[CCC] Classical Cup #3

As with the previous iteration of the CCC Classical Cup, the top-8 engines from the CCC23 Rapid tournament will be competing in a double-elimaination bracket, playing 16-gamae matches in the 30+5 classical format.

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This event will be run as a series of 16-game matches (due to technical limitations). If one player scores 8.5 points before the conclusion of the match, the remaining games may continue to be played. If the engines are still tied after the 16 games, additional 16-game matches will be played at gradually reduced time controls. Those time controls will be 10+3 (Rapid), 3+2 (Blitz), and finally 1+1 (Bullet). The Bullet event will repeat until a winner is determined.

The top-6 seeds come directly from the CCC23 Rapid: Semifinals Event. Those engines are: Stockfish, Leela, Torch, Berserk, Dragon, and Rubi. The remaining two engines are seeded from their placement in the CCC23 Rapid: Main Event. Those engines are Obsidian and Caissa.

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.

Below is a list of the pairings and match numbers for each round. This will be updated as the event runs, providing a link to the games, and a recap of the score. The bracket at the start of this post will also be updated frequently during the event. Matches may, at the discretion of the Tournament Director, be played out-of-order as needed to allow engine authors and teams sufficient time to provide updates if desired.

First Round Pairings:

• 1. Stockfish vs Caissa (10.5-5.5)
• 2. Dragon vs Berserk (8.5-7.5)
• 3. Torch vs Rubi (10.0-6.0)
• 4. Obsidian vs Leela (5.0-11.0)

First Round Losers Pairings:

• 5. Caissa vs Berserk (7.5-8.5)
• 6. Rubi vs Obsidian (6.5-9.5)

Second Round Pairings:

• 7. Stockfish vs Dragon (10.5-5.5)
• 8. Torch vs Leela (16.5-15.5), after Rapid Tiebreaks

Second Round Losers Pairings:

• 9. Leela vs Berserk (9.0-7.0)
• 10. Dragon vs Obsidian (9.5-6.5)

Third Round All Pairings:

• 11. Stockfish vs Torch (10.0-6.0)
• 12. Leela vs Dragon (9.5-6.5)

Remaining Pairings:

• 13. Torch vs Leela (15.0-17.0) after Rapid Tiebreaks
• 14. Stockfish vs Leela (8.5-7.5)