[CCC] Classical Cup #1

Edit: The event has concluded, with Stockfish beating Dragon in the Loser's bracket, followed by back-to-back wins against Leela to reset the bracket and then win the event outright.

CCC is bringing back the classic format, as an additional event following the usual CCC Bullet/Blitz/Rapid tournament system. The top 8 seeds from the most recent CCC21 Rapid Event will compete in a double-elimination bracket, playing a set of ten 30+5 Classical games. In the event of ties, game-pairs will continue to be played until one engine wins a pair. More information on that below.

The top 6 seeds come from the CCC21 Rapid: Main event, with Stockfish, Torch, Lc0, Berserk, Dragon, and Ethereal finishing in the top 6. Those seeds are further reordered to Stockfish, Leela, Torch, Dragon, Berserk, and Ethereal, based on the results of the Semifinals, Challenger Match, and the Finals where Stockfish once again reigned supreme. The final two seeds are Rubi and RofChade, who took the #7 and #8 places in the main event.

The openings for this event will be selected from Stefan Pohl’s UHO 2022 book. Stefan Pohl is the creator of the highly respected SPCC rating list. For newer watchers, opening books are used to ensure that engines do not draw every game. If allowed to play from the starting position, draws would be ubiquitous. In order to remedy this, unbalanced openings are chosen, where one side (typically White) has an advantage. In order to maintain fairness, the engines will play a game-pair. In one game they will play the advantaged side, hoping for a win. In the next game they will play the disadvantaged side, hoping to maintain a draw.

Due to some technical details, this event will be run as a series of 10-game matches. If one player scores 5.5 before the conclusion of the match, the remaining games will continue to be played. If after 10-games, the players are still tied, additional game-pairs will be played until a decisive one is had. Every 4th pair thereafter will reduce the time controls. The progression will be 30+5 (Classical), 10+3 (Rapid), 3+2 (Blitz), and finally 1+1 (Bullet). 

Below is a list of pairings, for each match, providing a link to the games, as well as the score of them. This will be updated over time. Refer to the bracket above to understand the order of the events. Matches may be played out of order, to allow for engine authors and teams sufficient time to provide updates if desired.

First Round Pairings:

• 1. Stockfish vs RofChade (7.0-3.0)
• 2. Berserk vs Dragon (4.0-6.0)
• 3. Torch vs Ethereal (6.5-3.5)
• 4. Rubi vs Leela (6.5-3.5)

First Round Pairings (Losers):

• 5. RofChade vs Berserk (3.5-6.5)
• 6. Ethereal vs Rubi (5.5-4.5)

Second Round Pairings:

• 7. Stockfish vs Dragon (6.0-4.0)
• 8. Torch vs Leela (4.0-6.0)

Second Round Pairings (Losers):

• 9. Torch vs Berserk (5.5-4.5)
• 10. Dragon vs Ethereal (5.5-4.5)

Third Round Pairings:

• 11. Stockfish vs Leela (4.0-6.0)

Third Round Pairings (Losers):

• 12. Torch vs Dragon (4.5-5.5)

Fourth Round Pairings (Losers):

• 13. Stockfish vs Dragon (6.0-4.0)

Final Round Pairings:

• 14. Leela vs Stockfish (4.0-6.0)

Final Round Pairings ( Bracket Reset ):

• 15. Leela vs Stockfish (4.5-5.5)