.59/47 2.2} i1=C 67. Nh1 {-327.61/59 9}
Cg2+ 68. Nf2 {-327.63/59 1.5} Cxf2+ 69. Ke1 {-327.65/59 5} Cd1#
{Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 0-1

[TonyJH]

I will play some game against as many participants from the tournament as i can find.

George, I plan to post TJchess10x8 1.1 on my website soon. I can also e-mail you a copy.

[George Tsavdaris]

I will play some game against as many participants from the tournament as i can find.

George, I plan to post TJchess10x8 1.1 on my website soon. I can also e-mail you a copy.

Yes thanks that would be nice.
gtsav77dar@gmail.com
(remove 77 of course)