Difference between revisions of "TCEC Leagues Season Rules"

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===1. Season===
 
===1. Season===
 
# The Top Chess Engine Championship (TCEC) Season is the premier championship for chess software.  
 
# The Top Chess Engine Championship (TCEC) Season is the premier championship for chess software.  
# TCEC Season is a tournament, between engines with ELO 3000+, and it is divided into 6 Events, consisting of five Leagues, the Premier Division and the Superfinal.
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# TCEC Leagues Season is a tournament, between engines with ELO 3000+, the main event of a TCEC Season, which further comprises the TCEC Cup, TCEC Swiss and TCEC FRC tournaments.
# Each of the Leagues, the Premier Division and the Superfinal, is hereafter called: an Event.
+
# A TCEC Leagues Season is divided into 5 Events, consisting of two Leagues, the Premier Division, the Premier Division Playoff, and the Superfinal.
# TCEC Season runs 24/7 until all its games have been played. One game is played at a time - the next one starts automatically.
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# Each of the Leagues, the Premier Division, the Premier Dvision Playoff, and the Superfinal, is hereafter called: an Event.
 
# As soon as an Event starts, it will run 24/7 until all its games have been played. One game is played at a time - the next one starts automatically.  
 
# As soon as an Event starts, it will run 24/7 until all its games have been played. One game is played at a time - the next one starts automatically.  
# There will be a short break between the Events, to test and make sure everything is ok with the TCEC game server and to prepare for the next Event.
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# There will be a short break between the Events, used for updates and testing, and for making sure everything is ok with the TCEC game server as well so as to prepare for the next Event.
# Updating engines will only be allowed for promoting engines between the Events of Leagues 3 and 2, as well as between League 1 and Premier Division, and for Superfinal.
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# Updating engines will only be allowed for promoting engines between Events, never during Events.
 
# For all TCEC Events, engines will be invited by the organizers, and can be required to respond to the [[TCEC Questionnaire]].
 
# For all TCEC Events, engines will be invited by the organizers, and can be required to respond to the [[TCEC Questionnaire]].
  
===2. Qualification League===
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===2. League 2===
# The Qualification League is the first Event of TCEC Season.
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# The League 2 or L2 is the first Event of TCEC Leagues Season.
# For the Qualification League Event, engines will be invited by the organizers.
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# For the League 2 Event, engines will be invited by the organizers before the start of QL.
# The Qualification League or QL consists of engines recently submitted by their authors, all of which are under active development.  
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# League 2 consists of 12 engines including the promotions from QL.
# It is a 1x double round robin at TC 30+5 with each game beginning from the regular chess starting position (bookless).
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# Seeding of the playing engines in L2 will be decided by the organizers per result of the last TCEC Swiss Event or by the organizers' choice.
# The top 8 engines promote to League 4.
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# It is a 2x double round robin at TC 30'+3" with a sequential varied depth medium bias opening book.
 +
# Engine order in cutechess at the start will be randomized.
 +
# The bottom 4 engines relegate and the top 4 promote to League 1.
  
===3. League 4===
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===3. League 1===
# The League 4 is the second Event of TCEC Season.
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# The League 1 or L1 is the second Event of TCEC Leagues Season.
# For the League 4 Event, engines will be invited by the organizers.
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# For the League 1 Event, engines will be invited by the organizers before the start of QL.
# League 4 or L4 consists of 12 engines including the promotions from QL.  
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# League 1 consists of 12 engines including the promotions from L2.
# It is a 1x double round robin at TC 30+5 with a randomized 2-move opening book by Nelson Hernandez (Book A).  
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# Seeding of the playing engines in L1 will be decided by the organizers per result of the last TCEC Swiss Event or by the organizers' choice.
# The bottom 4 engines relegate and the top 4 promote to League 3.
+
# It is a 2x double round robin at TC 30'+3" with a sequential varied depth high bias opening book.
 +
# Engine order in cutechess at the start will be randomized.
 +
# The bottom 4 engines relegate and the top 2 promote to Premier Division.
  
===4. League 3===
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===4. Premier Division===
# The League 3 is the third Event of TCEC Season.
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# The Premier Division or DivP is the third Event of TCEC Leagues Season.
# For the League 3 Event, engines will be invited by the organizers.
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# For the Premier League Event, engines will be invited by the organizers before the start of QL.
# League 3 or L3 consists of 12 engines including the promotions from L4.  
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# Premier Division consists of 8 engines including the promotions from L1.
# It is a 1x double round robin at TC 30+5 with a randomized 4-move opening book by Nelson Hernandez (Book B).  
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# Seeding of the playing engines in DivP will be decided by the organizers per result of the last Premier Division Event or by the organizers' choice.
# The bottom 4 engines relegate and the top 4 promote to League 2.
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# It is a 4x double round robin at TC 60'+6" with a high bias opening book.
 +
# Engine order in cutechess at the start will be randomized.
 +
# The top 4 engines promote to the Premier Division Playoff and the bottom 2 engines are relegated to League 1.
  
===5. League 2===
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===5. Premier Division Playoff===
# The League 2 is the fourth Event of TCEC Season.
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# The Premier Division Playoff is the fourth Event of TCEC Leagues Season.
# For the League 2 Event, engines will be invited by the organizers.
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# Adding to the Premier League Event, the top 4 finishing engines of DivP will be promoted into the DivP Playoff.
# League 2 or L2 consists of 12 engines including the promotions from L3.  
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# No updating is allowed between DivP and DivP Playoff.
# It is a 1x double round robin at TC 30+5 with a sequential varied depth opening book by Eduardo Sauceda (Book C).  
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# The Premier Division Playoff consists of 4 engines.
# The bottom 4 engines relegate and the top 2 promote to League 1.
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# It is a 4x double round robin at TC 60'+6" with a high bias opening book.
 +
# Engine order in cutechess at the start will be randomized.
 +
# For the final standings of the DivP Playoff all the games of DivP and DivP Playoff are counted together as if it was one 8x double round robin.
 +
# The top 2 engines promote to the Superfinal.
  
===6. League 1===
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===6. Superfinal===
# The League 1 is the fifth Event of TCEC Season.
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# The Superfinal is the fifth and final Event of TCEC Leagues Season and consists of a 100 games head to head contest between the winner and 2nd place of the Premier Division.
# For the League 1 Event, engines will be invited by the organizers.
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# The Superfinal consists of a 2 engine 50DRR, 100 games at TC 120'+12", with a very high bias sequential varied depth opening book.
# League 1 or L1 consists of 8 engines including the 2 promotions from L2.
 
# It is a 2x double round robin at TC 45+5 with a sequential varied depth opening book by Bastiaan Braams (Book D).
 
# The bottom 2 engines relegate and the top 2 promote to Premier Division.
 
 
 
===7. Premier Division===
 
# The Premier Division is the sixth Event of TCEC Season.
 
# For the Premier League Event, engines will be invited by the organizers.
 
# Premier Division or DivP consists of 8 engines including the 2 promotions from L1.
 
# It is a 4x double round robin at TC 60+7 with a sequential opening book by Nelson Hernandez (Book E).
 
# The top 2 engines promote to the Superfinal and the bottom 2 engines are relegated to League 1.
 
 
 
===8. Superfinal===
 
# The Superfinal consists of a 2 engine 50DRR, 100 games at TC 120+10, with a sequential varied depth opening book by Jeroen Noomen (Book F).
 
 
# The winner of Premier Division takes the black pieces first in every pair of games.
 
# The winner of Premier Division takes the black pieces first in every pair of games.
# If the match is theoretically won for one side before game 100, the match will still continue until all 100 games have been played.  
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# The match will still continue until all 100 games have been played, even if the match is theoretically won for one side before game 100.
# In the case of a drawn match there will be a rapid match of 16 games with a time control of 25' + 10" with random openings selected from earlier in the same Season.  
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# In the case of a drawn match there will be a rapid match of 16 games with a time control of 25' + 10" with random openings selected from earlier opening books in the same Season.  
# In case it is still tied there will be sets of Blitz matches of 8 games each, with a time control of 3' + 2" until a winner is found.  
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# In case it is still tied there will be sets of Blitz matches of 8 games each with a time control of 3' + 2", with random openings selected from earlier opening books in the same Season, until a winner is found.  
 
# When the Superfinal is over, the current Leagues Season ends.
 
# When the Superfinal is over, the current Leagues Season ends.
  
===9. The TCEC Grand Champion===
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===7. The TCEC Grand Champion===
# The winner of the Superfinal will be crowned the TCEC Grand Champion and will keep this title until there is a winner in the next Superfinal.  
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# The winner of the Superfinal will be crowned the TCEC Grand Champion and will keep this title until there is a winner in the next TCEC Leagues Season's Superfinal.  
 
# There is no automatic qualification for the reigning Grand Champion, it will have to go all the way through the Premier Division of the next Season for it to be able to defend the title.
 
# There is no automatic qualification for the reigning Grand Champion, it will have to go all the way through the Premier Division of the next Season for it to be able to defend the title.
  
===10. Time control===
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===8. Time control===
 
# Different classical time controls will be used throughout the season and the time control is increased as the season progresses.  
 
# Different classical time controls will be used throughout the season and the time control is increased as the season progresses.  
# For the Qualification League, League 4, League 3 and League 2 Events, the time control is 30 minutes + 5 seconds added per move for the whole game.
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# For the Qualification League, League 2, and League 1 Events, the time control is 30 minutes + 3 seconds increment added per move for the whole game.  
# For League 1 Event, the time control is 45 minutes + 5 seconds added per move for the whole game.  
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# For Premier Division, and Infrafinal, the time control is 60 minutes + 6 increment seconds added per move for the whole game.  
# For Premier Division, the time control is 60 minutes + 7 seconds added per move for the whole game.  
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# For the Superfinal, the time control is 120 minutes + 12 seconds increment added per move for the whole game.
# For the Superfinal, the time control is 120 minutes + 10 seconds added per move for the whole game.
 
  
===11. Game ending===
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===9. Game ending===
#A game can end in a draw by three-fold repetition, 50-move rule, stalemate, tablebase adjudication, and the ''TCEC draw rule''.
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# A game can end in a draw by three-fold repetition, 50-move rule, stalemate, tablebase adjudication, and the ''TCEC draw rule'' under 6.b..
#The ''TCEC draw rule'' automatically rules a game as drawn at move 35 or later if the eval from both playing engines are within +0.15 to -0.15 pawns for the last 5 moves, or 10 plies. If there is a pawn advance, or a capture of any kind, this draw rule will reset and start over.
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# The improved ''TCEC draw rule'' applies when a game has reached a position with 6 or fewer pieces (including kings, excluding pawns) and where the engine evaluation of the move leading to the position was in [-0.25,0.25]. The game is adjudicated as a draw if the draw rule applies on 8 consecutive plies. The counter resets to 0 in the follwing cases: (1) if the draw rule ceases to apply because of a pawn promotion causing a 7th piece to appear, or (2) an evaluation outside of the [-0.25,0.25] range or the absence of an evaluation by an engine appears. There is no reset for capture or pawn move, and no stipulated minimum move number for adjudication.
#''Cutechess-cli'' will adjudicate 6-men (or less) endgame positions automatically with Syzygy tablebases.
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# ''Cutechess-cli'' will adjudicate 6-men (or less) endgame positions automatically with Syzygy tablebases.
#A game is won by mate, opponent's illegal move, opponent's resignation, or by tablebase adjudication.
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# A game is won by mate, opponent's illegal move, opponent's resignation, or by tablebase adjudication.
 +
# If an engine loses on time, the result will not be changed or the game replayed.  
  
===12. Tiebreaks===
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===10. Tiebreaks===
# If necessary, tiebreaks shall be used to determine advancement, based on the final standings of a League or Division. For all Events except the Superfinal, the following criteria will be used, in the order as presented below:
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# If necessary, tiebreaks shall be used to determine advancement, based on the final standings of a League or Division. For all Events except Qualification League, Infrafinal and Superfinal, the following criteria will be used, in the order as presented below:
 
## In case of engines being tied, then the direct encounter(s) between the tied engines decides first.  
 
## In case of engines being tied, then the direct encounter(s) between the tied engines decides first.  
 +
##The Sonneborn-Berger is the second criterion.
 +
##[[R-Mobility#TCEC|r-mobility]] tiebreak is the third criterion.
 +
##Fourth criterion is greatest number of double wins (winning both sides of a game pair and/or book exit)
 +
##Fifth criterion is lowest average number of moves in won games
 +
##Sixth criterion is highest average number of moves in lost games
 +
## In the unlikely event engines are even then still tied, the Tournament Organizers will decide on promotion or relegation.
 +
# In the Qualification League, Swiss-type tiebreaks shall if necessary be used to determine the final rankings. The following criteria will be used, in the order as presented below:
 +
## The Sonneborn-Berger is the first criterion
 
## [[R-Mobility#TCEC|r-mobility]] tiebreak is the second criterion.
 
## [[R-Mobility#TCEC|r-mobility]] tiebreak is the second criterion.
 
## The third criterion is the greatest number of wins.  
 
## The third criterion is the greatest number of wins.  
## The Sonneborn-Berger is the fourth criterion.  
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## The fourth criterion is the direct encounter(s) between the tied engines.  
## In the unlikely event they are even then still tied, then the tournament organizers will decide which engine gets the promotion or relegation.
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## In the event engines are even then still tied, these engines will share those places. The next place in ranking will start at an appropriate number, taking into account the number of engines ranked higher (e.g. if there is a two engine tie at first place, the next engine will have third place etc.).
  
===13. Engine Updates===
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===11. Engine Updates===
# For engines that promote to the next Event, the following rules apply:
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# Testing will be done and provided to all invited engines; there are three entering slots by invitation:
# Except when promoting from QL to L4, from L4 to L3, and from L2 to L1, all engines that promote to the next Event are allowed to update before the Event's submission deadline, no matter if it is to fix bugs uncovered during the previous Event, or to submit a better version. To summarize:
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## Before start of League 2: for all League 2 and League 1 engines.
## No testing will be done and provided, nor is updating allowed, between Qualification League and League 4.
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## Between League 1 and Premier Division: for all promotions and DivP engines.
## No testing will be done and provided, nor is updating allowed, between League 4 and League 3.
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# The deadline for engine submission is the last game of the current Event unless the programmer is given a specific deadline from the Tournament Organizers - the goal is to be able to start the next Event as soon as possible without any significant delay.  
## Testing will be done and provided, and updating allowed, between League 3 and League 2.
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# Although testing between Events will be provided, engine authors update at their own risk.
## No testing will be done and provided, nor is updating allowed, between League 2 and League 1.
 
## Testing will be done and provided, and updating allowed, between League 1 and Premier Division.
 
## Testing will be done and provided, and updating allowed, between Premier Division and Superfinal.
 
# The deadline for engine submission is the last game of the current Event unless the programmer is given a specific deadline from the Tournament Director - the goal is to be able to start the next Event as soon as possible without any significant delay.  
 
# Note that despite testing between certain Events will be provided, engine authors update at their own risk.
 
 
# Once an Event is being played, no updates are allowed during it.
 
# Once an Event is being played, no updates are allowed during it.
  
===14. Engine Ratings===
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===12. Engine Ratings===
 
# The TCEC engine ratings can be found at https://tcec-chess.com/bayeselo.txt
 
# The TCEC engine ratings can be found at https://tcec-chess.com/bayeselo.txt
 
# This list is updated live after every official game and includes all games, including rapid or faster time control games from current and previous season.  
 
# This list is updated live after every official game and includes all games, including rapid or faster time control games from current and previous season.  
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# New engines are assigned a temporary rating based on testing, until an official rating can be calculated after they played in an Event.
 
# New engines are assigned a temporary rating based on testing, until an official rating can be calculated after they played in an Event.
  
===15. Crashes===
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===13. Crashes===
# If an engine loses on time, the result will not be changed or the game replayed.
 
 
# In case of a server disconnect, or time loss due to lag, or other interruptions not caused by the engines there are five possible scenarios:  
 
# In case of a server disconnect, or time loss due to lag, or other interruptions not caused by the engines there are five possible scenarios:  
 
## If the web server crashes, the game continues unaffected, and broadcasting will be resumed as soon as possible;  
 
## If the web server crashes, the game continues unaffected, and broadcasting will be resumed as soon as possible;  
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## In all other cases the game is restarted from the position that the two engines reached before the disconnect, with time compensation to fill up the cache.
 
## In all other cases the game is restarted from the position that the two engines reached before the disconnect, with time compensation to fill up the cache.
 
# Crashes are counted as losses.
 
# Crashes are counted as losses.
 
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# Any engine crashing more than once, yet promoting, is allowed to fix the problem leading to the crashes, but not update in the sense of changing any other part of the software.
===16. Additional ruling concerning crashes===
 
 
 
#In Season 20 Qualification League there was the exceptional case of Koivisto crashing more than 3 times, yet apparently still qualifying for promotion.
 
::The rules no longer disqualify an engine crashing this often, neither do they allow for "updates" until 2 more leagues up.
 
::There is a real risk of such a crashing engine spoiling play in more than one league, distorting normal results.
 
::To accomodate this obvious gap in the rules, the following additional exceptional rule will be in place as of now:
 
:#Any engine crashing more than once, yet promoting, is allowed to fix the problem leading to the crashes, but not update in the sense of change any other part of the software.  
 
:#For that last update option there are the paragraphs (see 13), ruling updates.
 
 
 
==Guidelines==
 
TCEC operates in good faith of the authors' providing information about their engines and versions proposed, and the following guidelines are used, when needed, to the discretion of TCEC.
 
 
 
#See the FIDE rules in the [https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012018 FIDE handbook].
 
#Guidelines for use of NNUE at TCEC:
 
##NNUE code can be used and considered as if it was a library (even if it is not literally one).
 
##Custom modifications to the basic NNUE code are strongly encouraged, it should be considered rather like a starting point.
 
##All NNUE training data should be generated by the unique engine's own search and/or eval code.
 
#:'''FAQ: Do the NNUE guidelines apply outside NNUE technology?'''
 
#:''> No, of course not.''
 
  
 
==Further information==
 
==Further information==

Revision as of 18:07, 5 January 2023

TCEC Season - Rules

Rules

1. Season

  1. The Top Chess Engine Championship (TCEC) Season is the premier championship for chess software.
  2. TCEC Leagues Season is a tournament, between engines with ELO 3000+, the main event of a TCEC Season, which further comprises the TCEC Cup, TCEC Swiss and TCEC FRC tournaments.
  3. A TCEC Leagues Season is divided into 5 Events, consisting of two Leagues, the Premier Division, the Premier Division Playoff, and the Superfinal.
  4. Each of the Leagues, the Premier Division, the Premier Dvision Playoff, and the Superfinal, is hereafter called: an Event.
  5. As soon as an Event starts, it will run 24/7 until all its games have been played. One game is played at a time - the next one starts automatically.
  6. There will be a short break between the Events, used for updates and testing, and for making sure everything is ok with the TCEC game server as well so as to prepare for the next Event.
  7. Updating engines will only be allowed for promoting engines between Events, never during Events.
  8. For all TCEC Events, engines will be invited by the organizers, and can be required to respond to the TCEC Questionnaire.

2. League 2

  1. The League 2 or L2 is the first Event of TCEC Leagues Season.
  2. For the League 2 Event, engines will be invited by the organizers before the start of QL.
  3. League 2 consists of 12 engines including the promotions from QL.
  4. Seeding of the playing engines in L2 will be decided by the organizers per result of the last TCEC Swiss Event or by the organizers' choice.
  5. It is a 2x double round robin at TC 30'+3" with a sequential varied depth medium bias opening book.
  6. Engine order in cutechess at the start will be randomized.
  7. The bottom 4 engines relegate and the top 4 promote to League 1.

3. League 1

  1. The League 1 or L1 is the second Event of TCEC Leagues Season.
  2. For the League 1 Event, engines will be invited by the organizers before the start of QL.
  3. League 1 consists of 12 engines including the promotions from L2.
  4. Seeding of the playing engines in L1 will be decided by the organizers per result of the last TCEC Swiss Event or by the organizers' choice.
  5. It is a 2x double round robin at TC 30'+3" with a sequential varied depth high bias opening book.
  6. Engine order in cutechess at the start will be randomized.
  7. The bottom 4 engines relegate and the top 2 promote to Premier Division.

4. Premier Division

  1. The Premier Division or DivP is the third Event of TCEC Leagues Season.
  2. For the Premier League Event, engines will be invited by the organizers before the start of QL.
  3. Premier Division consists of 8 engines including the promotions from L1.
  4. Seeding of the playing engines in DivP will be decided by the organizers per result of the last Premier Division Event or by the organizers' choice.
  5. It is a 4x double round robin at TC 60'+6" with a high bias opening book.
  6. Engine order in cutechess at the start will be randomized.
  7. The top 4 engines promote to the Premier Division Playoff and the bottom 2 engines are relegated to League 1.

5. Premier Division Playoff

  1. The Premier Division Playoff is the fourth Event of TCEC Leagues Season.
  2. Adding to the Premier League Event, the top 4 finishing engines of DivP will be promoted into the DivP Playoff.
  3. No updating is allowed between DivP and DivP Playoff.
  4. The Premier Division Playoff consists of 4 engines.
  5. It is a 4x double round robin at TC 60'+6" with a high bias opening book.
  6. Engine order in cutechess at the start will be randomized.
  7. For the final standings of the DivP Playoff all the games of DivP and DivP Playoff are counted together as if it was one 8x double round robin.
  8. The top 2 engines promote to the Superfinal.

6. Superfinal

  1. The Superfinal is the fifth and final Event of TCEC Leagues Season and consists of a 100 games head to head contest between the winner and 2nd place of the Premier Division.
  2. The Superfinal consists of a 2 engine 50DRR, 100 games at TC 120'+12", with a very high bias sequential varied depth opening book.
  3. The winner of Premier Division takes the black pieces first in every pair of games.
  4. The match will still continue until all 100 games have been played, even if the match is theoretically won for one side before game 100.
  5. In the case of a drawn match there will be a rapid match of 16 games with a time control of 25' + 10" with random openings selected from earlier opening books in the same Season.
  6. In case it is still tied there will be sets of Blitz matches of 8 games each with a time control of 3' + 2", with random openings selected from earlier opening books in the same Season, until a winner is found.
  7. When the Superfinal is over, the current Leagues Season ends.

7. The TCEC Grand Champion

  1. The winner of the Superfinal will be crowned the TCEC Grand Champion and will keep this title until there is a winner in the next TCEC Leagues Season's Superfinal.
  2. There is no automatic qualification for the reigning Grand Champion, it will have to go all the way through the Premier Division of the next Season for it to be able to defend the title.

8. Time control

  1. Different classical time controls will be used throughout the season and the time control is increased as the season progresses.
  2. For the Qualification League, League 2, and League 1 Events, the time control is 30 minutes + 3 seconds increment added per move for the whole game.
  3. For Premier Division, and Infrafinal, the time control is 60 minutes + 6 increment seconds added per move for the whole game.
  4. For the Superfinal, the time control is 120 minutes + 12 seconds increment added per move for the whole game.

9. Game ending

  1. A game can end in a draw by three-fold repetition, 50-move rule, stalemate, tablebase adjudication, and the TCEC draw rule under 6.b..
  2. The improved TCEC draw rule applies when a game has reached a position with 6 or fewer pieces (including kings, excluding pawns) and where the engine evaluation of the move leading to the position was in [-0.25,0.25]. The game is adjudicated as a draw if the draw rule applies on 8 consecutive plies. The counter resets to 0 in the follwing cases: (1) if the draw rule ceases to apply because of a pawn promotion causing a 7th piece to appear, or (2) an evaluation outside of the [-0.25,0.25] range or the absence of an evaluation by an engine appears. There is no reset for capture or pawn move, and no stipulated minimum move number for adjudication.
  3. Cutechess-cli will adjudicate 6-men (or less) endgame positions automatically with Syzygy tablebases.
  4. A game is won by mate, opponent's illegal move, opponent's resignation, or by tablebase adjudication.
  5. If an engine loses on time, the result will not be changed or the game replayed.

10. Tiebreaks

  1. If necessary, tiebreaks shall be used to determine advancement, based on the final standings of a League or Division. For all Events except Qualification League, Infrafinal and Superfinal, the following criteria will be used, in the order as presented below:
    1. In case of engines being tied, then the direct encounter(s) between the tied engines decides first.
    2. The Sonneborn-Berger is the second criterion.
    3. r-mobility tiebreak is the third criterion.
    4. Fourth criterion is greatest number of double wins (winning both sides of a game pair and/or book exit)
    5. Fifth criterion is lowest average number of moves in won games
    6. Sixth criterion is highest average number of moves in lost games
    7. In the unlikely event engines are even then still tied, the Tournament Organizers will decide on promotion or relegation.
  2. In the Qualification League, Swiss-type tiebreaks shall if necessary be used to determine the final rankings. The following criteria will be used, in the order as presented below:
    1. The Sonneborn-Berger is the first criterion
    2. r-mobility tiebreak is the second criterion.
    3. The third criterion is the greatest number of wins.
    4. The fourth criterion is the direct encounter(s) between the tied engines.
    5. In the event engines are even then still tied, these engines will share those places. The next place in ranking will start at an appropriate number, taking into account the number of engines ranked higher (e.g. if there is a two engine tie at first place, the next engine will have third place etc.).

11. Engine Updates

  1. Testing will be done and provided to all invited engines; there are three entering slots by invitation:
    1. Before start of League 2: for all League 2 and League 1 engines.
    2. Between League 1 and Premier Division: for all promotions and DivP engines.
  2. The deadline for engine submission is the last game of the current Event unless the programmer is given a specific deadline from the Tournament Organizers - the goal is to be able to start the next Event as soon as possible without any significant delay.
  3. Although testing between Events will be provided, engine authors update at their own risk.
  4. Once an Event is being played, no updates are allowed during it.

12. Engine Ratings

  1. The TCEC engine ratings can be found at https://tcec-chess.com/bayeselo.txt
  2. This list is updated live after every official game and includes all games, including rapid or faster time control games from current and previous season.
  3. Most testing games with sufficiently long time control are also used.
  4. Version numbers are ignored and all games are included, including games lost on time or due to crash.
  5. New engines are assigned a temporary rating based on testing, until an official rating can be calculated after they played in an Event.

13. Crashes

  1. In case of a server disconnect, or time loss due to lag, or other interruptions not caused by the engines there are five possible scenarios:
    1. If the web server crashes, the game continues unaffected, and broadcasting will be resumed as soon as possible;
    2. If at the moment of game server interruption the evaluation of both engines is more than +10, or if the evaluation of both engines is less than -10, the game is scored as a win;
    3. If the evaluation of both engines is less than ABS(0.15) at the moment of game server interruption, and both engines have completed 35 moves, the game is scored as a draw;
    4. If a game interrupts with 7 pieces on the board, position on the board at the instant of game server interruption will be adjudicated according to 7-man EGTB;
    5. In all other cases the game is restarted from the position that the two engines reached before the disconnect, with time compensation to fill up the cache.
  2. Crashes are counted as losses.
  3. Any engine crashing more than once, yet promoting, is allowed to fix the problem leading to the crashes, but not update in the sense of changing any other part of the software.

Further information

See also