EdTrice: .. thankies sooooooooo much for inviting me in..

To all those who haven't yet.. You don't know what you are missing.. it is so kewl to be able to play this game live.. and chat live as well.. From start to finish..

Whoo hoo! The wave of the future!

Glad you liked it. Claude is working on that chat bug that popped up, should be a little better implemented by tomorrow night.

EdTrice: He is such a nice man.. it was a pleasure to play him.. even though I lost! LOL

This game is fairly even until move 18;when I sacrificed a Knight for 2 Pawns to relieve pressure on my Kingside. Ratings are those at the time of the game. Game:396028 Match:17050. My rating was 1592 dokesa's was 1936. I am White. 1.)Nh3 d6, 2.)i3 e5, 3.)Bi2 h6, 4.)f3 Ah7, 5.)Af2 g5, 6.)0-0 Nc6,(completes my first objective of Castling quickly by using a Gothic King's Indian set-up. Now I plan to bring pressure against his Centre to create a weakness.) 7.)Nc3 b6, 8.)d3 Bb7, 9.)e4 Bf6, 10.)g4 Cg7, 11.)Be3 Nj6,(I have some Queenside pressure verses dokesa's Kingside set-up;but there are no noticeable weaknesses so far as I can see so far.)12.)Nd5 Ne7, 13.)Nxf6 Axf6, 14.)Nj4 i5, 15.)Nh3 Qd7, 16.)d4 0-0-0?!(Seems to a strategic error;because of my Queenside pressure appears too great. Unfortunately,I can not take immediate advantaage.)17.)d5 Ba6, 18.Nxi5!?(disrupts his Kingside Pawn Formation; thus relieving some of the pressure on that side. I believe this justifies the sacrifice.) 18.)....h6xi5, 19.)Axi5 Ci6,(Now I must submit to a temporary,but fairly weak Counter Attack.) 20.)Aj4 Ci8, 21.)h4 Nh7, 22.)h5 j5, 23.b3 Rj7, 24.c4!(preparing to bring my Chancellor to the b-file via d3.)24.)....Ri7, 25.)Cd3 Ri4, 26.Ah3 Ni5? (forces my Archbishop to its best square for defense. His attack is fizzling;since he must weaken his Queenside to make it work. He does not have the Time.) 27.)Ag7! Nh7, (Now it is my turn.) 28.Cb4 Bb7, 29.)Qd2 Ah8, 30.)a4 Rf8?? (Severely weakens his Queenside; my next 2 moves will seal his fate.) 31.)Cb5 (threatens Cxa7+; thus forcing his response.)31.)....Kb8, 32.a5! Ba6!? (Delays my attack for only 1 move.) 33.)Cb4 Qc8, 34.)a5xb6! (He looses a piece if he retakes;and simplifies my task. So he must Retreat)34.)....Bb7, 35.Rxa7!!(deprives his King of its escape square at a8;and assures my Mate.) 35.)....c6??(no worse move exists;although I can not find anything much better.) 36.)d5xc6 Nxc6, (Now it is mate in 2.) 37.Qxd6+ Qc7, 38.)Qxc7# This was my first of 4 wins against 1900+ players.(2 others against dokesa and 1 against facepan.) I have a draw against Hercules Beast,a 2000+ player. These are brainking ratings. This match is a 4 win match;currently tied at 3 wins each. I do believe dokesa will win this match.

A great game!

EdTrice: Thanks; from you that is a great compliment. As an aside,dokesa is about to win our Match by mating me.

EdTrice: I registered but "Login failed, try again". I tried more than once and always the same answer.
What to do???

Did you get an email from the responder? DON'T CHANGE the password it issues you, this has not been implented yet.

Send an email to GothicChessInfo@aol.com if you still have problems

I am online as "GothicInventor" in the live site. Check the "Experts" room first, I tend to hang out there.

EdTrice: Ok! I will continue my quest on email :-))

I see you connected, now just click on the TEXT "experts" and you will enter the expert room. There are no pictures outside the lobby area yet. You are almost there!

Thanks for the game Spirou, you are deadly when playing a live game!

So who is the mysterious PinkPather [sic] player on GothicChessLive? Anybody know?

EdTrice: "deadly" I doubt yet. What is for sure it is you who "kill" me!!! LOL

It's PinkPanter

I see andreas made it in to the site, but some names on there I do not recognize. Maybe you can post your GCL names here. I take it Luke is PinkPanter then?

Uhm, I talk but I get no reply. Is this just because no-one likes to answer? Or can't they here me? It looks great, except for some java-related problems I always have.

I think some names appear even after they have left. We are checking into this.

I see there was a BradJr on just now, was that you?

I will be posting two interesting games on here later this evening. One I playe with ChessCarpenter, but did not record all of the moves (was providing email support to some during the time I was playing) but I just reverse-engineering the missing components and i was able to create the terminal position. Just a "fun game" but it got into a major tangle that is well worth replaying.

Another game I played today with GrosPaul that contained a very sublte, sneaky mate attempt on his part this is well worth the price of admission (free)

I think GrosPaul is Spirou here on BK. More later.

Don't forget to sign up for this one...winner gets a free copy of Vortex. Program is available from here:

http://www.GothicChess.org/vortex.zip

and the tournament is here:

http://brainking.com/en/Tournaments?trg=8679&tri=41215&trnst=0

Ed he is someone that I play chess with on USCFLive. He has been wanting to play real time Gothic Chess for a long time!

Tell him to sign on tomorrow, I will look for him. P.S. Our board sales are up like 20%, what is going on?

Sorry everyone, you must rejoin this tournament to play for the free version of Gothic Vortex

http://brainking.com/en/Tournaments?trg=8694&trnst=0

http://brainking.com/en/Tournaments?trg=8659&u=4398&trnst=0

EdTrice: Yes, GrosPaul is me who failed with my swindle due to a sneaky check on your part :-).

[Event "Gothic Chess Live Debut"]
[Site "Philadelphia, PA"]
[Date "2005.05.03"]
[White "ChessCarpenter (Rob Colanzi)"]
[Black "GothicInventor (Ed Trice)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Claude Jeruchim and Dmitry Goldberg"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB



QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1. f4 d5
2. e4 dxe4
3. Cxe4 Af6

{It should be noted that this was just a casual game to initiate the game site. Rob certainly is playing these moves to demonstrate his happiness at getting the new live site in place.}

4. Cg3 Nh6
5. Nh3 Ah4
6. Cd3 Bg4!

{A very interesting position that has no 'regular chess' counterpart. The flight squares for the Queen have been exhausted. Somebody needs to tell Ed this is just a fun game, he is playing way too seriously.}

7. Qe1 Axe1
8. Cxe1 Nc6
9. c3 Bf5

{Black takes a stab at setting up a murderous check with ...Bd3+ but it will never happen, of course.}

10. d4 Cd6
11. Nd2 Ng4

{It is hard to tell if Ed is now joining in on the 'merriment' or if he is planning something. The game is being played at a fast enough pace, about 10 seconds per move on both sides, so who knows ?}

12. g3 Ch6
13. Bxc6

{More cavalier play from Black's side of the board, for a change, and now we see White taking steps to get back into the game. Rob gains a much needed tempo, functionally trading the Bishop for the minor, but more importantly, the forced move. Everyone is expecting the immediate ...bxc6, but Ed has something else in store.}

13...Ci4?!?

{It is hard to qualify the merit of this move with an on-the-spot assesment. Of course Nxh2+ Axh2 Cxh2+ is being threatened, and even so, h2 can be defended easily enough. The game has taken on an interesting character from the guise of casual, carefree play to one of growing interest, move by move.}

14. Cf3 bxc6
15. Ng5!

{A momentum shift favoring Rob's positional merit. Of course, the threat of Nxh7+ is idle with Black's Bishop holding h7, and White has no pawns to displace it from this post. Just when you think you know what is coming next, you should be prepared for anything when sitting across the board from Ed.}

15...Nxh2+?!
16. Axh2 Cxi2!

{OK, we are both confused by this sequence of events. Trading the Knight for 2 pawns plus a trashed Kingside is not the only point to consider. White will get some counterplay, won't he?}

17. Aj3 Qd5!!

{The subtle point that is not easy to grasp. 17...Cj4 looks to hold down the fort with the threat to the Archbishop and the revelation of the Bishop to hit the Rook, but after the game Black shows an incredible line where White can draw.}

18. Axi2 Bxi2
19. Ch2 Bxj1
20. Nxh7+ Kg8
21. Nxj8 Bc8!

{What a fantastic combination on White's part, yet the well timed, complete retreat of the Black Bishop assures that the scales are tipped favorably to him. This has become a great boxing match!}

22. c4 Qxd5
23. Ce2! Qd3
24. Ke1! Be6!

{Rob is not relenting in the least. Hoping that Ed would trade his Queen to stop Cxe7+ was the best defensive plan for White. The task of finding ...Be6 as the interefering piece was delegated to Black.}

25. Ce4 i5!

{An odd looking move that is full of purpose. Room is made for the Black Bishop, and ...Bi7 will recover the Knight.}

26. Kf2 Bi7
27. Ni6 jxi6
28. b3 Rd8
29. Kg2 g5!
30. fxg5 Bh8!

{A second strong retreating move, this time by a diffrent Bishop. The Rook on a1 is now the target of the Bishop's long range rifle scope.}

31. Rb1 Bc3
32. g6! Kf8!
33. gxf7 Bxf7
34. Cf4

{Rob has a plethora of annoying moves at his disposal as he sets up a disjointed fortress position of sorts. The pieces exert strange protecting influences over one another, frustrating any attempt by White to end the game more quickly.}

34...Qc2!
35. Ce2 Bxd2
36. Ra1 Qd1
37. Cf2 Bxc8
38. Cxd1 Rxd1

0-1

[Event "Gothic Chess Live Debut"]
[Site "Philadelphia, PA"]
[Date "2005.05.03"]
[White "GrosPaul (Spirou on BrainKing)"]
[Black "GothicInventor (Ed Trice)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB

QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1. f4 d5
2. g3 Ah6
3. Nc3 d4
4. Ne4 Nc6
5. Nh3 Nj6
6. c3 g6
7. Bf3 Bg7
8. e3 dxc3
9. bxc3 O-O
10. j4 Ni4
11. Ng5 j6
12. Ni5 Nxg5
13. fxg5 Axg5
14. Bj7+ Kj8
15. Bi8 Cf6+
16. Af2 h5
17. Nh7+ Rxh7
18. Bxh7 Bxi2

0-1

What happened to all of the messages? This morning it showed "51 new" but there are none here. A bug?

EdTrice: http://brainking.com/de/News

EdTrice: I deleted a lot of Ughaibu's repeated notices about his tournament when the boards were amalgamated ... but if there were others I know not whence they have gone.

Sumerian, Mattolin, BradJr, DueThought, and GothicInventor are all on GothicChessLive right now.

http://www.GothicChessLive.com

This game represents a new opening idea that has not been seen as of yet on here, I believe.


[Event "GothicChessLive.com"]
[Site "Philadelphia, PA"]
[Date "2005.05.07"]
[White "GothicInventor"]
[Black "Mattolin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB


QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1. h4 e5
2. g3 d6
3. Nh3 h6
4. Bg2 Nc6
5. Ah2 Nj6
6. Nc3 Be6
7. d3 f5
8. Be3 g6
9. O-O Bg7
10. f4 Aj5?
11. Ni5!! Axg2+?
12. Cxg2 hxi5
13. fxe5 Nxe5
14. Bxi7 Ng4!?
15. Af3 Bh6
16. Bxh6+! Nxh6
17. hxi5 Nhi4
18. Ah4 g5
19. Ag6+ Kg7
20. Axe8+ Rxe8
21. ixj6 g4

{setting up Qxj2# if white fell asleep}

22. Ch4! Ri8
23. Qg1 Bf7?
24. Qd4+ Kf8
25. Ch7+ Ke7
26. Qf6+ 1-0

White=tedbarber (Unrated) Black=Spirou (1685) Dates of Game: 7 October 2003--23 October 2003. Game #215181 This was my first win on Brainking.com. Unfortunately,it was wiped out in November 2003 by a virus;as were my first 3 completed games and 17 other games in progress. I think it was 1 of the 5 best that I have played;and that it deserves to be remembered. I am not asking to re-instate or rate this game. I still have the printout of this game at home;as I printout and save all my games. I also presented this game with this exact same analysis on this same discussion board on 24 October 2003. Here it is: 1.)d4 e5?!(a dubious Opening for Black in Gothic Chess;since it leads to harrassment of his Chancellor by pieces of far less value;and also a lasting lead in developement by White.)2.d4xe5 Cxe5; 3.)Bf4 Cf5; 4.)Ah3!?(not the best developing square for the Archbishop;but in this case the move has the value of both protecting the Bishop at f4 and attacking the Chancellor with a weaker piece.)4.)....Ce7; 5.)g4 Nc6; 6.)Nc3 d5; 7.)Nxd5!?(He can not retake without losing Material.Ex.7.)....Cxd5;8.)Qxd5 Qxd5; 9.)Bxd5; or 7.)....Qxd5; 8.)Qxd5 Cxd5; 9.)Bxd5; in either case White is decisively in front in Material,Space,and Time.)7.)....Cd7; 8.)e4 Ne5; 9.)f3 c6; 10.)Bxe5!(Saves the Knight)10.)....Cxe5; 11.)Nf4 Qc7; 12.Af2 g5; 13.)Nd3 Ce8;(The Chancellor retreats to its original square. It will take no further part in the game.) 14.)Nh3 Bf6; 15.)Bg2 Qxh2?(accomplishes nothing; since he has no real follow-up;and puts his Queen in jeopardy.) 16.)i3 Qc7; 17.)Ce2 b6; 18.Ag3! (offers The Gothic Exchange;forcing him to either accept or Retreat. Accepting will give me a slight advantage.)18.)....Qd8; 19.0-0!(begins to sieze control of the Vital h-file.) 19.)....Nh6; 20.)e5 Bg7; 21.)Qe1 f6; 22.f4 Bxg4? (This only drives my Chancellor where I intended to move him anyway.)23.Cf2 Rc8; 24.)f4xg5!(The pin keeps him from retaking,yet.)24.)....Nf5; 25.)Ae4 Bxh3? (surrenders the h-file to me.) 26.)Cxh3 f6xg5; 27.)Axf5 Af6??(Allows a mating net.) 28.)Cxh7+ Resigns. (I have the following 7 forced mates: a. 28.)....Kf7; 29.Bi4+ Kg8; 30.Cxi7+ Kf8; 31.)Ah6# b.) 28.)....Kg8; 29.Cxi7+ Kf7; 30.)Bi4+ Kf8; 31.Ah6# c. 28.)....Kg8; 29.Cxi7+ Kf8; 30.Ah6# d.) 28.)....Kf7; 29.)Bi4+ Kg8; 30.)Cxj8+ Bh8; 31.Rxh8# e. 28.)....Kf7; 29.)Bi4+ Kg8; 30.)Cxj8+ Bh8; 31.)Cxh8# f.) 28.)....Kg8; 29.Cxj8+ Kf7; 30.Bi4# g.) 28.)....Kg8; 29.Cxj8+ Bh8; 30.Cxh8#.)

tedbarber: The ratings were those at the finish of the game.

Smirf seems to have a problem to reload this game, but its PGN should be usable. (Thus one more bug found in it.)

[Event "SmirfGUI Computerchess Game"]
[Site "CHESSBOX-MAIN-X"]
[Date "2005.05.11"]
[Time "18:34:10"]
[Round "(20 min + 5 sec)/side"]
[White "GothicInventor"]
[Black "Smirf beta BC-055"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Sumerian"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB



QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

{black resigned} 1.c4 c5 {(21.27) -0.147} 2.Nh3 Nc6 {(23.18) -0.045} 3.g3 g6
{(23.24) -0.046} 4.Nc3 h5 {(21.40) -0.024} 5.d3 Nh6 {(13.01+) -0.004} 6.Bg2
Bxc3 {(21.44) +0.206} 7.bxc3 Af6 {(21.40) +0.179} 8.Bxh6+ ixh6 {(23.03) +0.406}
9.Qd2 O-O {(21.43) +0.425} 10.f4 d6 {(21.00) +0.410} 11.Ae3 h4 {(19.49) +0.664}
12.Ad5 Be6 {(15.01+) +0.365} 13.Axf6 Cxf6 {(27.40) +0.156} 14.gxh4 Ch5 {(23.48)
+0.156} 15.Rb1 Cxh4 {(23.54) +0.574} 16.O-O Rb8 {(13.01+) +0.234} 17.e3 h5
{(21.36) +0.509} 18.Rg1 Rh7 {(12.23+) +0.620} 19.Qf2 Ci4 {(23.00) +0.475} 20.i3
Bxh3 {(25.44) -0.489} 21.Bxh3 Ci7 {(29.00) -0.440} 22.Kj1 Qh8 {(23.11) -0.048}
23.Rb3 h4 {(23.31) -0.143} 24.Rg5 h:i3 {(25.43) +1.547} 25.Ri5 Rxh3 {(27.43)
+1.272} 26.Rxi7+ Qxi7 {(31.02) +1.285} 27.hxi3 Rbh8 {(29.49) +1.285} 28.Ki1 Qh6
{(27.51) +1.241} 29.Qg1 Rh2 {(29.18) +2.213} 30.Cf1 Rxa2 {(31.13) +2.220}
31.Cg3 Kj8 {(23.58) +1.691} 32.Ci4 Qh5 {(16.01+) +M~254} 33.Cj4 Qh2+ {(29.27)
+2.443} 34.Qxh2 Rhxh2 {(31.00) +1.680} 35.Rxb7 Rhd2 {(29.20) +1.214} 36.Rb1 Rh2
{(33.14) +0.340} 37.Rh1 Rxh1+ {(35.43) +0.379} 38.Kxh1 Ra1+ {(33.31) +0.000}
39.Kh2 Ra2+ {(41.16) +0.000} 40.Kg3 Re2 {(39.11) +0.000} 41.Cj6 Rxe3+ {(39.08)
+0.000} 42.Kh4 Rf3 {(39.24) +0.000} 43.Ch7+ Ki8 {(05.00?) +2.796} 44.Cf8+ Ki7
{(05.00?) +2.744} 45.Cxf7+ Kj6 {(43.01) -4.979} 46.Ch7+ Ki6 {(43.01) -5.549}
47.Cg7+ Kh6 {(47.02) -5.549} 48.Cxj7+ Ki6 {(26.00?) -5.765} 49.Cg7+ Kj6
{(45.02) -5.649} 50.Cxg6+ Kj7 {(24.01+) -5.460} 51.Ki5 Rxf4 {(39.20) -4.644}
1-0

Sumerian: HI Reinhard,

Thanks for playing, it was a good game. I felt that the lead changed hands a few times as we played this one.

At 8. Bxh6+ ixh6 White is better, and 9... 0-0? surely is a mistake given that the i-pawn is not there to sheleter the King. The problem is, how does one go after this weakness most efficiently?

As soon as I played 10. f4 I knew this was not the best. I block a diagonal that leads to the weakened area of your board, and I prevent my Chancellor from being able to become effective more quickly.

But SMIRF really hung in there, and even turned things around, nullifying any attempt by me to create tactical chances.

So...it was time to get strategic... what to do?

For one I had to get Archbishops off the board, my own vulnerability in the vicinity of h3 was becoming a problem that SMIRF was exploiting well. I think a timely ...Qd7 was called for, but it never happened.

15. Rb1? was a mistake by me, I should have played 15. i3 and held the pawn that dropped right afterwards.

22. Kj1? was more of a "confession" that I didn't know what to do rather than a mistake, but since we were playing quickly, I had not time to reflect. A grandmaster once said "If you do nothing, do it well!" so that is what I tried to do.

24. Rg5?!? is purely cavalier, and an attempt to complicate matters. I did not know if I was digging my own grave, but I surely had a shovel in my hand.

What happened next is entertaining, and I will let the rest of you enjoy it.

I fully expect Chessmaster1000 to tell me all the reasons why this was a bad move, because I deserve it!

to EdTrice:
I noticed, that the result of the game has been a welcomed satisfaction for those who are hoping that humans still might play better (Gothic) Chess than computer programs.

You know that Smirf still has a lot of weaknesses, where I have to develop against. With a 53K size of its engine there already is a lot of intelligence per byte, but it has to be enriched to finally become able to defeat your Gothic Vortex program or even a top player like you.

If you remember Smirf playing in November at your fine tournament, you definitely could notice the one or other improvement. But still e. g. the evaluation function is unchangedly weak.

The new beta BC-056 has eliminated the PGN reading bug, when comments are standing split at several lines. Also the search routine is no longer that overpruned like it partially had been in its ancestors.

Is your Gothic Vortex even still subject for improvements (beside of providing more looking-up information)?.

Sumerian: "Is your Gothic Vortex even still subject for improvements (beside of providing more looking-up information)?."

Even I can tell, since Chessmaster1000 could beat Gothic Vortex very nicely, that the latter should still have some room for improvement ;)

When will I get my deserved win by timeout in this game. It is the final game of our long 10 win match and He should have forfieted on 12 May 2005.

When the server problems are fixed.

Sumerian: Is your Gothic Vortex even still subject for improvements (beside of providing more looking-up information)?.

The evaluation function for Gothic Vortex is very primitive as well. It has a few innovations. Some of these have been around for a while, but here is what I think is unique:

1. Sliding scale weight for the "Supermajors" (Queen, Chancellor, Archbishop).

The values for these pieces are not "constant", they change during the phase of the game. The Archbishop gets weaker as the game progresses, the Chancellor gets stronger, then weaker, and the Queen slowly gets stronger.

2. Pawn Races - The program can play ANY king and pawn ending properly, even with just a 3-ply search. This makes it strong in the endgame.

3. Castling awareness - Castling is not just a "straight bonus", it evaluates whether or not the opponent is castling into danger.

I have changed the evaluation function since the 2004 Computer World Championship, but this was mostly bug fixes.

For exmaple, in some of the wins that Chessmaster emailed to me, there were obvious bugs regarding king safety that had the program think it was ahead as much as +400 when really it was -200.

I have long since fixed this bug (4 months ago) and Chessmaster1000 has not sent me any wins since that time.

I have introduced something else that might have disasterous effects, but it only an experimental version for now. I am trying to teach Vortex how to play like me. It is not easy to do! I am using some of my games on BK as an example, but no matter how long I let Vortex think, it just does not want to make sacrifices like I do.

When I figure out how to code this, I will release the new version. For now, the latest and greatest version is at:

http://www.GothicChess.org/vortex.zip

EdTrice: Sliding scale: In Smirf average exchange values are constant. But the positional influence will vary automatically, thus I have not to rebalance those values. When a piece is captured, the evaluation is not only reduced by the exchange value, it will be positionally recalculated.

Pawn Races: Smirf has included a simple estimation of passed pawn values - still not perfect.

Castling awareness: Castling is not individually analysed, it will be selected automatically by positional considerations only, independent e.g. from castling moves.

trying to teach Vortex: I am very distant to such approaches. Because it is nearly impossible for a chess master to describe what exactly he is doing during his considerations. I think that something like this might lead into a conceptual chaos. But why not give it a try? I am on the opposite way, trying to 'feel' the needs of a 'frustrated' and 'madly' working machine, to reduce the needs of its job (danger, could lead to paranoia).

I played a small tournament with myself, Smirf BC-056 and Gothic Vortex 1.0.9. Each player played 2 games (1 with White, one with Black) against each other. I won both 4 games. Yeah............!
Time control was 30 seconds per move, with 64 MB hash for the engines...........

1)Me-G.V 1-0
I had a nice attack as always with many surprising sacrifices for G.V, but the damn computer resisted amazingly and managed to hold with an equal position(i think) until move 33. Then it had only one line that would hold (an easy to see-33...Qh7) but it played horribly the moves 33,34,35 and lost immediatelly............!
After the game i could not immediatelly reproduce 33...Qd8? It played the correct Qh7 2 times, then the third time, it choosed e6 and after a computer start-up it choosed the Qd8 again ?!?!?!? And when i play from move 30 all the moves, it always plays the Qd8 move.......


2)G.V-Smirf 1-0
After some logical opening Pawn and Knight moves by both players, GV played an unorthodox Knight move(7.Ni5) and Smirf replied badly (7...Bxc3?). After some developing moves in an unusual position, Smirf saw a big advantage after 18...Bxd3? but it was a huge mistake. After white castled game was already over..........G.V finished the game with a nice attack.......!


3)Smirf-Me 0-1
I gave a Pawn, Smirf's development has become slow, i gave a Rook and a Bishop for an attack and mated some moves later........I have the impression, in fact i'm sure, that Smirf could win this game.....But let me intrude in its position and win.........


4)G.V-Me 0-1
I've managed to create an invisible(for G.V) attack for the white King, which G.V allowed me to make after a long time (after the fix of the Chancellor-bug, creating such positions was very difficult)....I had to praise G.V for its move 21.Ag1! and not taking the b6-Pawn, because it felt the danger (Unfortunatelly the next 2 moves was Be3 and Bxb6 taking the Pawn and probably that was the critical mistakes)....The question of course is if Ag1 could save the game. The position is already too difficult to hold.....


5)Me-Smirf 1-0
Smirf played as always(it's much more active with Pawns and not only, at the opening from G.V) the kind of moves i hate. Pawn-attacking moves, challenging me for the center and not giving me space, and not afraid to leave hanging pieces. My nightmare......! Some strange moves by me giving 3 Pawns and then a Rook, that Smirf took instead of accepting the 3 Pawns and castling safely. Then a crazy tactical position arised. Giving my last Rook i had a nice attack but the win was not obvious....But the final winning combination was startling........! "27.Cf1! , 28.Cf5!! , 30.Nf6! was some of the good moves......."

In this game also occured the following:
I would put this to my notes for Reinhard about Smirf, but here is anyway:
In the 6th move and after my c3 Smirf had a bad(buggy?) reaction again. The position is this and Smirf's evaluation was the following......:

r1bqckab1r/pp2pp1ppp/2np2pn2/
2p7/4PP4/2P3PP1N/PP1P4PP/RNBQCKAB1R b KQkq - 0 6
-----------------------------------------
End of thinking (mate found)
00:00.0 (06.08+) +M~254 6...Be6 (Af6)
-----------------------------------------



6)Smirf-G.V 1/2-1/2
G.V was out of book in its second only move(smirf doesn't have a book). After some unorthodox moves again by both players, i can really say that Smirf outplayed G.V at the opening in this position and reached a very favorable position. After 18...Kg7 i had the impression that Smirf would convert this winning position into a win. And at move 34 it was clear that Smirf would be able to win although the position was VERY difficult to do it. It needed a strategic plan to do it. To bring the Rooks into action and prevent the Archbishop from breaking through into white's King's position. But Smirf played the awuful Bxf4? instead of gxf4 and allowed G.V a perpetual check.........

In this game also occured the following again:
I would put this to my notes for Reinhard about Smirf, but here is anyway:
In the 33th move and after GV's 32...Ad7 Smirf had a bad(buggy?) reaction again. The position is this and Smirf's evaluation was the following......:

7b1r/p1pa2kppp/2N7/6p3/1P2P5/
3P2PP2/2KB1P3P/3R3R2 w - - 1 33
-----------------------------------------
En
d of thinking (mate found)
00:00.0 (08.03+) +M~254 33.Nxa7 (b5)
-----------------------------------------




Crosstable (1=win , 0=loss , ½=draw).........:

Player  Me  G.V  Smirf  Total
-----------------------------------

Me      --     11     11       4.0

G.V     00     --     1½      1.5

Smirf   00     0½     --       0.5
-----------------------------------

The games............:

[Event "SmirfGUI Computerchess Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "George Tsavdaris"]
[Black "Gothic Vortex"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "George Tsavdaris"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB
QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1.f4 Nh6 2.d4 d5 3.g3 Nc6 4.c3 g6 5.h3 Bg7 6.Nj3 Af6 7.Ah2 O-O 8.Bf3 Nf5 9.g4
Nh4 10.e3 Nxi2 11.Cg2 j6 12.Bd2 Nj4 13.Be1 Nxh3 14.Bxj6 ixj6 15.g5 Ag8 16.Ri1+
Nxi1 17.Cxi1+ Kj8 18.Qe1 Ai7 19.Ai4 Ri8 20.Axj6 Aj5+ 21.Ai4 Bh3+ 22.Ke2 Bh8
23.Axj5 Bxj5 24.Ni5 Cg7 25.Cj3 Ri6 26.Cxj5+ Rj6 27.Ch4 Qg8 28.Qh1 Rxj2+ 29.Kd1
Bi7 30.Nxh7+ Ki8 31.Qi1 Cxh7 32.Qxj2 Cxh4 33.Qxh4 Qd8 34.Nd2 Qd7 35.Bg4 Qd6
36.Kc2 Rh8 37.Qj4 Rh5 38.Bxh5 Nb4+ 39.cxb4 Qc6+ 40.Kb3 gxh5 41.Qf8+ Kj7 42.Rj1+
1-0

[Event "SmirfGUI Computerchess Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gothic Vortex"]
[Black "Smirf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "George Tsavdaris"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB
QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1.c4 g6 2.Nh3 c5 3.Nc3 h5 4.d3 Nh6 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bd5 d6 7.Ni5 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Af6
9.Bxh6+ ixh6 10.Qc1 Kg7 11.Nh3 Ci8 12.Nj4 Qa5 13.Cc2 Bf5 14.Ca3 Qc7 15.Rb1 Qc8
16.Qb2 Rb8 17.h3 Ae5 18.Ai3 Bxd3 19.f4 Bxb1 20.fxe5 Bf5 21.exd6 exd6 22.O-O Qd7
23.Rf1 Qc8 24.Nxh5+ gxh5 25.Axh5+ Kh7 26.g4 Bg6 27.Rxf7+ Bxf7 28.Qc2+ Kg8
29.Qg6+ Kh8 30.Af6+ Ki7 31.Qh7+ Kj6 32.Ah4+ Ci5 33.Qxh6# 1-0

[Event "SmirfGUI Computerchess Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smirf"]
[Black "George Tsavdaris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "George Tsavdaris"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB
QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1.d3 d5 2.h4 g6 3.g3 Nj6 4.c3 c6 5.Nh3 h6 6.Qa4 Ah7 7.Be3 Nd7 8.Bxa7 Nf6 9.Bf3
Nfh5 10.Qa3 Ni4 11.Bxh5 gxh5 12.Nd2 Cg7 13.Cf3 Bg4 14.Cf4 Af5 15.Cg2 Qc7
16.O-O-O b5 17.Bb6 Rxa3 18.Bxc7 Rxa2 19.Kb1 Ce8 20.Kxa2 Ca8+ 21.Kb1 Bxc3
22.bxc3 Ca3+ 23.Kb2 Ca4+ 24.Kb3 Ae6 25.Rc1 Ac5+ 26.Kc2 Ca2+ 27.Kd1 Aa4+ 28.Nb3
Axb3+ 29.Rc2 Ca1# 0-1

[Event "SmirfGUI Computerchess Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gothic Vortex"]
[Black "George Tsavdaris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "George Tsavdaris"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB
QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1.f4 f5 2.Nh3 g6 3.Nc3 c6 4.g3 d5 5.Ng5 h6 6.Nh3 b6 7.Bf3 d4 8.Nb5 a6 9.Na3 Bf6
10.Af2 Cg7 11.O-O Nj6 12.d3 Ah7 13.Nc4 i5 14.e4 e6 15.e5 Be7 16.j3 Ri8 17.Nd6
Aj5 18.Nxc8 Qxc8 19.Axd4 i4 20.jxi4 Rxi4 21.Ag1 Ci7 22.Kj1 Kf7 23.Be3 Qi8
24.Bxb6 Rxi2 25.Axi2 Ai3+ 26.Ki1 Aj2+ 27.Kj1 Cj5 28.Nj4 Qxi2+ 29.Kxi2 Cxj4+
30.Kj1 Ah3# 0-1

[Event "SmirfGUI Computerchess Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "George Tsavdaris"]
[Black "Smirf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "George Tsavdaris"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB
QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1.f4 d6 2.Nj3 c5 3.e4 Nh6 4.g3 Nc6 5.h3 g6 6.c3 Be6 7.Ah2 Qa5 8.b3 j5 9.Bf3 f5
10.d3 Bxb3 11.Qe2 fxe4 12.Bxe4 Cc7 13.Bd2 Qa4 14.O-O Bxa2 15.f5 Nxf5 16.Rf1 Ab3
17.Ag4 Axa1 18.Ni5 e6 19.Bxf5 exf5 20.Rxf5+ gxf5 21.Axf5 Kg8 22.Qh5 Ne5 23.Nxh7
Rf8 24.Nxf8 Cg7 25.Ah7+ Cxh7 26.Nxh7 Ri8 27.Cf1 Bf7 28.Cf5 Bg7 29.Ce7+ Kh8
30.Nf6+ Bh6 31.Bxh6 Qd1+ 32.Qxd1 ixh6 33.Qh5 Ki7 34.Qxf7+ Nxf7 35.Cxf7+ Kj6
36.Nh5+ Ki6 37.Cg7+ Ki5 38.j4# 1-0

[Event "SmirfGUI Computerchess Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smirf"]
[Black "Gothic Vortex"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "George Tsavdaris"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqckabnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNB
QCKABNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1.g3 d5 2.Na3 Nh6 3.c4 dxc4 4.Nxc4 Nc6 5.d3 g6 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.h4 Ni4 8.Nh3 Bxh3+
9.ixh3 Qd7 10.Rh1 Nh6 11.Af3 Cd8 12.Qa4 Ce6 13.Na5 Cc5 14.Qb4 Ca6 15.Qb7 Qc8
16.Qxc8+ Rxc8 17.Axc6 Rb8 18.Ad7+ Kg7 19.Bf4 f6 20.Cc2 Rd8 21.Ac6 Rd5 22.b4 Af7
23.Axe7 g5 24.hxg5 fxg5 25.Bd2 Ae6 26.O-O-O Nf5 27.Axd5 Axd5 28.e4 Nd4 29.Cxd4
Axa2+ 30.Kc2 Ae6 31.Cc6 Cxc6+ 32.Nxc6 Ad7 33.Nxa7 Kg6 34.f4 gxf4 35.Bxf4 Aa4+
36.Kb1 Ac3+ 37.Kc2 Aa4+ 38.Kb1 Ac3+ 39.Kc1 Ab2+ 40.Kd2 Ac3+ 41.Kc1 Ab2+ 42.Kd2
Ac3+ 43.Kc1 1/2-1/2

to Chessmaster1000: End of thinking (mate found): This bug is nerving in Smirf for a while. It is somehow related to the cache usage. If you would restart Smirf (it remembers the game) within that position, the error would not be reproduced. So I am about to find that silly bug, but still have not been successful.

It is good to hear, that programs still are not unbeatable. (Nevertheless Beta BC-057 again will become about 30% stronger in short).

Chessmaster1000:

Thanks for the notes George. I have not looked at the games yet.

Please recall version 1.0.9 is rather old. Version 1.2 is out now, and this one probes the endgame tablebases as it searches as well.

http://www.GothicChess.org/vortex.zip is the link to the one with the 3-piece tablebases. I believe you also have the version with the 4-piece tablebases.

While the match results are interesting, Version 1.0.9 is no longer being improved, and results against version 1.2 (and later) are the only ones that would be helpful.

It was the last Gothic Vortex Gold-beta you have send me. It was one day before the release of the final version. But it says 1.0.9.........

http://brainking.com/en/ArchivedGame?g=597649

Note the sacrifice of the Chancellor at the end.

EdTrice:May I make a printout of this game on my printer? It is so rare to find a game you lost in Gothic.

Well I was almost going to send a PM to Fencer to ask him where the resign button was, but I found it

You can print out any games, they are not copyrighted.