[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.04.21”]
[Round “1.37”]
[White “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Black “Usurpator II”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A34”]
[WhiteElo “1699”]
[BlackElo “1310”]
[Annotator “3. +0.48”]
[PlyCount “71”]

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. e4 {+0.48/7 40} 3… Nf6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. d4 Bg4 6. d5
{+0.22/7 39} 6… Bxf3 7. gxf3 {+0.55/7 37} 7… Nd4 8. Be3 {+0.72/6 36} 8… e5
9. Rg1 {+0.68/6 45} 9… Rg8 10. f4 {+0.70/6 33} 10… Be7 11. Rb1 {+0.58/7 35}
11… h5 12. fxe5 {+0.75/7 31} 12… dxe5 13. Bd3 {+0.65/6 35} 13… g6 14. Bd2
{+0.99/6 43} 14… Qd7 15. Bf1 {+0.53/6 35} 15… Rg7 16. Bg5 {+1.10/6 26}
16… Ng4 17. h4 {+0.58/6 25} 17… f5 18. Bh3 {+0.49/7 29} 18… Nh2 19. Rg3
{+0.33/7 35} 19… Ng4 20. exf5 {+0.60/7 27} 20… gxf5 21. Bxe7 {+0.25/7 23}
21… Qxe7 22. Bxg4 {-0.37/7 56} 22… fxg4 23. Ne4 {-0.33/6 19} 23… Nf3+
24.Kf1 {-0.28/7 18} 24… Nxh4 25. d6 {-0.10/6 18} 25… Qe6 26. Qa4+ {+0.14/6 17}
26… Kd8 27. Nxc5 {+0.49/6 16} 27… Qc8 28. Ne4 {+0.64/6 24} 28… Nf5
29.Rd3 {+0.71/6 22} 29… Rf7 30. Qb5 {+1.25/6 14} 30… Qb8 31. Ng5 {+4.76/6 14}
31… Rf6 32. Qxe5 {+7.21/6 13} 32… Rf8 33. Re1 {+7.69/5 13} 33… Kd7
34.Qb5+ Kc8 35. Re8+ Rxe8 36. Qxe8# {Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 1-0

Usurpator finished in 170th place with 4 points.

Analyzing this game gave me several things to work on, primarily checking the algorithms for giving appropriate bonuses and penalties to castling, as well as investigating the King Safety code (which is still pretty poor in Alpha 2). The moves 7.gxf3 and 9.Rg1 are pretty bad, when 7.Qxf3 and 9.dxe6ep are obviously much better (Myrddin Alpha 2 now plays 7.Qxf3, but prefers 9.f4?, which is at least a slight improvement). 11.Rb1 is also quite difficult to justify. The four straight bishop moves from 13 through 16 are pathetic and accomplish very little.
After 18.Bh3 (Myrddin Alpha 2 will still play this move), I am regretting allowing Myrddin to enter the tournament. It was provisionally rated by Olivier at 1699 (rather high, in my opinion – possibly by as many as 300 points for the initially entered version), but so far this is 1200 play at best. I made many improvements to the engine over the one month of the tournament, adding things that most other engines rated in Myrddin's range already had, pondering and hash tables being the most vital. Support for the time control (40 moves in 20 minutes) was also important, as the intial version simply thought for only 1/30th of the time remaining on the clock.
Finally, Usurpator makes a slight blunder (24…Nxh4), allowing Myrddin back in the game. From here on, Myrddin makes solid moves, and its opponent makes inferior ones. The reason that Myrddin does not report any thinking information at the end of the game is that, for clarity reasons, I decided not to post PV output for depth 1 searches. I also decided that, if Myrddin found a mate sequence, it would make it immediately, thus saving some time. So, when Myrddin finds a mate at depth 1, there is no output. Alpha 2 fixes this.

For the next round I added “level” (moves/minutes time control) support, and fixed/improved the castling eval.

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.04.24”]
[Round “2.33”]
[White “Pooky 2.7”]
[Black “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A11”]
[WhiteElo “1538”]
[BlackElo “1699”]
[Annotator “2. +0.11 2… +0.14”]
[PlyCount “175”]

1. c4 c6 2. e3 {+0.11/8 26} 2… Nf6 {+0.14/7 31} 3. d4 {+0.00/8 26} 3… c5
{-0.09/8 46} 4. Be2 {+0.17/8 21} 4… cxd4 {-0.04/7 46} 5. exd4 {+0.05/8 22}
5… Qa5+ {-0.29/7 45} 6. Qd2 {+0.04/8 22} 6… Qc7 {-0.41/7 30} 7. Nc3
{+0.25/7 21} 7… d6 {-0.49/7 30} 8. Nf3 {+0.61/7 21} 8… g6 {-0.65/7 30}
9.O-O {+0.94/5 0.1} 9… Bg7 {-0.65/7 30} 10. Re1 {+0.83/7 19} 10… O-O
{-0.50/7 30} 11. Qc2 {+0.37/7 23} 11… Bf5 {-0.40/7 29} 12. Nb5 {+0.49/8 23}
12… Qb6 {-0.30/7 30} 13. Bd3 {+0.15/8 28} 13… Bxd3 {-0.30/7 30} 14. Qxd3
{+0.07/5 0.1} 14… a6 {-0.40/7 30} 15. Nc3 {+0.49/7 20} 15… Nc6 {-0.45/6 29}
16. d5 {+0.49/7 23} 16… Nb4 {-0.37/6 29} 17. Qe2 {+1.06/7 23} 17… Ng4
{-0.35/6 29} 18. Rf1 {+1.00/7 33} 18… Ne5 {-0.30/6 44} 19. Nxe5 {+1.09/5 0.2}
19… Bxe5 {-1.89/6 40} 20. a3 {+1.69/7 19} 20… Rfc8 {-1.57/6 28} 21. axb4
{+1.61/7 18} 21… Qc7 {-1.66/6 28} 22. b5 {+2.11/7 15} 22… Qxc4 {-1.58/7 28}
23. Qxc4 {+1.87/7 15} 23… Rxc4 {-1.54/7 28} 24. Bg5 {+1.88/7 13} 24… Bxc3
{-1.19/8 28} 25. bxc3 {+2.16/5 0.1} 25… f6 {-0.92/8 28} 26. Rfe1 {+1.40/8 11}
26… fxg5 {-0.23/8 28} 27. Rxe7 {+1.51/5 0.1} 27… Rxc3 {-0.21/8 31} 28. Rxb7
{+1.39/5 0.1} 28… Rac8 {-0.20/8 37} 29. Kf1 {+1.09/8 7} 29… axb5
{+0.11/8 27} 30. Rxb5 {+0.38/5 0.1} 30… R3c5 {+0.07/7 27} 31. Rxc5 {+0.61/8 6}
31… Rxc5 {+0.25/9 27} 32. Ra8+ {+0.70/9 4} 32… Kg7 {+0.77/7 27} 33. Ra7+
{+0.63/9 4} 33… Kh6 {+0.72/8 27} 34. Ke2 {+0.24/8 4} 34… Rxd5 {+0.85/8 27}
35. h3 {+0.50/8 3} 35… Re5+ {+1.01/8 27} 36. Kd3 {+0.45/8 2.9} 36… Rd5+
{+1.01/7 27} 37. Kc3 {+0.27/8 2.3} 37… Rc5+ {+1.01/8 27} 38. Kd3 {+0.02/8 1.8}
38… Rd5+ {+1.02/8 27} 39. Ke4 {+0.65/7 1.1} 39… Re5+ {+1.00/7 27} 40. Kd4
{+0.30/7 0.5} 40… Re2 {+1.08/8 14} 41. Rf7 {+0.41/9 8} 41… Ra2 {+1.05/8 30}
42. Ke4 {+0.43/8 8} 42… Rb2 {+1.08/7 30} 43. g3 {+0.42/9 8} 43… Ra2
{+1.08/8 30} 44. Kd5 {+0.43/9 7} 44… Rd2+ {+1.06/8 30} 45. Kc4 {+0.18/9 7}
45… Rc2+ {+1.06/8 30} 46. Kd5 {+0.43/9 7} 46… Rd2+ {+1.06/8 30} 47. Kc4
{+0.18/9 7} 47… Rd1 {+1.01/8 30} 48. g4 {-0.32/9 7} 48… Rh1 {+1.15/8 30}
49.Rf3 {+0.13/9 6} 49… Rc1+ {+1.09/8 30} 50. Kd3 {+0.16/9 7} 50… Kg7
{+1.13/8 30} 51. Kd4 {-0.01/9 6} 51… Rc2 {+1.25/8 30} 52. Kd5 {+0.19/9 6}
52… Rd2+ {+1.21/9 30} 53. Ke6 {-0.02/9 6} 53… d5 {+1.01/9 30} 54. Rf7+
{+0.22/9 5} 54… Kg8 {+1.01/9 30} 55. Rf3 {-0.20/9 5} 55… Kg7 {+1.01/9 30}
56. Rf7+ {+0.22/9 5} 56… Kg8 {+1.01/9 30} 57. Rd7 {-0.05/9 5} 57… Rxf2
{+1.01/8 30} 58. Rxd5 {-1.04/8 4} 58… Rf3 {+1.05/9 30} 59. Rxg5 {-0.90/9 4}
59… Rxh3 {+1.02/9 30} 60. Rd5 {-0.91/9 4} 60… Kg7 {+1.04/8 30} 61. Rd7+
{-0.74/9 4} 61… Kh6 {+1.06/8 30} 62. Kf6 {-0.92/8 4} 62… Rf3+ {+1.17/9 30}
63. Ke5 {-0.95/8 3} 63… Kg5 {+1.17/9 30} 64. Rxh7 {-0.64/5 0.1} 64… Kxg4
{+1.21/9 30} 65. Rh8 {-0.80/8 2.9} 65… Rf2 {+1.30/8 30} 66. Rg8 {-0.68/8 2.7}
66… g5 {+1.35/8 30} 67. Ke4 {-0.79/8 2.2} 67… Kh4 {+1.37/7 30} 68. Rh8+
{-0.88/8 2.4} 68… Kg3 {+1.34/7 30} 69. Rd8 {-1.19/8 2.0} 69… g4 {+1.50/8 30}
70. Ke5 {-1.23/7 1.9} 70… Kh2 {+1.76/8 30} 71. Rh8+ {-1.34/8 2.0} 71… Kg2
{+1.83/8 30} 72. Ke4 {-1.31/7 1.5} 72… g3 {+1.90/8 30} 73. Rg8 {-1.57/7 1.4}
73… Rb2 {+1.88/7 31} 74. Rf8 {-1.76/7 1.2} 74… Kh2 {+2.01/7 30} 75. Rh8+
{-2.05/7 1.1} 75… Kg1 {+2.21/7 30} 76. Ke3 {-2.05/7 0.9} 76… g2 {+2.25/7 30}
77. Rd8 {-2.07/7 0.7} 77… Rb3+ {+3.70/7 30} 78. Ke2 {-2.05/7 0.6} 78… Kh2
{+5.02/7 30} 79. Rh8+ {-5.19/7 0.4} 79… Rh3 {+6.10/9 30} 80. Rxh3+
{-8.54/5 0.1} 80… Kxh3 {+8.22/6 15} 81. Kf2 {-8.79/8 5} 81… Kh2 {+9.08/8 30}
82. Kf3 {-9.13/8 4} 82… g1=Q {+9.31/6 30} 83. Ke4 {-9.13/6 4} 83… Qc5
{+9.62/6 30} 84. Kd3 {-9.32/6 4} 84… Kg3 {+327.56/6 30} 85. Ke4 {-9.47/6 4}
85… Kg4 {+327.58/5 26} 86. Kd3 {-8.97/1 0.1} 86… Kf3 {+327.60/4 1.4}
87.Kd2 {-9.20/1 0.1} 87… Qc4 {+327.62/3 0.3} 88. Kd1 {-99.95/4 0.1 Pooky resigns}
0-1

Pooky finished in 45th place with 7 points.

This was Myrddin's one upset, as Pooky ended up placing a half-point and a handful of places higher than Myrddin. So much for ProDeo's opening book, as Pooky plays 1.c4 and 2.e3??, taking Myrddin right out of book (and it shows with 3…c5).
5…Qa5+ is a patzer move if there ever was one. 9…Bg7 and 10…0-0 were a surprise, as I had never seen Myrddin follow through on a fianchetto before.
18…Ne5 is dreadful, and that kind of move is still a problem with Myrddin Alpha 2. It simply can't see that, after all of the potential captures are played out, the knight on b4 is lost. 18…a5 is the only move. From here, the game should be lost.
But Pooky gives the full point back wth 26.Rfe1. I can only assume that it had some serious bonus for the loss of two pawns in front of the enemy King. After 34…Rxd5, material is even, and the game looks very drawish, although Myrddin has the passed pawn.
With 62…Rf3+, somehow Myrddin finds the right plan and ends up with the only pawn on the board. When the pawn queened on move 82, it felt pretty good. The fact that Myrddin played optimum moves through the end of the game, without EGTBs, was also satisfying.
Myrddin now has two points in two games, and I'm very encouraged.

Before the next round I further adjusted some King Safety evals, basically trying anything that seemed reasonable and didn't break things.

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.04.26”]
[Round “3.1”]
[White “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Black “Ax 0.8”]
[Result “0-1”]
[WhiteElo “1699”]
[BlackElo “1814”]
[TimeControl “40/1200”]
[Annotator “4. +0.45”]
[Number “1”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. c3 Nc6 4. d4 {+0.45/7 32} d5 5. exd5 {+0.43/8 49}
Qxd5 6. dxc5 {+0.50/7 44} Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 Bg4 8. Be2 {+0.55/7 33} O-O-O+
9.Bd2 {+0.27/8 49} e5 10. b4 {+0.31/8 48} f6 11. Kc1 {+0.36/7 32} e4 12. Nd4
{+0.18/9 32} Bxe2 13. Nxe2 {+0.16/8 32} f5 14. Bf4 {+0.35/7 32} Bg7 15. a3
{+0.13/8 47} Nf6 16. b5 {+0.31/7 31} Na5 17. Kc2 {-0.03/7 35} Nd5 18. Bg5
{-0.18/8 46} Rd7 19. Nf4 {-0.18/7 30} h6 20. Nxg6 {+0.00/8 30} hxg5
21.Nxh8 {+0.00/8 30} Bxh8 22. h4 {-0.01/8 38} g4 23. Ra2 {+0.27/8 1:15} Rc7
24. b6 {-0.06/8 27} axb6 25. cxb6 {-0.26/8 27} Nxb6 26. h5 {-0.36/7 27} Nd5
27. h6 {-0.36/7 27} Nf4 28. Rh2 {-0.11/7 40} Rh7 29. Rb2 {-0.64/8 39} e3
30. fxe3 {-0.76/9 25} g3 31. Rh1 {-1.21/8 24} Nxg2 32. e4 {-1.26/7 37} Nc4
33. Rb5 {-1.56/7 38} Nge3+ 34. Kb3 {-2.06/7 27} g2 35. Rc5+ {-2.20/7 21}
Kd7 36. Rg1 {-2.49/8 26} Ne5 37. Rd5+ {-2.42/8 27} Kc7 38. Rd2 {-2.63/8 22}
fxe4 39. Re2 {-2.79/8 11} Nf3 40. Rc1 {-2.79/7 5} Rxh6 41. Rxe3
{-6.38/8 2:26} Rh1 42. Re2 {-6.63/8 27} Rxc1 43. Rxg2 {-6.91/8 27} Rxb1+
44. Kc2 {-6.91/7 27} Ne1+ 45. Kxb1 {-7.91/11 27} Nxg2 46. Kc2 {-7.91/10 30}
e3 47. Kd3 {-8.45/10 47} Bxc3 48. a4 {-8.13/9 26} Bd2 49. a5 {-9.59/8 27}
Nf4+ 50. Kc2 {-327.55/9 2:15} Bxa5 51. Kb1 {-327.57/7 23} e2 52. Kb2
{-327.59/6 23} e1=Q 53. Ka2 {-327.61/5 23} Qc3 54. Kb1 Qb3+ 55. Ka1
{-327.65/4 24} Bc3#
{Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 0-1

Ax finished in 1st place with 9 points.

Bad luck with the matchup, as Myrddin ends up on the top board against the eventual winner of the tournament. Still, playing top board is another nice moment in my first tournament.
Myrddin plays book moves up through and including 7.Kxd1, but I am not amused. Yes, Myrddin is up a pawn, but failing to castle is not a good thing for Myrddin.
19.Nf4 is the losing move, although after the exchange of two pieces for a rook and pawn, Myrddin gave an eval of practically a draw (0.01 for White). A typical engine gives the position at least +1.5 in White's favor. Even though Black is still down a pawn, it's over. Myrddin Alpha 2 now plays the acceptable Rd1 in this position.
Myrddin doesn't have enough to stop the pawn storm. A very tactically interesting game.

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.04.30”]
[Round “4.30”]
[White “Piranha 0.5”]
[Black “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “1524”]
[BlackElo “1699”]
[TimeControl “40/1200”]
[Annotator “7. -0.24 11… +0.12”]
[Number “30”]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 h6 7. Bxf6
{-0.24/7 24} Bxf6 8. cxd5 {-0.15/6 23} exd5 9. Qb3 {-0.25/7 23} c6 10. Bd3
{-0.32/6 22} Re8 11. O-O {-0.31/6 22} b6 {+0.12/7 40} 12. a4 {-0.29/6 22}
a5 {+0.25/7 40} 13. Rfc1 {-0.16/6 21} Bg4 {+0.24/7 40} 14. Ne1 {-0.22/6 21}
Nd7 {+0.23/7 40} 15. h3 {-0.15/6 20} Be6 {+0.20/7 40} 16. f4 {-0.29/6 20}
c5 {+0.35/7 40} 17. f5 {-0.06/6 19} c4 {-0.02/7 40} 18. Qb5 {-0.06/7 19}
cxd3 {+0.07/7 40} 19. fxe6 {+0.08/6 19} fxe6 {+0.02/8 1:00} 20. Qxd3
{+0.03/6 18} Rf8 {+0.02/8 58} 21. Nf3 {+0.14/6 18} Rc8 {-0.09/8 57} 22. e4
{+0.32/6 18} dxe4 {-0.04/7 37} 23. Qxe4 {+0.19/6 17} Qe7 {-0.07/6 37}
24.Nb5 {+0.20/6 17} h5 {-0.22/6 39} 25. Rab1 {+0.26/5 17} h4 {-0.20/6 37}
26.Nc7 {+0.61/6 16} Kf7 {-0.53/6 37} 27. Rc6 {+1.07/5 20} Nb8 {-1.30/6 37}
28.Nd5 {+1.79/6 19} Nxc6 {-1.94/7 55} 29. Nxe7 {+2.50/6 19} Kxe7 {-1.94/7 35}
30. Re1 {+2.60/7 18} Nd8 {-1.94/6 35} 31. Nxh4 {+2.59/6 18} Kf7
{-2.05/6 39} 32. d5 {+3.00/7 17} Kg8 {-2.71/7 35} 33. Ng6 {+2.68/7 17} exd5
{-3.96/7 35} 34. Qxd5+ {+4.03/7 17} Nf7 {-4.01/7 35} 35. Nxf8 {+4.12/6 16}
Kxf8 {-4.01/7 52} 36. Qe6 {+4.44/7 16} Rd8 {-4.22/7 47} 37. Kh2
{+4.71/7 15} Rb8 {-4.44/7 41} 38. b3 {+4.80/6 15} Bd4 {-4.32/6 23} 39. Qe7+
{+5.01/7 15} Kg8 40. Rf1 {+5.02/7 14} Bf6 {-4.48/7 23} 41. Rxf6
{+5.17/7 35} gxf6 {-3.86/8 31} 42. Qxf6 {+5.17/9 34} Kf8 {-4.36/8 31}
43.Qc6 {+5.55/8 34} Kg7 {-4.44/8 31} 44. Qc7 {+5.43/8 33} Rd8 {-4.53/8 40}
45.Qxb6 {+5.57/9 32} Rd5 {-4.71/8 32} 46. Qe3 {+5.61/8 40} Rh5 {-4.44/6 30}
47. Qd4+ {+5.71/8 39} Re5 {-4.71/8 45} 48. h4 {+5.74/8 38} Kh7 {-4.79/8 45}
49. g4 {+5.86/8 37} Kg8 {-4.78/8 44} 50. g5 {+6.12/8 36} Re2+ {-4.88/8 31}
51. Kg3 {+6.27/8 35} Re6 {-5.76/8 41} 52. Qc4 {+6.41/8 34} Rd6 {-5.01/7 28}
53. h5 {+7.25/8 33} Kg7 {-6.60/7 28} 54. g6 {+7.67/7 32} Rf6 {-7.58/7 28}
55. gxf7 {+11.28/8 32} Kf8 {-7.81/7 32} 56. Qc8+ {+11.28/8 31} Kxf7
{-8.00/7 28} 57. Qc7+ {+9.64/7 30} Ke6 {-8.11/7 28} 58. Kg2 {+9.68/7 29}
Rf5 {-6.89/7 28} 59. Qc8+ {+9.03/8 29} Kf6 {-6.72/7 28} 60. h6
{+10.96/7 28} Rg5+ {-6.52/7 28} 61. Kf3 {+11.67/7 27} Kg6 {-6.50/7 28}
62.Kf4 {+12.11/8 26} Kh7 {-6.73/6 28} 63. Qd7+ {+11.77/8 26} Kxh6 {-6.54/7 28}
64. Qh3+ {+11.65/8 25} Rh5 {-6.51/7 28} 65. Qe6+ {+11.44/8 24} Kh7
{-6.55/6 28} 66. Qf7+ {+11.99/8 24} Kh6 {-11.78/8 28} 67. Qg8 {+12.05/8 23}
Rh2 {-11.95/8 28} 68. Qh8+ {+12.50/8 23} Kg6 69. Qxh2 {+12.68/9 22} Kf6
{-327.57/5 30} 70. Qh6+ {+99.93/9 22} Ke7 {-327.57/6 30} 71. Ke5
{+99.91/8 21} Kd7 {-327.59/5 30} 72. Qd6+ {+99.93/9 21} Kc8 {-327.59/5 30}
73. Qa6+ {+99.93/8 20} Kc7 {-327.59/5 30} 74. Qb5 {+99.95/8 20} Kd8
{-327.61/5 30} 75. Qb7 {+99.95/8 19} Ke8 76. Ke6 {+99.97/8 19} Kd8
{-327.65/8 37} 77. Qd7# {+99.99/8 18}
{Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 1-0

Piranha finished in 92nd place with 5.5 points.

Just a crap game all around, against an engine that Myrddin should have beaten.
Finally a game in which Myrddin gains quite a bit of time at the opening, as Piranha is out of book five moves before Myrddin.
After the first two dozen moves, Myrddin just hasn't accomplished much at all, and Piranha has all of the space. 24…h5 is silly.
26…Kf7 is just not the way to protect the e-pawn. 26…Nc5 would have kept Myrddin in the game. Myrddin Alpha 2 still cannot find this move in a reasonable amount of time. After the trade of queen for rook and knight, it's over, although the game takes another 50 painful moves to finish.

While working on Myrddin for the next round, I realized that I had broken my 3-fold repetition check. Nor was I able to find out why before the next round started. I realized that I unfortunately had to send in an earlier version (the one before round 2) in order to “fix” the problem. But the version I sent still had known issues. Thankfully, Olivier allows any number of engine updates during the tournament, and I took advantage of this before almost every round. But not being able to fix this in time would cost Myrddin half a point.

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.05.04”]
[Round “5.41”]
[White “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Black “Alice 0.3.5”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[WhiteElo “1699”]
[BlackElo “1501”]
[TimeControl “40/1200”]
[Annotator “4. -0.17”]
[Number “41”]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Qd6 4. e4 {-0.17/6 32} Qb4+ 5. Qd2 {+0.07/7 32}
e6 6. a3 {+0.12/8 59} Qa4 7. Nc3 {+0.42/7 32} Qa6 8. b3 {+1.06/7 32} b5
9.bxc4 {+1.02/8 32} bxc4 10. Ne5 {+1.17/7 32} Bb4 11. Bxc4 {+1.32/8 32} Bxc3
12. Qxc3 {+1.37/7 32} Qb6 13. Bd3 {+1.37/6 32} Ba6 14. Rb1 {+2.12/7 32} Qd6
15. Bxa6 {+2.22/6 32} Nxa6 16. Bf4 {+2.77/6 32} Rd8 17. Ng6 {+3.32/7 32} e5
18. Nxh8 {+3.20/7 32} exf4 19. Qc4 {+3.05/6 32} Nh6 20. O-O {+2.77/6 32} f3
21. gxf3 {+3.35/6 32} Ke7 22. Rb7 {+3.70/6 32} Qxa3 23. Rxa7 {+4.12/6 32}
Qxf3 24. Qxa6 {+3.92/6 32} Qg4+ 25. Kh1 Qf3+ 26. Kg1 Qg4+ 27. Kh1 Qf3+
28.Kg1 Qg4+ 29. Kh1 Qf3+ 30. Kg1 Qg4+ 31. Kh1 Qf3+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+ 33. Kh1 Qf3+
34. Kg1
{Xboard adjudication: repetition draw} 1/2-1/2

Alice finished in 111th place with 5.5 points.

A very painful result, as Myrddin played acceptably well up until 24.Qxa6, allowing the draw. Once I was finally able to fix the repetition checking code, Myrddin Alpha 2 avoids this move instantly, and instead chooses the correct Rc1. Sigh….
At least Myrddin still has scored 50% through the tournament. My goal was to have it place in the top 70 out of 212, and before this game Myrddin is ranked slightly below that mark. Since it was initially seeded 37th, this doesn't seem too lofty a goal, but it is now looking like it may be difficult to achieve.
Finally I was able to fix the repetition checking code, plus add pondering. It turns out the problem with the 3-fold check was that I was being inconsistent as to when I was generating the board signature for moves. During the search, I was correctly generating a signature before making the move. But when I received moves from the opponent, I was generating the signature AFTER making the move. This is a very good way for the whole process to fail.

Before the next round, I added pondering.

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.05.07”]
[Round “6.49”]
[White “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Black “Simon 1.2_ja”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “1699”]
[BlackElo “1516”]
[TimeControl “40/1200”]
[Annotator “8. +0.35 6… -0.10”]
[Number “49”]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 Nf6 {-0.10/8 39}
7. h5 Bf5 {-0.11/8 40} 8. Nxf5 {+0.35/7 55} Qa5+ {-0.11/10 51} 9. c3 Qxf5
{-0.08/9 50} 10. Be3 {+0.37/7 36} e5 {-0.09/8 49} 11. dxe5 {+0.47/6 54}
Qxe5 {-0.08/8 46} 12. Qb3 Qc7 {-0.07/8 46} 13. O-O-O {+0.74/6 42} a5
{-0.05/8 40} 14. Kb1 {+0.93/5 35} a4 {-0.01/8 42} 15. Qc2 {+0.89/7 35} Nbd7
{+0.00/8 40} 16. Bd4 {+0.89/6 35} Bd6 {-0.01/8 38} 17. h6 {+0.89/7 52} gxh6
{+0.01/8 30} 18. Rxh6 {+1.37/7 34} Be7 {-0.05/8 30} 19. Bd3 Kf8
{-0.03/7 30} 20. Bf5 {+1.78/7 34} Rg8 {-0.92/8 30} 21. Bxd7 {+2.38/6 34}
Nxd7 {-0.99/8 30} 22. Qxh7 Ne5 {-1.05/8 28} 23. Nf3 Ra5 {-2.95/7 25}
24.Nxe5 {+5.87/6 34} Rxe5 {-4.12/8 26} 25. f4 {+7.25/7 34} Qd8 {-5.12/7 24}
26. fxe5 {+10.94/6 34} Rg7 {-6.14/8 23}
{Black resigns} 1-0

Simon finished in 85th place with 6 points.

Myrddin is winning out of book, although the evals don't show it. Myrddin plays several sub-optimal moves, but never gives up its advantage, although 14.Kb1 is definitely odd (Myrddin Alpha 2 would now play the acceptable Bc4). Simon's 20…Rg8 finally gives away the game.

After this game I implemented LMR (Late Move Reductions) and got a significant speed increase.

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.05.09”]
[Round “7.32”]
[White “Aldebaran 0.7.0”]
[Black “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Result “0-1”]
[WhiteElo “1548”]
[BlackElo “1699”]
[TimeControl “40/1200”]
[Annotator “1. +0.08 7… -0.05”]
[Number “32”]

1. e4 {+0.08/9 16} c6 2. d4 {+0.09/8 9} d5 3. e5 {+0.09/8 25} Bf5 4. Nf3
{+0.10/8 18} e6 5. Bd3 {+0.18/8 12} Ne7 6. O-O {+0.26/8 8} Nd7 7. Bxf5
{+0.26/8 10} Nxf5 {-0.05/9 35} 8. g4 {+0.19/8 1:36} Nh4 {+0.06/9 36}
9.Nxh4 {+0.13/8 7} Qxh4 {+0.07/8 36} 10. Bf4 {+0.11/8 11} h5 {+0.18/9 36}
11.f3 {+0.12/8 9} hxg4 {+0.15/8 36} 12. fxg4 {+0.15/8 10} c5 {+0.15/8 36}
13.c3 {+0.15/8 13} cxd4 {+0.27/8 36} 14. cxd4 {+0.13/8 11} Rc8 {+0.27/8 36}
15. Nc3 {+0.15/8 18} Qh3 {+0.27/7 36} 16. Bg3 {+0.14/8 40} Be7 {+0.35/7 36}
17. Qe2 {+0.12/7 15} Bb4 {+0.21/7 39} 18. Nd1 {+0.09/8 1:06} Rc4
{+0.37/7 36} 19. Nf2 {+0.07/8 26} Qh6 {+0.45/8 36} 20. Rad1 {+0.04/8 32}
Nb6 {+0.39/8 36} 21. b3 {+0.10/8 19} Rc6 {+0.39/9 36} 22. Nd3 {+0.13/8 23}
Ba3 {+0.25/8 36} 23. Rf2 {+0.13/8 1:30} Qg6 {+0.26/8 36} 24. Rdf1
{+0.16/8 59} Rc3 {+0.16/8 36} 25. Nf4 {+0.98/8 9} Qe4 {-0.55/8 36} 26. Qxe4
{+0.92/9 16} dxe4 {-0.47/10 36} 27. Re2 {+0.94/8 8} e3 {-0.55/9 36} 28. Be1
{+1.01/9 32} Rc1 {-0.76/10 36} 29. Rxe3 {+1.04/9 25} Bb2 {-0.61/9 36}
30.Rd3 {+1.06/9 20} g6 {-0.84/9 38} 31. Ne2 {+1.11/8 9} Ra1 {-1.03/9 36}
32.Rd2 {+1.23/9 22} Bc1 {-1.08/9 36} 33. Nxc1 {+1.18/10 29} Rxc1 {-0.95/10 36}
34. Bg3 {+1.21/9 12} Rxf1+ {-0.95/10 36} 35. Kxf1 {+1.31/11 32} Nd5
{-0.95/11 36} 36. Kf2 {+1.26/10 34} a6 {-0.92/11 54} 37. Rc2 {+1.34/10 23}
O-O {-0.99/11 30} 38. Kf3 {+1.39/10 23} Nb4 {-0.87/10 30} 39. Rc7
{+1.43/11 1:12} Rb8 {-0.96/11 15}
{Black wins on time} 0-1

Aldebaran finished in 65th place with 6.5 points.

I was very concerned about this game; just had a bad feeling. Aldebaran ended up with the same score as Myrddin, but had a much easier time of it. So, due to tiebreakers, it placed 14 spots below Myrddin. It also did not have an opening book, so Myrddin got the advantage of seven moves and almost two minutes through the opening.
Myrddin had a small advantage after the opening, but for some reason decided to trade pawns rather than develop.
17…Bb4 is a very poor move, and Myrddin Alpha 2 will still make the same move today. Thankfully, Aldebaran failed to see that the knight sac 18.Nxd5 exd5 19.e6! wins.
Myrddin maintains a slight advantage up through 27…e3, although oddly enough both programs think that White is winning (Aldebaran gives +0.94 and Myrddin gives +0.55). I suspect most top engines would give Black about +0.30 advantage. After 27…e3 (which Myrddin Alpha 2 still plays), Aldebaran now has the slight advantage, which will get bigger as Aldebaran is up a pawn and several pieces are going to come off the board.
Then Myrddin gets its second big break of the tournament, as Aldebaran fails to make the time control while thinking about its 40th move.

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.05.12”]
[Round “8.23”]
[White “Zotron 4.4.6”]
[Black “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “D00”]
[WhiteElo “1622”]
[BlackElo “1699”]
[Annotator “2. -0.15 4… -0.05”]
[PlyCount “157”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 {-0.15/7 30} 2… d5 3. Nf3 {+0.03/7 30} 3… Bf5 4. e3
{+0.16/7 30} 4… e6 {-0.05/9 32} 5. Ne5 {+0.14/7 29} 5… Bd6 {+0.12/9 42}
6.Be2 {+0.14/6 29} 6… Bxe5 {+0.22/9 43} 7. dxe5 {+0.14/8 29} 7… Nfd7
{-0.01/9 33} 8. f4 {+0.14/7 30} 8… Nc6 {-0.05/8 33} 9. Bd2 {+0.14/7 0.1}
9…Nb4 {-0.04/8 33} 10. Rc1 {+0.14/8 30} 10… c6 {-0.07/8 39} 11. a3 {+0.14/7 31}
11… Bxc2 {+0.03/8 33} 12. Rxc2 {+1.04/7 2.4} 12… Nxc2+ {-0.02/8 37}
13.Qxc2 {+1.04/8 9} 13… g5 {+0.08/8 32} 14. Na2 {+1.04/8 1:12} 14… gxf4
{+0.24/9 32} 15. exf4 {+1.04/8 0.1} 15… d4 {+0.21/8 34} 16. Bd3 {+1.04/8 1:06}
16… Rg8 {+0.34/8 32} 17. g3 {+1.04/7 32} 17… h6 {+0.32/9 32} 18. Be2
{+1.04/7 11} 18… Nb6 {+0.19/8 49} 19. Qh7 {+2.04/8 17} 19… Rg6 {+0.11/8 32}
20. O-O {+2.04/8 1:24} 20… Qd5 {-0.85/7 47} 21. Nc1 {+2.06/7 48} 21… O-O-O
{-1.05/8 43} 22. Qxf7 {+2.06/7 9} 22… Rdg8 {-0.99/7 30} 23. Bd3 {+2.64/8 18}
23… R6g7 {-0.88/7 30} 24. Qf6 {+2.39/9 1:02} 24… Nc4 {-1.61/8 30} 25. Bxc4
{+2.64/8 46} 25… Qxc4 {-1.76/10 31} 26. f5 {+2.64/8 10} 26… exf5
{-1.76/7 30} 27. Qxf5+ {+2.64/8 50} 27… Rd7 {-1.79/8 30} 28. Bxh6 {+2.64/7 31}
28… d3 {-1.87/7 45} 29. Rd1 {+3.63/7 45} 29… Qc5+ {-1.88/7 29} 30. Kf1
{+3.64/7 2.2} 30… Qd5 {-3.16/8 50} 31. Nxd3 {+3.64/7 9} 31… Kb8 {-3.16/7 26}
32. Nf2 {+3.64/8 38} 32… Qb5+ {-3.10/8 26} 33. Ke1 {+3.64/8 1:20} 33… Re7
{-3.20/8 39} 34. Nd3 {+3.64/7 40} 34… Qd5 {-3.16/8 24} 35. Qf2 {+3.64/6 24}
35… Rh7 {-3.18/7 24} 36. Be3 {+3.64/7 9} 36… Qh1+ {-3.17/8 24} 37. Ke2
{+3.64/8 4} 37… Qxh2 {-3.29/9 25} 38. Bxa7+ {+3.64/8 10} 38… Kc8
{-3.27/8 23} 39. Rg1 {+3.64/9 1:12} 39… b5 {-3.25/7 12} 40. Bc5 {+3.64/8 13}
40… Rd8 {-3.29/5 0.5} 41. Qxh2 {+3.64/8 11} 41… Rxh2+ {-3.36/10 31} 42. Nf2
{+3.64/9 0.2} 42… Rd5 {-3.22/10 47} 43. Bd6 {+3.64/10 12} 43… Rd4
{-3.27/11 40} 44. b3 {+3.64/10 1:33} 44… Kd8 {-3.36/9 30} 45. Rc1
{+4.24/10 22} 45… Kd7 {-4.20/10 34} 46. Ke3 {+4.24/10 43} 46… Rxd6 {-4.22/11 32}
47.exd6 {+4.24/10 10} 47… Kxd6 {-4.24/11 30} 48. Ne4+ {+4.24/10 23} 48… Kc7
{-4.13/11 34} 49. Kd4 {+4.24/11 1:03} 49… Rg2 {-3.98/10 30} 50. a4
{+4.24/11 19} 50… bxa4 {-4.16/11 30} 51. bxa4 {+4.24/11 41} 51… Rb2
{-4.18/11 30} 52. Nc3 {+4.24/10 30} 52… Rg2 {-4.07/10 39} 53. Ne4
{+4.24/10 12} 53… Rb2 {+0.00/10 30} 54. Ke5 {+4.24/11 56} 54… Re2 {-4.18/10 30} 55. Rf1
{+4.24/10 31} 55… Ra2 {-4.13/10 30} 56. Nc5 {+4.24/10 29} 56… Kb6
{-4.08/9 30} 57. Rc1 {+4.24/10 4} 57… Re2+ {-4.02/9 30} 58. Kf4 {+4.24/11 50}
58… Rf2+ {-4.24/10 45} 59. Kg4 {+4.24/10 51} 59… Ka5 {-4.10/9 29} 60. Ne4
{+4.75/10 26} 60… Rf7 {-4.24/10 39} 61. Rxc6 {+4.76/11 41} 61… Kxa4
{-4.32/10 29} 62. Rc8 {+4.76/10 0.1} 62… Kb4 {-4.29/9 28} 63. Kg5 {+4.76/11 6}
63… Ka5 {-4.40/10 42} 64. g4 {+4.76/11 1:34} 64… Kb6 {-4.47/10 28} 65. Nc5
{+4.76/12 19} 65… Rc7 {-4.47/10 41} 66. Rxc7 {+13.75/13 14} 66… Kxc7
{-5.27/14 27} 67. Kf5 {+13.76/16 0.1} 67… Kd6 {-8.70/13 31} 68. Ne4+
{+13.76/15 2.2} 68… Ke7 {-5.31/13 1:03} 69. g5 {+14.01/15 1.6} 69… Kf7
{-5.35/11 23} 70. g6+ {+100.00/14 1.8} 70… Ke7 {-11.76/9 23} 71. Ke5
{+100.00/8 0.1} 71… Kf8 {-5.31/10 23} 72. Kf6 {+100.00/8 0.1} 72… Ke8
{-12.74/9 23} 73. g7 {+100.00/8 0.1} 73… Kd7 {-327.55/8 23} 74. g8=Q
{+100.00/4 0.1} 74… Kc7 {-327.57/6 23} 75. Qc4+ {+100.00/3 0.1} 75… Kb7
{-327.59/6 23} 76. Nd6+ {+100.00/2 0.1} 76… Kb6 {-327.61/6 23} 77. Qb4+
{+100.00/4 0.1} 77… Kc6 {-327.61/6 23} 78. Ne4 {+100.00/2 0.1} 78… Kd5
{-327.59/6 23} 79. Qa4 {+100.00/2 0.1 Xboard adjudication: Stalemate} 1/2-1/2

Zotron finished in 76th place with 6 points.

Myrddin, for the second time in the tournament, makes a losing trade of two pieces for rook and pawn with 11…Bxc2. I would assume that this can be solved by slightly increasing the value of bishops and knights, but Alpha 2 still has an even 3 points for these pieces. But it's really 15…d4 that is a killer. Myrddin Alpha 2 would now play the somewhat reasonable 15…Qh4+ in this position. Apparently getting the passed pawn into enemy territory was judged as valuable, but definitely not for the eventual loss of two pawns. Things get progressively uglier from here. By move 50, Zotron is up a piece and a pawn, and about 15 moves later, Myrddin has a lone king. Game over, right?
Well, apparently not, as Zotron must have had some code that said “if I make a move and my opponent has no legal responses, that's good!” However, Zotron's author seemed to have forgotten about the stalemate rule, and Myrddin steals yet another half-point. All-in-all, Myrddin's score was improved by 2.5 points due to very bad behavior by its opponents, as compared to giving only a half-point away to its own silliness in Round 5. I'll take it, I guess….

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.05.15”]
[Round “9.26”]
[White “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Black “Protej 0.5.5”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “B63”]
[WhiteElo “1699”]
[BlackElo “1601”]
[Annotator “11. +0.58 10… -0.10”]
[PlyCount “117”]

1. e4 c5 {-0.01/1 0.1} 2. Nf3 d6 {-0.01/1 0.1} 3. d4 cxd4 {+0.00/1 0.1} 4. Nxd4
Nf6 {+0.00/1 0.1} 5. Nc3 Nc6 {-0.09/1 0.1} 6. Bg5 e6 {+0.02/1 0.1} 7. Qd2 Be7
{-0.05/1 0.1} 8. O-O-O Nxd4 {-0.05/1 0.1} 9. Qxd4 a6 {-0.01/1 0.1} 10. h4 O-O
{-0.10/13 27} 11. e5 {+0.58/8 44} 11… dxe5 {-0.06/13 21} 12. Qxe5 {+0.29/9 40}
12… Nd7 {-0.03/13 26} 13. Qg3 {+0.52/9 54} 13… b5 {+0.08/12 30} 14. a4
{+0.58/8 59} 14… b4 {+0.93/12 27} 15. Ne4 {+0.63/9 39} 15… a5 {+0.75/11 22}
16. Bb5 {+0.79/8 58} 16… Re8 {+0.40/11 20} 17. Nd6 {+1.65/8 38} 17… Bxd6
{-0.15/12 18} 18. Qxd6 {+1.72/10 1:48} 18… f6 {-0.06/13 24} 19. Be3
{+1.74/9 35} 19… b3 {-1.27/12 15} 20. Bxd7 {+3.02/8 35} 20… Qxd7
{+406651.29/13 34} 21. Qxd7 {+3.06/9 35} 21… Bxd7 {-1.64/14 18} 22. Rxd7
{+2.82/10 34} 22… Rac8 {-3.22/13 22} 23. c3 {+3.13/10 35} 23… Rc4
{-3.05/13 26} 24. Rd4 {+2.84/9 34} 24… Rec8 {-2.52/14 19} 25. Rhd1
{+2.67/9 34} 25… e5 {-2.62/14 21} 26. Rxc4 {+2.76/9 34} 26… Rxc4 {-2.62/14 29}
27.Rd8+ {+2.63/9 34} 27… Kf7 {-2.62/1 0.1} 28. Rd7+ {+2.76/9 34} 28… Kg8
{-2.50/13 28} 29. Rb7 {+2.54/9 34} 29… Rxa4 {-2.44/13 17} 30. Rb8+
{+2.62/9 35} 30… Kf7 {-2.44/1 0.1} 31. Rxb3 {+2.62/10 34} 31… Rxh4 {-2.49/12 14}
32.g3 {+2.63/9 34} 32… Rh1+ {-2.39/11 11} 33. Kc2 {+2.78/10 34} 33… Ra1
{-2.49/12 19} 34. Rb7+ {+2.85/10 34} 34… Kg6 {-2.83/11 11} 35. c4
{+3.00/10 34} 35… h5 {-2.88/13 16} 36. c5 {+3.32/10 34} 36… Kf5 {-3.62/13 16} 37. Rxg7
{+4.17/10 34} 37… Ra4 {-4.02/13 17} 38. Rh7 {+4.68/10 34} 38… Kg4
{-3.92/11 15} 39. Kc3 {+4.93/10 34} 39… Rb4 {-4.09/11 14} 40. c6 {+4.98/10 17}
40… Rb8 {-4.19/10 7} 41. c7 {+5.06/9 30} 41… Rc8 {-4.64/11 26} 42. Bb6
{+5.65/10 30} 42… a4 {-6.04/11 53} 43. Rd7 {+6.80/12 30} 43… Kf3
{-6.99/11 36} 44. Rd8 {+7.84/14 30} 44… Rxc7+ {-8.09/13 25} 45. Bxc7
{+7.84/13 30} 45… Kxf2 {-8.12/13 37} 46. Rf8 {+7.84/13 30} 46… Kxg3
{-8.44/13 36} 47. Rxf6 {+7.92/12 30} 47… Kg2 {-8.44/12 33} 48. Bxe5
{+8.49/10 30} 48… h4 {-8.97/13 49} 49. Rf4 {+9.07/12 30} 49… h3
{-8.97/12 33} 50. Rxa4 {+9.42/12 30} 50… Kf3 {-9.37/12 30} 51. Kd2 {+10.09/10 30}
51…Kf2 {-9.60/12 23} 52. Rh4 {+10.44/9 30} 52… Kf3 {-10.15/12 39} 53. b4
{+10.04/8 30} 53… h2 {-10.65/12 21} 54. Bxh2 {+327.56/6 3} 54… Kf2
{-18.62/14 26} 55. Rf4+ {+327.58/10 1.9} 55… Kg2 {-18.62/1 0.1} 56. Ke2
{+327.60/4 0.3} 56… Kxh2 {-327.61/15 25} 57. Kf2 {+327.62/11 17} 57… Kh3
{-327.63/16 37} 58. b5 {+327.64/11 0.5} 58… Kh2 {-327.63/1 0.1} 59. Rh4#
{+327.66/4 0.3 Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 1-0

Protej finished in 57th place with 6.5 points.

Both engines are in book until Protej's 10…0-0. Myrddin has a reasonable advantage out of the opening. Then Protej starts to get too agressive with its pawns in moves 13-15, and Myrddin gets a big advantage. Too bad it couldn't spot the long forced sequence leading from 17.Bh6 g6 18.Nd6 Bxd6 19.Qxd6 b3 20.Bxd7 bxc2 21.Rd2 Bxd7 22.Qxd7 Qxd7 23.Rxd7. But Nd6 is still a perfectly good move.
After that, it's all Myrddin, finishing with a nice spotting of a Mate in 6 in three seconds.

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.05.19”]
[Round “10.14”]
[White “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Black “SnailChess 4.013”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “C45”]
[WhiteElo “1699”]
[BlackElo “1766”]
[Annotator “9. +0.25”]
[PlyCount “75”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 Nf6
8.f4 d5 9. exd5 {+0.25/9 56} 9… Nxd5 10. Bb5 {+0.35/8 37} 10… O-O 11. Bxc6
{+0.34/8 37} 11… bxc6 12. O-O {+0.17/8 55} 12… Bf5 13. Re1 {+0.30/9 36}
13… Nxc3 14. Bxc3 {+0.30/9 36} 14… Qxd1 15. Raxd1 {+0.27/11 36} 15… Bxc2
16. Rc1 {-0.20/11 36} 16… Bxb3 17. Rxe7 {-0.26/11 36} 17… Bxa2 18. Rxc7
{-0.28/10 36} 18… Bd5 19. Re1 {-0.33/9 54} 19… a6 20. Rce7 {-0.32/9 35}
20… f6 21. Bb4 {-0.40/8 35} 21… Rab8 22. Bc3 {-0.60/9 53} 22… Rf7 23. f5
{-0.56/10 49} 23… Rxe7 24. Rxe7 {-0.66/10 33} 24… c5 25. g4 {-0.64/9 33}
25… Rb7 26. Re8+ {-0.71/11 33} 26… Kf7 27. Rh8 {-0.71/11 39} 27… h6
28.Rc8 {-0.61/10 37} 28… c4 29. Rd8 {-0.63/10 33} 29… Be4 30. Rd6 {-0.60/9 33}
30… h5 31. gxh5 {-0.15/10 33} 31… Bxf5 32. h6 {-0.15/10 33} 32… Kg8
33.Rxa6 {-0.05/9 33} 33… Be4 34. Re6 {-0.01/9 33} 34… Bd5 35. Rd6
{-0.06/10 33} 35… Be4 36. Re6 {+0.00/10 33} 36… Bd5 37. Rd6 {-0.06/10 33} 37… Be4
38.Re6 {+0.00/10 33 SnailCu draws, 3 Repetition} 1/2-1/2

SnailChess finished in 46th place with 6.5 points.

Myrddin's first stronger opponent (in terms of rating) since the third round, although SnailChess would also finish with 6.5 points, and only a few places ahead of Myrddin.
Unfortunately SnailChess does not output any PVs, so it's hard to know when it came out of book.
SnailChess wins a pawn in exchange for Myrddin's better development and board control, and the half-pawn advantage remains until SnailChess plays 30…h5. This gives Myrddin a hole to poke at, and it admirably does so, winning back the pawn. Shortly thereafter, a reasonable 3-fold draw occurs, although Myrddin might have had a slight advantage, the game was definitely drawish.

I finally was able to successfully add hash tables before the final round. I would imagine that this feature would have improved Myrddin far more than pondering, but, to be honest, I was scared of it. I just couldn't be sure that I would have enough testing time to get it done, and I definitely didn't want to rush it. I had actually started the work around the 8th-round game, about one week before I finished it. I was hoping that it wasn't going to cost me a half-point or worse. In the end, it's difficult to tell, but I think it didn't help or hurt.

[Event “ChessWar XIV Promotion 40m/20'”]
[Site “DELL-E6600”]
[Date “2009.05.22”]
[Round “11.20”]
[White “GNUChess 3.1r2_ja”]
[Black “Myrddin 0.80b”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “B30”]
[WhiteElo “1699”]
[BlackElo “1699”]
[Annotator “3. +0.49 5… -0.36”]
[PlyCount “167”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 {+0.49/10 56} 3… Nc6 4. Bb5 {+0.38/10 48} 4… Nge7
5. d3 {+0.49/9 38} 5… d5 {-0.36/9 33} 6. exd5 {+0.53/9 44} 6… exd5
{-0.38/10 34} 7. O-O {+0.82/9 37} 7… a6 {-0.35/10 34} 8. Bxc6+ {+0.71/9 36}
8… Nxc6 {-0.29/10 34} 9. Re1+ {+0.58/9 29} 9… Be7 {-0.33/9 34} 10. d4
{+0.63/9 34} 10… c4 {-0.44/9 49} 11. Ne5 {+0.68/9 35} 11… Nxe5 {-0.28/9 34}
12. Rxe5 {+0.40/9 32} 12… Be6 {-0.48/8 51} 13. Qh5 {+0.43/9 32} 13… O-O
{+0.05/8 33} 14. Nxd5 {+0.56/9 33} 14… Bd6 {-1.24/7 33} 15. Bg5 {+0.86/9 29}
15… f6 {-1.49/8 39} 16. Rxe6 {+0.71/9 31} 16… Bxh2+ {-1.00/8 39} 17. Qxh2
{+0.93/10 24} 17… Qxd5 {-0.89/8 33} 18. Re7 {+0.82/10 36} 18… fxg5
{-0.78/7 33} 19. Qe5 {+0.84/10 29} 19… Qxe5 {-0.80/10 49} 20. dxe5
{+0.67/11 34} 20… Rfe8 {-0.59/9 32} 21. Rxb7 {+0.51/11 49} 21… Rxe5
{-0.51/9 32} 22. Rc7 {+0.68/11 29} 22… Rb8 {-0.48/9 38} 23. b3 {+0.80/10 19}
23… Re2 {-0.52/9 31} 24. Rxc4 {+0.81/10 22} 24… Rd8 {-0.15/10 31} 25. c3
{+0.63/11 33} 25… Rdd2 {-0.21/11 31} 26. Rc8+ {+0.35/12 24} 26… Kf7
{-0.08/10 31} 27. a4 {+0.44/11 22} 27… Rxf2 {-0.26/10 44} 28. Rf1
{+0.49/12 23} 28… Rxf1+ {-0.36/10 30} 29. Kxf1 {+0.53/13 43} 29… Rb2 {-0.39/10 45}
30.b4 {+0.58/12 19} 30… Rb1+ {-0.56/10 37} 31. Kf2 {+0.68/12 17} 31… Rb2+
{-0.63/10 42} 32. Kg3 {+0.65/12 18} 32… Ke7 {-0.71/10 26} 33. Rc7+
{+0.90/12 22} 33… Kf8 {-0.91/12 26} 34. Rc6 {+0.89/12 18} 34… Rc2
{-1.14/11 27} 35. c4 {+0.80/12 34} 35… Rc3+ {-0.94/9 39} 36. Kg4 {+1.18/12 14}
36… h6 {-0.96/10 34} 37. b5 {+1.59/12 15} 37… axb5 {-1.07/10 28} 38. axb5
{+1.28/13 22} 38… Rc2 {-1.30/10 14} 39. g3 {+1.78/13 20} 39… Rb2
{-1.45/10 7} 40. Kf5 {+1.98/12 11} 40… Rb3 {-0.96/5 0.2} 41. b6 {+2.51/13 1:07}
41…Ke7 {-1.28/10 33} 42. c5 {+2.91/13 51} 42… Kd7 {-2.20/10 43} 43. Rc7+
{+3.25/13 37} 43… Kd8 {-2.65/11 31} 44. Kg6 {+3.72/13 36} 44… Rc3
{-2.62/11 42} 45. c6 {+4.97/13 39} 45… h5 {-3.50/10 30} 46. Rd7+ {+9.14/13 53}
46… Ke8 {-3.75/11 30} 47. Rd6 {+9.82/13 27} 47… Ke7 {-4.92/9 30} 48. b7
{+11.07/13 41} 48… Kxd6 {-7.91/10 1:25} 49. b8=Q+ {+12.46/13 31} 49… Kd5
{-8.05/9 43} 50. c7 {+13.44/12 43} 50… h4 {-7.95/9 28} 51. gxh4 {+14.23/10 31}
51… gxh4 {-8.05/9 31} 52. c8=Q {+15.36/12 24} 52… Rxc8 {-9.03/13 34}
53.Qxc8 {+15.40/13 28} 53… Kd4 {-9.24/14 28} 54. Qd7+ {+15.62/12 23} 54… Kc4
{-9.22/13 28} 55. Qg4+ {+15.68/13 27} 55… Kd3 {-9.58/15 28} 56. Qxh4
{+15.80/13 27} 56… Kc3 {-9.54/15 28} 57. Qf4 {+15.81/13 25} 57… Kd3
{-9.70/13 28} 58. Kxg7 {+15.96/13 25} 58… Kc3 {-327.49/12 28} 59. Kf6
{+99.71/13 4} 59… Kd3 {-327.51/12 28} 60. Ke5 {+99.73/8 0.1} 60… Kc3
{-327.55/13 28} 61. Qa4 {+99.73/6 0.1} 61… Kd3 {-327.55/12 28} 62. Qd4+
{+99.74/2 0.1} 62… Kc2 {-327.57/14 28} 63. Qe3 {+99.72/5 0.1} 63… Kb2
{-327.55/12 28} 64. Qd3 {+99.75/3 0.1} 64… Ka2 {-327.57/16 28} 65. Ke6
{+99.76/3 0.1} 65… Ka1 {-327.57/15 28} 66. Qc3+ {+99.79/2 0.1} 66… Kb1
{-327.57/16 28} 67. Ke5 {+99.80/3 0.1} 67… Ka2 {-327.59/23 28} 68. Qb4
{+99.73/3 0.1} 68… Ka1 {-327.61/22 28} 69. Qa3+ {+99.79/2 0.1} 69… Kb1
{-327.59/17 28} 70. Ke4 {+99.81/3 0.1} 70… Kc2 {-327.59/16 28} 71. Qb4
{+99.82/3 0.1} 71… Kd1 {-327.61/18 28} 72. Qb2 {+99.85/3 0.1} 72… Ke1
{-327.63/22 28} 73. Qa1+ {+99.82/2 0.1} 73… Kd2 {-327.55/13 28} 74. Qb1
{+99.75/5 0.1} 74… Kc3 {-327.55/13 28} 75. Qb5 {+99.75/3 0.1} 75… Kc2
{-327.59/14 28} 76. Qa4+ {+99.74/4 0.1} 76… Kd2 {-327.55/12 28} 77. Qc4
{+99.76/3 0.1} 77… Ke1 {-327.61/20 28} 78. Qc1+ {+99.77/2 0.1} 78… Kf2
{-327.57/13 28} 79. Qg5 {+99.78/5 0.1} 79… Ke2 {-327.61/12 14} 80. Qg7
{+99.79/3 0.1} 80… Kd2 {-327.59/6 0.5} 81. Qc7 {+99.78/7 0.1} 81… Ke2
{-327.61/15 31} 82. Qh2+ {+99.79/2 0.1} 82… Kf1 {-327.63/16 31} 83. Ke3
{+99.85/3 0.1} 83… Ke1 {-327.65/22 31} 84. Qe2#
{+99.98/1 0.1 Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 1-0

GnuChess finished in 21st place with 7.5 points.

The version that played the final round of the tournament is pretty much Myrddin Alpha 2. But this was just an all around embarrassing performance for both sides. GnuChess is out of book on its third move and uses a full minute to decide on 3.Nc3. Myrddin gains 2.5 minutes due to its book.
Myrddin makes somewhat reasonable moves, but then GnuChess finds 13.Qh5 and it doesn't get much better from there. Admittedly, things start to get closer to even after 20.dxe5, but Myrddin fails to find the appropriate 21…Rf7, and it gets worse again. If it had been able to get one ply deeper in the search, it would have found 21…Rf7.
But, once again, Myrddin gets a slight chance with 25.c5. But it fails to materialize, and GnuChess is able to trade rooks, making the one pawn advantage much more significant. After 38.axb5, GnuChess has connected passed pawns, and it's over. Or is it? At 58.Kxg7, it's KQvK. Easy, right? Push the enemy king to the edge of the board and bring your king closer, right?
Apparently not. I was watching this game live and my hopes started to rise as I saw GnuChess give check after check for more than 20 moves. I thought for sure that it would fail to find mate, and Myrddin would steal yet another half-point. There were several times with GnuChess had mate in 3 or even mate in 2, but failed to improve and slipped back to mates in 4 or more. But finally, after getting halfway to the 50-move rule in what was initially a mate in 8, GnuChess agonizingly delivers mate. Not that Myrddin deserved the half-point, of course.

In the end, here was Myrddin's performance.

Pl.   Name         Elo   Fed   Rd01  Rd02 Rd03 Rd04 Rd05  Rd06 Rd07 Rd08 Rd09 Rd10 Rd11 Pts Sol. Cum. Per.
51   MYRDDIN 0.80b 1699  USA   +170W +45B -1W  -92B =111W +85W +65B =76B +57W =46W -21B 6.5 70   41.5 1655

Placing 51st in its first tournament and getting a performance rating above 1600 were acceptable results. Yes, much of those points came from opponent's blunders. But I guess that's why those other engines were ranked (and placed) lower.

All in all, it was a great deal of fun. In next year's tournament, I hope that Myrddin is good enough to advance to the higher bracket. To do so this year, it would have needed to score at least 7.5 points. I feel that there is a good chance.