CCCC rounds 37 to 42. Leela promoted to 2nd stage!

CCCC continues and Leela , along with Stockfish , Houdini , Komodo and Fire , already has secured a place in the 2nd stage.
Ethereal after a strong finish, mainly winning in the last games, has almost secured the promotion. Booot has also many chances.
While Shredder and Andscacs are the ones that are competing for the final 8th place right now with Shredder to be ahead, but having difficult opponents to face in the next 4 rounds.

ROUND 37
Leela won a fine game against Fritz with an opposite colors Bishops ending with Rooks also. Leela outplayed Fritz that made some mistakes being short on time since it played in the beginning very slowly.

433 Andscacs vs Ivanhoe 1-0
434 Komodo vs Houdini 1/2-1/2
435 Gull vs Laser 1/2-1/2
436 Lco vs Fritz 1-0
437 Fizbo vs Nemorino 1-0
438 Nirvana vs Fire 1/2-1/2
439 Ethereal vs Pedone 1-0
440 Senpai vs Crafty 1-0
441 Booot vs Shredder 1/2-1/2
442 Stockfish vs Arasan 1-0
443 Xiphos vs Texel 1/2-1/2
444 Vajolet vs Wasp 1/2-1/2

[Event “CCCC 1: Rapid Rumble (15|5) Stage 1”] [Site “Chess.com”] [Date “2018.09.13”] [Round “?”] [White “Lc0 17.11089”] [Black “Fritz 16.10”] [Result “1-0”] [ECO “D41”] [WhiteElo “3300”] [BlackElo “3099”] [PlyCount “383”] [EventDate “2018.??.??”] [EventType “rapid”] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. e4 Nc6 8. Bb5 dxe4 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Ng5 Be6 11. O-O Bb4 {Engines even without opening books followed normal theory till now! Now Leela deviates from the usual Ncxe4} 12. Ngxe4 Ke7 {The King stays in the center but this is no problem for black with so many friendly pieces around him, and he even participating in the action by supporting its fellow pieces movements.} 13. Bxc6 bxc6 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Nxc3 {[%csl Rc6] This Pawn has becomes weak but to be able to exploit it’s another matter.} a5 16. Re1 Rhd8 17. Be3 Nd5 18. Bc5+ Kf6 19. Ne2 Re8 20. Rac1 Bd7 {[%csl Rc5,Gd7] A games with opposite color Bishop is always interesting provided there are other pieces also. Since the Bishops move in different galaxies and control different squares, one side(the stronger one on the board) can have a pressure or a King attack taking advantage of the squares of its Bishop’s color since the other side can’t defend them with their Bishop, making the other Bishop a liability.} 21. h4 Kg6 22. f3 {Leela wants to attack the King obviously gaining space at the same time.} f6 {[%cal Gg6f7]} 23. Rc2 Rab8 24. Bf2 Rb7 25. Ng3 h5 $5 {This is good as now g4 is not an option. King has to stay though on g6 protecting it, but Knight also to attack it’s ok for black.} 26. Rd1 Rb5 27. Rdd2 Rc8 28. Be1 Rcb8 29. Bf2 Rc8 30. Kh2 Be6 31. Ne2 Bf5 32. Rc4 Rcb8 33. Bd4 Bd7 34. Rcc2 Ne7 35. Ba7 R8b7 36. Bc5 Bf5 37. a4 Rb3 38. Rc1 Nd5 $6 {Perplexing things in a slightly worse position is not a good idea.} (38… Rxb2 {This would have drawn easily.} 39. Nf4+ (39. Rxb2 Rxb2 40. Nf4+ Kf7 {Same as with main line. Draw!}) 39… Kf7 40. Rxb2 Rxb2 41. Bxe7 Kxe7 42. Rxc6 Ra2 43. Rc5 {[%csl Ra5,Rf5]} Bd7 44. Rxa5 Rxa4 45. Rxa4 Bxa4 46. Nxh5 g5 47. hxg5 (47. Kg3 gxh4+ 48. Kxh4 {Draw!}) 47… fxg5 {Draw!}) 39. Ba3 Bd7 40. Rc5 Ra7 41. Nd4 Rb6 42. Re2 Rba6 {[%csl Ra5][%cal Ra7a5] Great double Rooks for Fritz! :)} 43. Kg3 Rb7 44. Re4 Rb8 45. b3 Rb7 46. Bb2 Nb4 47. Re3 Nd5 48. Re4 Nb4 49. Ba3 Nd5 50. Bc1 Nb4 51. Re3 Nd5 52. Re4 Nb4 53. Bf4 Kf7 54. Rc4 Nd5 55. Bd2 g6 56. Rc5 Rba7 57. Bc3 Nc7 58. Kf2 Ne6 59. Nxe6 Bxe6 {Now Knight come off this seems even more drawish. Yet Fritz under some time pressure didn’t play very accurately and got into some troubles.} 60. g4 f5 61. gxf5 Bxf5 62. Rd4 Be6 63. Re5 Bf5 64. Rd6 Rb7 65. Bd4 Re7 66. Rf6+ Ke8 (66… Kxf6 $2 67. Rxa5+ {[%cal Gd4f6]} Ke6 68. Rxa6 {[%csl Ga4][%cal Ga4a8] And the passed Pawn is strong}) 67. Rc5 Kd7 68. Rd5+ {[%cal Gf6a6]} Kc8 69. Rf8+ Kc7 70. Rdd8 Rd7 71. Rc8+ Kd6 72. Rce8 Bc2 73. Rf6+ Kc7 74. Be3 Bf5 (74… Bxb3 $4 75. Bf4+ Kb7 (75… Kb6 76. Rb8+ {[%cal Gb8b3]}) 76. Rb8+ {[%cal Gb8b3]}) 75. Kg2 Bd3 76. Kg3 Bc2 77. Kf2 Bf5 78. Kg2 Bd3 79. Rff8 Kd6 80. Kg3 Bc2 81. Rf6+ Kc7 82. Kh3 Bd3 83. Rff8 Kd6 84. Kg2 Bf5 85. Rf6+ Kc7 86. Kf2 Bd3 87. Rff8 Kd6 88. Rf6+ Kc7 89. Bf4+ {Black’s lack of control of black squares is making suffer. The black Bishop is literally useless helping the defense of the King.} Kb6 90. Re5 Ra8 91. Bd2 {[%csl Ra5]} Kb7 (91… Ra6 92. Be3+ Kb7 93. Rf8 Bf5 94. Ree8 {[%csl Ra7,Rb6][%cal Rb6a7,Re3a7] The squares for the King are becoming too few.} Kc7 95. Kg3 $1 {Black is in a kind of zugzwang not having many moves to play.} Kd6 96. Kf4 Bb1 97. Kg5 Bf5 98. Rf6+ Kc7 99. Bf4+ Kb6 100. Rb8+ Kc5 101. Be3+ Kd5 102. Re8 {And suddenly situation got serious for black.} Rd6 103. Rf7 c5 104. Bf4 Rd7 105. Re5+ Kc6 106. Rf8 Rd3 107. Be3 {[%csl Rc5]} Kd7 108. Rf7+ Kc8 109. Rxc5+ $16) 92. Rc5 Ra6 93. Bxa5 $16 Rd5 94. Rf7+ Ka8 95. Rf8+ Kb7 96. Rf7+ Ka8 97. Rf8+ Kb7 98. Rxd5 cxd5 99. Rf7+ Ka8 100. Rf8+ Kb7 101. Rf7+ Ka8 102. Bd8 Bc2 103. a5 Bxb3 104. Bb6 d4 (104… Kb8 $2 105. Rf6 Kb7 (105… Bc2 $6 106. Rf8+ Kb7 107. Rf7+ Kb8 108. Ke3 {[%csl Ra6,Yd5,Yg6] And the 2 Pawns can’t be protected both. Even worse is the black Rook is locked.}) 106. Rxg6) 105. Rd7 Be6 106. Rxd4 Kb7 107. Re4 Bf5 108. Re7+ Kc6 109. Rc7+ Kd6 110. Rc3 Ra8 111. Kg3 Rc8 $2 {The losing mistake. Now Rook has to spend one more move to return to defense so it’s over.} (111… Kd7 112. Kf4 (112. Ra3 { Trying as the text move, won’t work here with the black Rook on its nice defending position on a8.} Kc6 113. Bf2 Kb5 {[%csl Ra5] In the game black Rook is on c8 so the a-Pawn can march to a6. But not here.}) 112… Kd6 113. Ke3 Kd5 {Preventing the King to enter black’s position.} 114. Rc5+ Kd6 115. Kd4 Rc8 $1 $11) 112. Ra3 Kc6 113. Bf2 Kb7 (113… Kb5 114. a6 $18) 114. a6+ Ka8 115. Re3 Rc6 116. Re8+ Rc8 117. Re5 Rc7 118. Kf4 Rc6 119. a7 {[%csl Ra7][%cal Rf2a7] This is a dagger in black’s heart now. This is won for white as he just have to push his f Pawn to f4 to be close to its King to support it, when the white Rook captures on g6 or f5 Bishop to allow a winning exchange sacrifice.} Rc7 120. Kg5 Rc8 121. Rd5 Rf8 122. Rd6 Kb7 123. Bc5 Rg8 124. Bf2 Rf8 125. Bc5 Rg8 126. Be3 Ka8 127. Bf2 Bb1 128. Rb6 Bf5 129. f4 $1 {At last.} Bc2 130. Re6 Bf5 131. Rc6 Be4 132. Rd6 Bf5 133. Be3 Re8 134. Bc5 Rg8 135. Bf2 Be4 136. Be3 Kb7 137. Re6 Bf5 138. Rd6 Be4 139. Rd4 Bf5 140. Rd5 Be4 141. Re5 Bd3 142. Re6 Bf5 143. Rf6 Be4 144. Rd6 Bf5 145. Kf6 $1 Be4 146. Kf7 Rc8 147. Kg7 Re8 148. Bd4 { Now white is ready to give the finishing blow.} Ka8 149. Rxg6 $1 {Of course!} Rd8 (149… Bxg6 150. Kxg6 Rd8 151. Be5 Kxa7 152. Kxh5 Kb7 153. Kg6 Rg8+ 154. Bg7 Kc7 155. h5 Kd7 156. h6 $18) 150. Bc5 Rc8 151. Rg5 Kb7 152. Re5 Bb1 153. f5 Rc7+ 154. Kh6 Rc6+ 155. Kg5 Rc8 156. f6 Rg8+ 157. Kf4 Ba2 158. Rxh5 Bc4 159. Re5 Ka8 160. Re1 Rh8 161. Bf2 Rf8 162. Kg5 Rg8+ 163. Kf4 Rf8 164. Bd4 Rd8 165. Be3 Rf8 166. Kg5 Rg8+ 167. Kf5 Bf7 168. Rc1 Bb3 169. Bf2 Ba2 170. h5 Rd8 171. h6 Bd5 172. Ke5 Bf7 173. Rc7 Bg6 174. Bg1 Bf5 175. Rc3 Bg4 176. Rg3 Re8+ 177. Kf4 Bc8 178. Rb3 Bb7 179. Be3 Rf8 180. Ke5 Re8+ 181. Kf5 Rxe3 182. Rxe3 Bc8+ 183. Ke5 Kb7 184. a8=Q+ Kxa8 185. Kd6 Kb7 186. h7 Ka6 187. h8=Q Bb7 188. Kc5 Ka7 189. Re7 Ka6 190. Qb8 Ka5 191. Rxb7 Ka4 192. Qa7# {A well played late middlegame and endgame by Leela winning in an opposite Bishop ending with Rooks. Fritz lost a similar one in this tournament from Stockfish. Fritz could draw this one in at least 2 cases but missed its chance.} 1-0

ROUND 38
Fire in a sharp Sicilian Najdorf line, managed to win after a blunder of Leela. If Leela would have found the correct move she would have drawn the game. This CCCC net that is playing, i.e 11089, has tough time to find the correct move and it sticks to the blunder after even more nodes examined than it did in the game. But thankfully most newest nets of Leela find the correct move instantly and stick with it. Out of 20 nets of test10 that have been tried only 3 play the losing move and the other 17 play the correct move easily as also the correct continuation. So it was just a bit of bad luck for Leela. She is not perfect anyway. :)
And of course this “she” is a bit ambiguous since there are so many nets of Leela and most are untested, so no one really knows which is the strongest. For sure though, the 11089 that is participating in CCCC, is not the strongest as the nets after 11150 are surely stronger.

Ethereal had its 2nd win on the row and now things do seem better for his chances to promote. While Shredder had a shock loss from Xiphos and now struggles with the promotion! Andscacs lost from Houdini and also is on a bad situation about promotion.

445 Houdini vs Andscacs 1-0
446 Ivanhoe vs Gull 1-0
447 Fritz vs Komodo 0-1
448 Laser vs Fizbo 1/2-1/2
449 Fire vs Lco 1-0
450 Nemorino vs Ethereal 0-1
451 Crafty vs Nirvana 1-0
452 Pedone vs Booot 1/2-1/2
453 Arasan vs Senpai 1-0
454 Shredder vs Xiphos 0-1
455 Wasp vs Stockfish 0-1
456 Texel vs Vajolet 1/2-1/2

[Event “CCCC 1: Rapid Rumble (15|5) Stage 1”] [Site “Chess.com”] [Date “2018.09.13”] [Round “?”] [White “Fire 7.1”] [Black “Lc0 17.11089”] [Result “1-0”] [ECO “B90”] [WhiteElo “3326”] [BlackElo “3283”] [PlyCount “115”] [EventDate “2018.??.??”] [EventType “rapid”] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 a6 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 Nh5 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. exd5 f6 { All theory till now. Impressive since engines don’t use opening books!} 15. g6 {This has been played but more normal is gxf6.} hxg6 16. Na5 {A huge battle arises now with this sharp variation of Sicilian Najdorf with opposite castles. Black seems a little behind in development of a King attack but his defense seems solid. This specific net of Leela(11089) for CCCC is not that good at handling Sicilian though.} Qe8 17. Nc6 Kh7 18. c4 {Opening lines in front of their King. These engines are fearless!} bxc4 19. Bxc4 f5 20. Kb1 Bf6 21. Rhg1 e4 22. f4 Nc5 23. Rg2 $1 {[%csl Rg6][%cal Gd1g1] Getting ready to hit in the weakness of black’s position the g6 Pawn.} Na4 24. Qb4 {White has play to the Queenside also while can always focus on the Kingside with the g6 vulnerability that it can kill black very quickly if it gets exploited.} Nc5 25. Qa3 Rf7 26. Bxc5 dxc5 27. Qh3 $1 {Returning to the Kingside to take care of business since now the Queenside is safe for white. Leela didn’t handle it that well and now she has to defend but not passively since in Najdorf that can’t work.} Rb7 28. b3 a5 $2 {[%csl Ra5][%cal Ge4e3] Leela blundered with this. 28…e3 would be the saving move, as it seems it holds. This CCCC(11089) net has hard time to find 28…e3 as it seems. Newer nets do find 28…e3 easily so it was rather bad luck. I tested 20 nets of the test10 series and 3 does not find it while the other 17(e.g 11250,11210,11180, etc) find it on the spot! Playing the right defense also. Leela’s test10 had a new net approximately every 40 minutes and this went for around 1-1.5 months, and with every new net to have new strengths and new weaknesses also, but with a trend of improving in strength, most secrets of Leela are hidden from us since most nets are untested so her best games are yet to be seen.} (28… e3 29. Qf3 (29. Rdg1 {Text move doesn’t work because of check!} Qe4+) 29… a5 30. a4 Rab8 31. Ka2 (31. Rd3 Bd4 32. Re2 Qf8 33. Rdxe3 {This has to be eliminated if white wants to make some progress or else it’s a draw.} Bxe3 34. Qxe3 {[%cal Rc6b8]} Ra8 35. Qf3 Qf6 36. Qh3 Qd6 37. Re5 Rb6 {This seems equal even though there is enough play left.}) 31… Rb4 32. Rd3 Bd4 33. Re2 Qd7 $1 34. Rdxe3 (34. Nxb4 Rxb4 $11) (34. Nxb8 Rxa4+ $3 35. bxa4 Qxa4+ 36. Kb1 $4 (36. Ra3 Qxc4+ 37. Kb1 Qb4+ 38. Ka2 Qc4+ 39. Kb1 Qb5+ 40. Kc1 Qxb8 41. Raxe3 Nxf4 {And even black starts to look better!.}) 36… Qa1+ 37. Kc2 Qb2+ 38. Kd1 Qb1#) 34… Bxe3 35. Qxe3 Rc8 36. Qf3 (36. Qxc5 Nxf4 37. Rc2 Rxc4 38. bxc4 Nd3 $11 39. Qxa5 (39. Qa3 Nb4+ 40. Nxb4 axb4 41. Qxb4 f4 $11) (39. Qe3 Nb4+ 40. Nxb4 f4 $11 {[%csl Ra4, Re3]}) 39… f4 $11) 36… Qd6 {[%csl Rf4]} 37. Re5 Qf6 38. Nxb4 cxb4 $11 { White has nothing.}) 29. Rdg1 {Now it’s over.} a4 30. Rxg6 Qxg6 31. Rxg6 Kxg6 32. Ne5+ Bxe5 33. fxe5 axb3 34. axb3 Rba7 35. Qe3 Ra1+ 36. Kc2 R8a2+ 37. Kc3 f4 38. Qxc5 e3 39. Bd3+ Kg5 40. Qb5 Rc1+ 41. Kb4 Rd2 42. d6 Rcd1 43. e6+ Kh4 44. e7 Rxd3 45. e8=Q Rd5 46. Qe2 Nf6 47. Qh8+ Kg5 48. Qxg7+ Kf5 49. Qc2+ R1d3 50. Qc8+ Ke4 51. Qg6+ Kf3 52. Qh3+ Ke2 53. Qgg2+ Kd1 54. Qhf3+ Kc1 55. Qff1+ Rd1 56. Qc4+ Kb1 57. Qgc2+ Ka1 58. Q4c3# 1-0

ROUND 39
Leela had an easy game against Crafty and won easily while Ethereal got its 3rd win in a row and now seems in good shape to promote. Boot also won and increased its chances for promotion.
Shredder lost ground since it drew Vajolet while Andscacs won against Gull in an important point.

457 Andscacs vs Gull 1-0
458 Houdini vs Fritz 1/2-1/2
459 Fizbo vs Ivanhoe 1-0
460 Komodo vs Fire 1/2-1/2
461 Ethereal vs Laser 1-0
462 Lco vs Crafty 1-0
463 Booot vs Nemorino 1-0
464 Nirvana vs Arasan 0-1
465 Xiphos vs Pedone 1/2-1/2
466 Senpai vs Wasp 0-1
467 Vajolet vs Shredder 1/2-1/2
468 Stockfish vs Texel 1-0

[Event “CCCC 1: Rapid Rumble (15|5) Stage 1”] [Site “Chess.com”] [Date “2018.09.14”] [Round “?”] [White “Lc0 17.11089”] [Black “Crafty 25.2”] [Result “1-0”] [ECO “A60”] [WhiteElo “3300”] [BlackElo “3099”] [PlyCount “123”] [EventDate “2018.??.??”] [EventType “rapid”] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 Bd6 5. e4 Be5 6. Nge2 $1 {Nice move keeping options for f4 and protecting the Knight on c3 that protects e4 also.} exd5 7. exd5 d6 8. f4 Bxc3+ 9. Nxc3 Bf5 10. Bd3 Qe7+ $6 (10… Bxd3 11. Qxd3 O-O 12. O-O) 11. Kf2 $1 {Leela is ruthless going for the King attack. Correctly judges that black would lose time moving the Queen again when Rook goes to e1 and with the f-Pawn there black would be on defense. No need for more positional play of Be2.} Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Na6 13. Qh3 O-O {Black has to castle. Into safety? Not that much. So things went wrong with that Qe7 check.} 14. Re1 Qd8 15. Bd2 h6 $2 (15… Re8 16. g4 $1 {Black still has to face a Kingside attack.}) 16. Re3 $1 {Nice. Leela does not waste time and goes for the kill.} Re8 17. Rg3 { [%csl Gd2,Gg3,Gh3][%cal Gd2h6] Strange looking squares for Rook and Queen! And it’s strange looking since this almost never occurs in games as black’s plan should have gone severely wrong.} Qc8 18. f5 {[%csl Rf5][%cal Rg3g8,Rh3h6, Rd2h6] Black can’t really expect to survive from this.} Re5 19. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7 20. Bxh6+ Kh8 21. Bf4+ Kg8 22. Bxe5 dxe5 23. g4 $1 {Bringing reinforcements to the attack.} Ne8 24. Ne4 {[%csl Ra6,Ra8,Rc8,Ge4,Gf5,Gg4,Gh3] White has a Knight less but most black’s pieces are sleeping doing nothing. Crafty the once strongest open source engine is now struggling to take a few draws in this tournament and gets outplayed easily from most engines. But history is not erased and Crafty will always be a special engine.} Nb4 25. Rd1 Qd8 26. Qh6 Qd7 27. d6 (27. a3 {A tad faster.}) 27… f6 28. Nxc5 Qg7 29. Qxg7+ Kxg7 30. d7 Nc6 31. dxe8=Q Rxe8 32. Rd7+ Kg8 33. Ne4 Rf8 34. Rxb7 Rf7 35. Rxf7 Kxf7 36. c5 Kg7 37. Ke3 Nb4 38. a3 Nc2+ 39. Kd3 Nd4 40. b4 Nb5 41. a4 Nc7 42. Kc4 Kh6 43. b5 Kg7 44. b6 axb6 45. cxb6 Na6 46. a5 Kf7 47. Kd5 Nb8 48. Ng3 Ke7 49. Ne4 Kf7 50. g5 fxg5 51. b7 g4 52. Kxe5 g3 53. hxg3 Na6 54. f6 Nb8 55. g4 Kg6 56. Ke6 Nc6 57. a6 Nd8+ 58. Kd5 Nxb7 59. axb7 Kh6 60. b8=Q Kg6 61. Qf8 Kh7 62. Qg7# 1-0

ROUND 40
Leela with black won against Arasan in a beautiful game and Ethereal had its 4 win in the last 4 games and now it’s the favorite to promote.
Boot drew with Laser and so Andscacs too and both took advantage of Shredder’s loss to Stockfish.
In that game Shredder showed how not to play French with white! And it was against Stockfish that of course grabbed the chance and did not forgive anything! No favors to Shredder from the leader. Shredder did have a really bad game and completely lost track of the position and Stockfish won rather easily.

469 Fritz vs Andscacs 1/2-1/2
470 Gull vs Fizbo 1/2-1/2
471 Fire vs Houdini 1/2-1/2
472 Ivanhoe vs Ethereal 0-1
473 Crafty vs Komodo 0-1
474 Laser vs Booot 1/2-1/2
475 Arasan vs Lco 0-1
476 Nemorino vs Xiphos 0-1
477 Wasp vs Nirvana 0-1
478 Pedone vs Vajolet 0-1
479 Texel vs Senpai 1/2-1/2
480 Shredder vs Stockfish 0-1

[Event “CCCC 1: Rapid Rumble (15|5) Stage 1”] [Site “Chess.com”] [Date “2018.09.14”] [Round “?”] [White “Arasan CCCC-2018”] [Black “Lc0 17.11089”] [Result “0-1”] [ECO “B90”] [WhiteElo “3123”] [BlackElo “3179”] [PlyCount “164”] [EventDate “2018.??.??”] [EventType “rapid”] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 a6 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be2 Nbd7 9. f4 exf4 10. Bxf4 Ne5 11. Qd2 Be7 12. O-O-O O-O 13. Nd4 b5 14. Rhf1 { No protective a3. Interesting.} Rc8 15. Qe3 Qc7 16. a3 Rfe8 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Kb1 Nfd7 $1 {A very deep move. Reinforces the attack creating so many possibilities for black.} 19. Bh5 g6 20. Be2 Rb8 $1 {Of course! Ready for the b4 push.} 21. Qh3 Bf8 22. Na2 Rbc8 23. Qc3 Qb7 24. Qe3 a5 {Now white will have to face an attack. The best defense of course is to counterattack to black King also.} 25. h4 $1 Qc6 26. Rc1 Rb8 27. h5 b4 28. axb4 $2 {A first mistake.} (28. a4 {This probably holds.} Bg7 29. hxg6 Qxa4 (29… hxg6 30. Bb5 Rxb5 31. axb5 Qxb5 32. Qg3 $11) 30. Rh1 hxg6 (30… Nxg6 31. Bxd6 Rbc8 32. Rh5 Nde5 33. Bxe5 Nxe5 34. Rxe5 Rxc2 (34… Bxe5 $4 35. Qg5+ Bg7 36. Bb5) 35. Qd4 Bxe5 36. Qxe5 b3 37. Qg5+ Kh8 38. Qe5+ $11) 31. Bh6 Bf6 32. Bg5 Rf8 (32… Nf7 $2 33. Bxf6 Nxf6 34. Qf2 $3 $16 b3 35. Nc3 Nxe4 36. Qxf7+ Kxf7 37. Nxa4 $16) 33. Bg4 Nxg4 34. Qh3 Bg7 35. Qh7+ Kf7 36. Rcf1+ Ndf6 37. Rxf6+ Nxf6 38. Rf1 Qd7 39. Rxf6+ Ke8 40. Qxg6+ Rf7 41. Rxe6+ Kf8 42. Nc1 $11) 28… axb4 29. Bxe5 Nxe5 30. hxg6 {White seemingly gets a dangerous attack. But this is an illusion as black is a lot better here and perfectly safe!} Bg7 $1 {[%cal Rg7a1]} 31. gxh7+ $2 {A second mistake. This is now too much. Black gets a good shelter for his King and the g7 Bishop dominates the board!} (31. Rf7 hxg6 (31… Nxf7 $2 32. gxf7+ Kxf7 33. Bh5+ Kg8 34. Bxe8 Qxe8 $11) 32. Ra7 {And while black is better, it will be a difficult game.}) 31… Kh8 {[%csl Ge5,Gg7][%cal Gg7a1] Black has everything. A huge Bishop on g7 starring at the opponent King, a great Knight at e5 that can’t be touched, b4 with Rooks behind, a safe King behind the enemy Pawn that protects him, while white has to defend but how? There doesn’t seem to be a way.} 32. Rf2 Qa4 33. Qb3 Qa5 34. Bf1 Ra8 35. Rd1 Nd7 36. Bc4 Nc5 37. Qxb4 Qa7 38. Qa3 Qxa3 39. bxa3 Reb8+ 40. Bb3 Rxa3 41. Rf3 (41. Re2 { Trying to keep the Pawn falls into:} Rxa2 $1 {[%cal Rg7a1] capturing is not an option.} 42. Kxa2 Ra8+ 43. Ba4 {[%cal Rg7a1]} Rxa4+ 44. Kb1 Ra1#) 41… Nxe4 42. Rdd3 d5 43. Rf7 (43. g4 Kxh7 {And white is in a zugzwang situation where none of his pieces can really move. Only choice is the Rf7 move that loses by force.} 44. Rh3+ Kg6 45. Rde3 Rxa2 46. Kxa2 Ra8+ 47. Ba4 Rxa4+ 48. Ra3 $19) ( 43. Rh3 Nf2 {[%csl Rd3,Rh3]}) 43… Kxh7 44. Re7 Ra6 45. Nc3 (45. Kc1 Kg6 { [%csl Re4][%cal Rg7a1] Material is equal but black has a won position. White has a bad Bishop while black a huge one, the same with white and black Knights, Rooks of white are uncoordinated while black’s Rooks attack the white King and black has 2 connected central Pawns while white’s Pawns are weak.} 46. Rf3 Bf6 47. Rc7 Be5 48. Re7 Ng5 49. Rd3 Bd6 50. Rd7 Ne4 51. Rf3 Nc5 52. Rxd6 Rxd6 $19) 45… Nxc3+ 46. Rxc3 {[%cal Rg7a1,Ra6a1,Ye7h7]} Kg8 {[%cal Gg7a1,Ga6a1] Can’t move the c3 Rook because of checkmate.} 47. Rxg7+ (47. Rcc7 Ra1#) 47… Kxg7 $19 48. Kc1 Kf6 49. Rf3+ Ke5 50. Re3+ Kd6 51. Kb1 Ra4 52. Rg3 Rh4 53. Kb2 Rhh8 54. Rg4 Rhg8 55. Ra4 Rxg2 56. Ra5 Rgg8 57. Ra6+ Ke5 58. Ra1 Rgc8 59. Re1+ Kd6 60. Rd1 Rc5 61. Ra1 e5 62. Rh1 e4 63. Rh3 Rf8 64. Ka1 Ke5 65. Kb2 Rf5 66. Ka3 Kd4 67. Kb2 Rf2 68. Rh4 Ke5 69. Rh8 e3 70. Re8+ Kf4 71. Re6 d4 72. Ka3 Re5 73. Rf6+ Ke4 74. Rg6 e2 75. Rg4+ Kf5 76. Rg1 Rf1 77. Bc4 Rxg1 78. Bd3+ Kf4 79. Bxe2 Rb1 80. Ka2 Rb8 81. Bb5 Rexb5 82. Ka1 Ra5# 0-1

ROUND 41
Leela won another nice game against Wasp this time, again showing some signs of not being able to provide the crushing move, the move that will win easily, but still managed to get a comfortable win in a game of zugzwangs. A really beautiful game played by Leela that won because it made her opponent to be in a zugzwang a-la Nimzowitsch style!

While Ethereal is on a roll since it made its 5th win in the lats 5 games and now it’s seems improbable that will not promote. Boot won against Ivanhoe also almost securing its place in the 2nd stage. Andscacs drew against Fizbo and lost a big chance to take a valuable full point since Shredder won against Senpai easily.

481 Andscacs vs Fizbo 1/2-1/2
482 Fritz vs Fire 1/2-1/2
483 Ethereal vs Gull 1-0
484 Houdini vs Crafty 1-0
485 Booot vs Ivanhoe 1-0
486 Komodo vs Arasan 1-0
487 Xiphos vs Laser 1/2-1/2
488 Lco vs Wasp 1-0
489 Vajolet vs Nemorino 1-0
490 Nirvana vs Texel 0-1
491 Stockfish vs Pedone 1-0
492 Senpai vs Shredder 0-1

[Event “CCCC 1: Rapid Rumble (15|5) Stage 1”] [Site “Chess.com”] [Date “2018.09.14”] [Round “?”] [White “Lc0 17.11089”] [Black “Wasp 3.25”] [Result “1-0”] [ECO “D37”] [WhiteElo “3300”] [BlackElo “3099”] [PlyCount “99”] [EventDate “2018.??.??”] [EventType “rapid”] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 dxc4 6. e3 {Leela always likes the more quiet e3 over e4, being more cautious, perhaps she doesn’t want to had to think what to do when c5 comes and wants to maintain its strong center.} Nd5 7. Bxc4 Nxf4 8. exf4 O-O 9. Qe2 c6 10. O-O Nd7 11. g3 Nb6 12. Bd3 {Black has failed to achieve something from the opening. A double Pawn on f-file is ok, but white’s pieces have developed fine, he owns the center while black has a bad Bishop and 1 not that well placed Bishop for now and has no good Pawn moves.} Nd5 13. h4 {Once we praised Deep Blue’s move (…h5!) in Kasparov’s game discussing how much it understands from positional play. Chess programs back then suffered from really gluing their King Pawns in their initial position and after a castle they would be extremely afraid to move them forwards 2 squares for starting an attack. So years and years these kind of moves were good testpositions for the 90s programs. 21 years later these kind of moves do happen extremely more frequently in computer Chess world. In Leela’s games they happen almost in every game! :) She really knows when and where to move her Pawns. She has a deep understanding of the position and she is seeing now that this h-Pawn will create a ton of problems for black so she has no hesitation to move it.} Qb6 14. h5 Rd8 $2 {Ignoring the Pawn is a mistake.} (14… h6) 15. Nxd5 Rxd5 16. Ne5 {[%csl Rd4] Leela gives the Pawn freely.} Qxd4 17. Rad1 {[%cal Rd3h7,Gd1d4]} Qc5 18. Bc4 Rxd1 (18… f6 19. Ng4 $16) (18… h6 19. Rfe1 $16 {[%cal Gg3g4]}) 19. Rxd1 a5 20. g4 $1 {Easy play for Leela.} Bd6 21. g5 Bc7 22. g6 (22. h6 {Also works.} g6 23. Qd3 Kf8 (23… Bxe5 24. Qd8+ Qf8 25. fxe5 b5 26. Bb3 a4 27. Bc2 Bb7 28. Qf6 c5 {Black seems fine but this is actually 1-0 already.} 29. Rd7 Bd5 30. Bxg6 $1 {The point!} hxg6 31. h7+ Kxh7 32. Rxf7+) 24. Ng4 {[%csl Rh7][%cal Rg4f6,Rf6h7]} Ke7 (24… e5 25. Nxe5 $18) 25. Nf6 b5 26. Qd7+ Bxd7 27. Rxd7+ Kf8 28. Nxh7+ Kg8 29. Nf6+ Kf8 30. Bxe6 Qe7 31. h7 Qxd7 32. h8=Q+ Ke7 33. Qxa8) 22… fxg6 23. hxg6 h6 24. Nd7 Qe7 25. Qxe6+ Qxe6 26. Bxe6+ Kh8 27. f5 (27. Nf8 {This is even easier.} Bb6 28. Bxc8 Rxc8 29. Ne6 {[%cal Gf4f6]} Re8 30. f5 Re7 31. a4 $3 {Zugzwang! Bishop should always protect d8, Rook can’t leave 7th rank or the other Rook will take it, Pawn moves will dry up so white wins!} Kg8 32. Kh2 Kh8 33. Kh3 Kg8 34. Kg4 Kh8 35. Kf4 (35. f3 Kg8 36. Rd6 Kh8 37. f6 $18) 35… Kg8 36. Ke5) 27… b6 28. Kg2 c5 $6 (28… Bxd7 {Leela was about to mess again with an opposite colors Bishop(OCB) ending. Wasp didn’t play that way though. It was winning for white anyway but with this Leela 11089 net’s skills at OCB one can never be sure.} 29. Bxd7 Rd8 (29… c5 30. Re1 $18) (29… Rb8 30. Bxc6 Rd8 31. Re1 Bd6 32. Re6 Bc5 33. b3 Kg8 34. Kg3 Kf8 35. Bb5 Rc8 36. f4 Kg8 37. Kf3 Rb8 38. Ke4 Rc8 39. Bc4 Kf8 40. f6 gxf6 41. Rxf6+ Kg7 42. Re6 Rd8 43. f5 Rd4+ 44. Ke5 Rd7 45. Rc6 Bd4+ 46. Ke4 Bf6 (46… Bf2 47. f6+ $1 $18) 47. Rxb6 $18) 30. Re1 {[%csl Rh8][%cal Re1e8]} Bd6 31. Re6 Bc5 32. Rxc6 {[%csl Rh8]} Be7 33. Be6 Rb8 34. b3 Bf6 35. Rc7 Bd4 36. Kf3 Be5 37. Rd7 Bc3 38. Rf7 b5 39. Ra7 Rf8 40. Rb7 b4 41. Rf7 $18) 29. f4 Bb7+ 30. Kg3 Rd8 31. Re1 Bc6 32. Ne5 Be8 33. Bc4 Bd6 34. Nf7+ Bxf7 35. gxf7 Rf8 36. a4 Kh7 37. Kg4 {Almost zugzwang again!! Black does not have any useful moves and every move he has to make worsens its position.} g6 (37… Kh8 38. Re8 Kh7 39. Kh5 Kh8 40. Kg6 b5 41. Bxb5 c4 42. Bxc4 Bb4 43. f6 gxf6 44. Kxh6 Bc5 45. Re1 {[%cal Ge1h1]} f5 46. Kg6 {[%cal Ge1h1]}) (37… Bc7 38. Re8 Bd6 39. Kh5 Kh8 40. Kg6 {WOW!}) 38. f6 Bb8 39. Re8 Bd6 40. f5 h5+ (40… gxf5+ 41. Kxf5 h5 42. Ke6 {[%csl Rd6]} h4 43. Kxd6 $18) 41. Kg5 gxf5 42. Kxh5 {Amazing position. A great zugzwang created by Leela.} b5 (42… f4 43. Re1 {[%cal Ge1h1]} f3 44. Rh1) 43. axb5 a4 44. b6 a3 45. bxa3 Kh8 46. Kg6 f4 47. Re1 Rxf7 48. Rh1+ Kg8 49. Bxf7+ Kf8 50. Rh8# 1-0

ROUND 42
Stockfish continues its rampage winning the last 8 games.
Leela also won a very nice game with black outplaying positionaly Texel with some very nice moves.
Shredder won against Nirvana and Andscacs lost to Fire and now it’s the outsider for promotion even though Shredder has to play difficult opponents in next 4 rounds.
Booot and Ethereal got 2 draws but probably this would not cost them as they will promote.

493 Fire vs Andscacs 1-0
494 Fizbo vs Ethereal 1/2-1/2
495 Crafty vs Fritz 0-1
496 Gull vs Booot 1/2-1/2
497 Arasan vs Houdini 0-1
498 Ivanhoe vs Xiphos 0-1
499 Wasp vs Komodo 0-1
500 Laser vs Vajolet 1-0
501 Texel vs Lco 0-1
502 Nemorino vs Stockfish 0-1
503 Shredder vs Nirvana 1-0
504 Pedone vs Senpai 1-0

[Event “CCCC 1: Rapid Rumble (15|5) Stage 1”] [Site “Chess.com”] [Date “2018.09.15”] [Round “?”] [White “Texel 1.07”] [Black “Lc0 17.11089”] [Result “0-1”] [ECO “B90”] [WhiteElo “3144”] [BlackElo “3439”] [PlyCount “152”] [EventDate “2018.??.??”] [EventType “rapid”] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 a6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Re1 b5 11. Bb3 Rb8 12. Bg5 Nd7 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Qd2 Nc5 15. Bd5 Rb6 16. h3 Qc7 {Gathering forces to Queenside. Eventually black would win because these 2 Knights invaded in the Kingside!} 17. a3 Ne7 18. b4 Nd7 19. Bb3 Nf6 20. a4 Be6 21. Bxe6 fxe6 22. axb5 axb5 23. Ra3 Qc4 24. Qe3 Rfb8 25. Rb3 Ng6 26. Rd1 Ra6 {Leela with her constant maneuvering managed to achieve a better position taking the initiative.} 27. g3 Nh8 $1 {[%cal Gh8f7,Gh7h6,Gg7g5] The start of a plan!} 28. Re1 Nf7 29. Qd3 h6 30. h4 g5 $5 {Maybe not that precise but still it’s good as it creates a positional suffocation for white.} 31. Qd1 $6 (31. Qe3 g4 32. Nd2 Qd4 {And black stands better.}) 31… Kg7 {[%cal Gb8h8]} 32. hxg5 hxg5 33. Kg2 Rh8 34. Nd2 Qc8 35. Nxb5 g4 36. Nf1 $2 {Losing by force. Still, black was better anyway but had to give a fight now its life is easier.} (36. c4 Ng5 (36… Rh3 $17 {[%cal Gf7g5,Gd6d5]}) 37. Rh1 Rh3 $17) (36. Ra3 Rxa3 37. Nxa3 d5 $17 {Black is better.}) 36… Qb7 $1 {[%csl Gb7,Ye1,Re4,Gf6]} 37. Qe2 Ng5 {[%csl Re4]} 38. Nd2 d5 39. Re3 dxe4 40. Nxe4 Nfxe4 41. Rxe4 (41. Qxg4 {[%cal Rg4g7]} Nxf2+ {[%cal Rb7g2]} 42. Kxf2 Rh2+ {[%cal Rb7h1]}) 41… Nxe4 42. Qxe4 Qxb5 {Black wins a whole Rook and the game.} 43. Qxg4+ Kf8 44. Re3 Rh7 45. Qe4 Qc6 46. Qxc6 Rxc6 47. c3 Rhc7 48. Rd3 Rxc3 49. Rd8+ Ke7 50. Rh8 e4 51. Rh7+ Kf6 52. Rh6+ Ke5 53. Rh5+ Kd4 54. b5 Rb3 55. Rh1 Rxb5 56. Rh6 Rb2 57. g4 e3 58. Rf6 Ke5 59. Rf3 e2 60. Re3+ Kf4 61. Rxe6 Rc1 62. Rf6+ Kxg4 63. Rg6+ Kf5 64. Rd6 e1=Q 65. Rd5+ Kg4 66. Rd4+ Kg5 67. Rd5+ Kh4 68. Rd4+ Kh5 69. Rd5+ Kg4 70. Rd4+ Kf5 71. Rd5+ Kf4 72. Rd4+ Ke5 73. Rd1 Qxf2+ 74. Kh3 Qg2+ 75. Kh4 Rxd1 76. Kh5 Rh1# 0-1

Standings after round 42 of 46. First 8 go to next stage.

| Player | Score | (Tie) | St | Ko | Ho | Lc | Fi | Et | Bo | An | Sh | Fr |

_ Rating performance so far after round 42 (plus some round 43 games):_

Rank Name               Elo    +    - games score oppo. draws   
   1 Stockfish 220818   557  103   91    42   85%   289   31%   
   2 Komodo 2118.00     529   98   88    42   82%   285   36%   
   3 Houdini 6.03       500   96   87    42   79%   285   33%   
   4 Fire 7.1           429   86   82    43   70%   290   42%   
   5 Lc0 17.11089       418   85   82    42   69%   291   52%   
   6 Ethereal 10.88     385   85   82    43   64%   288   40%   
   7 Booot 6.3.1        381   80   78    43   64%   286   53%   
   8 Andscacs 0.94      364   83   81    43   59%   296   40%   
   9 Shredder 13        359   80   78    42   62%   277   57%   
  10 Xiphos 0.3.17      309   81   81    42   52%   292   48%   
  11 Texel 1.07         305   82   81    42   55%   280   43%   
  12 Fritz 16.10        297   77   77    43   51%   294   65%   
  13 Vajolet 2.6        280   81   81    42   46%   299   45%   
  14 Pedone 1.8         275   78   78    42   48%   287   57%   
  15 Laser 1.6          271   80   81    42   44%   296   50%   
  16 Arasan CCCC-2018   269   80   81    43   45%   297   44%   
  17 Fizbo 1.9          237   76   78    43   42%   291   65%   
  18 Gull 3.syz         231   79   81    42   39%   295   55%   
  19 Wasp 3.25          206   79   82    42   35%   297   55%   
  20 Nemorino 5.00      152   88   95    42   30%   302   21%   
  21 Ivanhoe 999946h    140   88   96    42   27%   306   26%   
  22 Senpai 2.0         107   88   97    42   21%   312   33%   
  23 Nirvana 2.4         54   94  108    42   17%   313   24%   
  24 Crafty 25.2          0   99  118    43   14%   309   14% 

**This is with Lc0 - Gull game counted as draw. Since this is a rating list the real result should be counted, as the CCCC result by their rules because Gull crashed, was 1-0 in favor of Lc0.

Next 4 rounds:

ROUND 43
505 Andscacs vs Ethereal 1/2-1/2
506 Fire vs Crafty 1-0
507 Booot vs Fizbo 1-0
508 Fritz vs Arasan 1/2-1/2
509 Xiphos vs Gull 1/2-1/2
510 Houdini vs Wasp 1-0
511 Vajolet vs Ivanhoe
512 Komodo vs Texel
513 Stockfish vs Laser
514 Lco vs Shredder
515 Senpai vs Nemorino
516 Nirvana vs Pedone

ROUND 44
517 Crafty vs Andscacs
518 Ethereal vs Booot
519 Arasan vs Fire
520 Fizbo vs Xiphos
521 Wasp vs Fritz
522 Gull vs Vajolet
523 Texel vs Houdini
524 Ivanhoe vs Stockfish
525 Shredder vs Komodo
526 Laser vs Senpai
527 Pedone vs Lco
528 Nemorino vs Nirvana

ROUND 45
529 Andscacs vs Booot
530 Crafty vs Arasan
531 Xiphos vs Ethereal
532 Fire vs Wasp
533 Vajolet vs Fizbo
534 Fritz vs Texel
535 Stockfish vs Gull
536 Houdini vs Shredder
537 Senpai vs Ivanhoe
538 Komodo vs Pedone
539 Nirvana vs Laser
540 Lco vs Nemorino

ROUND 46
541 Arasan vs Andscacs
542 Booot vs Xiphos
543 Wasp vs Crafty
544 Ethereal vs Vajolet
545 Texel vs Fire
546 Fizbo vs Stockfish
547 Shredder vs Fritz
548 Gull vs Senpai
549 Pedone vs Houdini
550 Ivanhoe vs Nirvana
551 Nemorino vs Komodo
552 Laser vs Lco