Pro Chess League Qualifier 2020: Teams, regulations, format

In the previous editions of the Pro Chess League, before the start of the regular season, a qualifier tournament was held in which new teams (together with teams got relegated) fought for the spot in the Pro Chess League. When Chess.com announced the new format of the Pro Chess League 2020, they decided to remain faithful to this tradition (despite other major changes).

On 16. November 2020., Pro Chess League Qualifier for the season 2020 was held. The tournament was invitational and a total of 8 teams got the opportunity to participate:

  1. Azerbaijan Wolves
  2. Latvia Magicians
  3. Iceland Puffins
  4. Korea Insiders
  5. Portugal Patzers
  6. San Diego Surfers
  7. Serbia Aliens
  8. Croatia Bulldogs

The format was as follows: each team consisted of four players sorted on four boards on the basis of their classical ELO rating. Every player was to play against all other players on the corresponding board (meaning player on the first board was to play 7 games against other first boards, the player on the second board against other second boards, etc.). Each player’s score was added up to the total team score. After 7 rounds, the two best teams were to play against each other once again and after the final, 8th round (and tiebreaks, if necessary), the winner would be determined.

The tournament was played on chess.com. The tempo for the regular rounds was 10 minutes plus 2 additional seconds per move, while in the tiebreak it was 3 minutes plus 2 additional seconds per move.

The stakes at the tournament were very high. Chess.com envisioned that only one team out of eight would qualify for the upcoming Pro Chess League season. Not only that: since the new format of the Pro Chess League doesn’t envision relegation of the teams, the winner of the tournament was very likely to qualify for several Pro Chess League Seasons.

The players were, of course, all aware of that and it told on their play. From the games, it is apparent that they were very nervous. The tournament was full of amazing swindles, big blunders and miraculous saves of lost positions and it was incredibly dramatic, tense, close and nail-biting.

In the end, it was decided only after the blitz tiebreak. I am incredibly happy that our team Croatia Bulldogs emerged as the surprising winner.

Round by round report follows.

Croatia Bulldogs at the Pro Chess League Qualifier 2020 – Round by Round Report

At the Pro Chess League Qualifier 2020, Croatia Bulldogs assembled the following rooster:

  1. IM Tuan Minh Le – board 1
  2. IM Leon Livaić – board 2
  3. IM Jadranko Plenča – board 3
  4. IM Sven Tica – board 4

Even though he brought a lineup without a single International Master, the team manager Vjekoslav Nemec was trying to maintain his optimism. He did think his players are somewhat underrated and that the fact they are all young and experienced in online chess might play turn out to be an important factor.

In hindsight, it turned out he was very much right. But when the teams were first announced and when he saw the strong, full-GM-stacked lineups of the Azeri and Latvian teams, his optimism was shaken. It was easy to hope but difficult (if not impossible) to expect that four young IMs will be able to come ahead of the teams consisting of names such as Igor Kovalenko or Rauf Mamedov.

But it did happen. In the remainder of the post we will describe how exactly that happened and will take you through our journey through the Pro Chess League Qualifier 2020.

Round 1: Croatia Bulldogs vs. San Diego Surfers

In the very first round, we got paired against San Diego Surfers and with the great start – 3/4 – already announced this might be “our” tournament. On the very first board, Minh Le managed to extricate himself from the difficult position and checkmate his opponent GM Michael Brown:

On the fourth board, Sven Tica also played a wild game against IM Keaton Kiewra, which he managed to win, not without a fair degree of luck:

Round 2: Croatia Bulldogs vs. Latvia Magicians

In the 2nd round, our first big test awaited us – a full GM stacked team and the 2nd favorites for the title, Latvia Magicians.

However, despite being heavy underdogs, the four youngsters rose up to the occasion and managed to draw the match with the 2:2 score.

On the first board, Minh Le beat the well-known grandmaster Igor Kovalenko after the latter underestimated the young Vientamese’s resources:

On the 2nd board, Livaić displayed his mastery of the French Defence:

Round 3: Croatia Bulldogs vs. Portugal Patzers

In the third round, Croatia Bulldogs faced Portugal Patzers. Even though they weren’t as impressive as the Azerbaijan or Latvian team on the paper (and even though their final result wasn’t brilliant), a 4:0 wipeout of a team consisting of four 2400+ players is definitely a hallmark of a worthy Pro Chess League Candidate.

Sven Tica’s victory over IM Andre Sousa featured some nice “exhibitions” of the white king:

Considering that the former first board of Azerbaijan, GM Parham Maghsoodlo, disconnected during his 2nd round game because the Iran government suspended Internet access to its country, Azerbaijan Wolves effectively lost two points (1 because Maghsoodlo lost his game and 1 because the rules of the qualifier envisioned a penalty for any substitute during the tournament). Which meant that after this round Croatia Bulldogs took the lead they wouldn’t relinquish until the very end of the tournament.

Round 4: Croatia Bulldogs vs. Korea Insiders

Full of confidence and riding high in spirit after their convincing victory in the previous round, in round 4 Croatia Bulldogs faced another team with a comparatively weaker lineup – Korea Insiders. The team once again dealt with the pressure of “having to win” in the most remarkable manner, winning the match with a convincing result – 3.5:0.5.

However, the games were all very hard-fought and it could have easily swung the other way. Jadranko Plenča’s game on board 3 against IM Jun Hyeok Lee is a good example – after obtaining a good version of the Hippopotamus, the Korean player didn’t follow up correctly and fell victim to a very strong tactical play by the Croatian junior:

Round 5: Croatia Bulldogs vs. Serbia Aliens

After the end of the 4th round, Croatia Bulldogs maintained their lead and the players must have become aware that they have a real chance of winning the qualification spot (especially after Azerbaijan’s setback). This realization surely added some pressure and made the players even more nervous. Up to round 5, everything went ‘smoothly’, but our match against Serbia Aliens was the first in which luck deserted us.

First, Tuan Minh Le, who has been impeccable so far (3.5/4) lost his first game against strong Serbian GM Igor Miladinović. Then Leon Livaić failed to convert his sizable advantage in his game against GM Boban Bogosavljević into something more tangible. Finally, Sven Tica failed to win the following game against GM Milan Zajić:

Since Jadranko Plenča also drew his game, this was the first mini-match we lost with the result 2.5-1.5.

Round 6: Croatia Bulldogs vs. Azerbaijan Wolves

To their credit, Croatia Bulldogs didn’t collapse after the setback in the previous rounds and in the first critical encounter against the first favorites of the tournament – Azerbaijan Wolves – they once again demonstrated their very best.

First of all, Tuan Minh Le crushed the well-known GM Rauf Mamedov (who entered the tournament as a substitute for Parham Maghsoodlo) in a brilliant attacking game:

On the second board, Livaić once again demonstrated that the best way of dealing with his French Defence is probably to avoid it:

Finally, on the third board, Jadranko Plenča managed to draw without difficulty against yet another 2600 player, GM Eltaj Safarli:

This victory in the mini-match was huge for the overall tournament results. It not only helped Croatia Bulldogs maintained their lead – it was the first signal they might stand their ground against the mighty Wolves.

Round 7: Croatia Bulldogs vs. Iceland Puffings

Before the 7th round, the situation was very favorable for our team. With a huge positive score against Iceland Puffings, the fate of the tournament could be practically decided even before the additional round between the 1st and the 2nd team.

Unfortunately, the Puffings had other plans and managed to pose us a serious defeat. True, they were helped by Livaić’s unlucky blunder in his game against GM Helgi Olafsson.

But the final result could have been even worse for us, were it not for a miraculous save by Sven Tica after his opponent FM Vignir Steffanson blundered a rook in a completely winning position:

Round 8: Croatia Bulldogs vs. Azerbaijan Wolves

After 8 rounds, Croatia Bulldogs had 18 points, while Azerbaijan Wolves had 17 (with 1 point penalty included). According to the Qualifier regulations, the two teams were to play one additional round, which would determine the ultimate winner.

This meant that the draw in the match would be sufficient for us to qualify. Alas, on the first board, Minh Le got outplayed by Mamedov and was the first to lose. Fortunately, the other three players managed to draw their games, but not without difficulty and drama. Livaić, in particular, saved a completely hopeless position where he was an exchange and a pawn down after a heroic defensive effort:

Had Leon lost this game, all would have been in vain. Staggering composure with such high stakes.

In any case, the result after round 8 was tied and according to the regulations, an additional blitz round had to be played in order to determine the ultimate winner of the event.

Round 9 – Blitz Tiebreaks: Croatia Bulldogs vs. Azerbaijan Wolves

So, in the end, a 5-hour effort by the players came down to only four 3+2 blitz games. In just a couple of minutes, the fate of the qualifying spot would have been determined.

We can only imagine what went through the players’ heads and the amount of pressure they felt. Fortunately, after leading the entire tournament and then having to play the tiebreak, four young International Masters showed their class and character and outplayed the formidable enemy team, bringing the Pro Chess League to Croatia.

First, Minh Le used his tremendous technique to outplay Mamedov in a seemingly drawish rook endgame.

Then, Livaić once again demonstrated that his understanding and handling of the French structure is much higher than his rating suggests.

Finally, the last game to finish was the game that brought us the PCL spot:

Conclusion:

I am writing this almost a month after the qualifier has finished and it all still seems like a dream. The fact that four young International Masters managed to stand their own ground and defeat such a formidable opponent as Azerbaijan Wolves in three head to head matches is, even today, still unbelievable.

According to the commentators of the official Chess.com stream, they were not only regarded as first contenders for the qualifying spot, but as serious competitors in the entire Pro Chess League. The words of Danny Rensch are the best evidence of how upsetting and unexpected this result was and how tremendous the achievement of these young boys is:

"Croatia's qualification is arguably the biggest upset in the history of the Pro Chess League" ~ Danny Rensch, Chief Chess Officer and Vice- President of Chess.com

I can only warmly congratulate and thank my players on their brilliant performance and can only hope that they will repeat this feat many times in the upcoming season(s)!

Pro Chess League, we are coming for you!

Pro Chess League Qualifier 2020

PosTeamPoints
121
216.5
315
414.5
514
68.5
77

Official broadcast of the qualifier: