TCEC 23 superfinal book, by GM Matthew Sadler and Jeroen Noomen

The TCEC 23 superfinal book was again developed in cooperation between international chess Grandmaster Matthew Sadler and myself (Jeroen Noomen). 

Here is the most important information about our book:

• The TCEC 23 superfinal book was completed in the months before July 2022. Both Matthew and I have chosen 25 lines, which will be played alternately. Matthew's lines are #1, #3, #5 and so forth, my lines are #2, #4, #6 and so forth. The lines are mixed in a special way, the 2nd half of the superfinal will have a higher bias. 
• I ordered both Matthew's and my own lines from 1 (lowest exit) to 25 (highest exit). My own lines are played from 1 (lowest) to 25 (highest). Matthew's five highest exits will be played first, i.e. in the first 10 lines there are 5 with a very high bias. After that Matthew's lines continue with 1,2,3.... 20.
• All lines typically have a Leela Chess Zero book exit between +0.35 and +0.55, with a few exceptions (note: this is an old Leela net, with lower evaluations than the current Leela net!). Of course the book exits at TCEC can be very different, because of much faster hardware or because engines like Stockfish and Komodo Dragon have much higher evaluations than Leela.  
• All important openings will be played; just like in the previous TCEC superfinals the opening lines are risky and have a (very) high bias. This is necessary to avoid an excessive number of uninteresting draws. 
• The chosen lines typically have a length between 2 moves and 13 moves; there are two lines which are 2 moves (4 ply) long and there is one line which is 13 moves long. 
• Five opening lines have a black advantage, to increase the chance of a black win.
• Average move length is 6.36, which is lower compared to the previous superfinal.
• We have avoided positions that could lead to many exchanges, as well as positions with a symmetrical pawn structure and positions that could lead to easy wins for the side with an advantage. The last aspect is becoming more and more difficult, with strong hardware, a long time control and engines being so strong. Of course risky lines means that the chance of 1-0 1-0 is increasing.
• The purpose of the lines is to have interesting play with a reasonable chance of a decisive result. An opening result of 1.5-0.5 is the preferred outcome. Enjoy the TCEC 23 superfinal!

 

ECO code distribution

ECO A: 13 lines

ECO B: 18 lines

ECO C: 8 lines

ECO D: 1 line

ECO E: 10 lines

Move length distribution

2 moves: 2 lines

3 moves: 3 lines

4 moves: 7 lines

5 moves: 9 lines

6 moves: 10 lines

7 moves: 3 lines

8 moves: 7 lines

9 moves: 5 lines

10 moves: 1 line

>10 moves: 3 lines