The nameless Grandmaster “Kontrajako” edged out mutdpro (GM Minh Le Tuan) in final Saturday’s Titled Arena with MatthewG-p4p (IM Matvey Galchenko) coming in third (an auspicious consequence for the younger Russian International Master). The prime two locations have been determined within the closing minute when kontraJako prevailed towards MahammadMuradli2003 while mutdpro misplaced to fourth-place finisher Zhigalko_Sergei.

To ‘zerk or to not ‘zerk

One attention-grabbing side of the Lichess Titled Arena is the “berserk” characteristic and the totally different approaches contributors take to it – some “zerk” not often (or solely towards a lot lower-rated opponents), some “zerk” situationally, and a handful, resembling mutdpro, appear to berserk virtually each sport as a matter of precept. The hows and whys of when to berserk can play a significant function in who finally wins these occasions and is value a better look. For occasion, let’s study the video games of our fourth place finisher, Sergei Zhigalko. Why Sergei? Well, primarily as a result of GM Zhigalko streams virtually all of his on-line video games on Youtube but additionally as a result of Sergei’s epic (and extremely entertaining) tilt and restoration halfway by means of this match had a significant impact upon the last word standings.

Anatomy of a Tilt

Perhaps crucial ingredient in an excellent catastrophe story is a promising starting, resembling Zhigalko’s first dozen video games on this match during which he went undefeated, rising because the match chief. Among these video games was a crucial win towards mutdpro:

https://lichess.org/research/BtCgti67/5l3yR0Ry#45

However, in spherical 13, our hero lastly meets his nemesis within the type of the mysterious kontraJako who, as we will see later, makes a speciality of spirited protection:

https://lichess.org/research/BtCgti67/R8Hy4jf5#34

Perhaps disheartened by dropping this pawn-up endgame, Sergei then drops a sport to (the effectively named) drop_stone however rapidly rights the ship with two berserking victories in a row solely to come across kontraJako for a second time. Sergei sensibly refrains from berserking this sport and what outcomes is sort of probably the sport of the match:

https://lichess.org/research/BtCgti67/qgbVAEmY#22

https://youtu.be/JciSr23I1uw?t=5070

After this second loss, our intrepid Zhigalko, recognizing the necessity for drastic measures to erase kontraJako’s more and more giant match lead, begins a topsy-turvey run of berserking wins and losses to kind of hold tempo. However, after a loss towards PaulfromSPb, Sergei runs into the “Jako” one final time:

https://lichess.org/research/BtCgti67/h6EgAjFE#81

This third and arguably worst loss towards the match chief (and eventual winner) formally begins poor Sergei’s descent into Tilt-Town, inhabitants him. Five extra losses, all while berserking, comply with, resulting in a dramatic pause in his YouTube stream.

One would possibly marvel why Zhigalko continued to berserk all through all of those defeats. The reply is not easy, however maybe partly has to do with delicate nature of how berserking capabilities in prime lichess occasions. In some methods, berserking is a kind of chess model of the “Prisoners Dilemna”.

Prisoner’s Dilemma:

Of course an enormous distinction between the 2 is that the second participant to berserk is conscious of the primary participant’s irrevocable alternative. This would trivialize “Prisoner’s Dilemma”, as presumably few prisoners, realizing that the opposite has already chosen to stay silent, would additionally select to stay silent once they can “win” by snitching. Interestingly, this does not maintain for Berserker’s Dilemma for 2 important causes. First, and possibly foremost, berserking is not obligatory a nasty factor because it has a number of benefits no matter what your opponent chooses to do: it will increase the reward for successful, it shortens the sport (a significant factor in on-line area occasions), and the drawback of getting much less time than your opponent is mitigated by the very fact you possibly can suppose in your opponent’s time and, furthermore, your opponent can not suppose in your (nonexistent) time. Second, the choice to berserk exists not within the vacuum of a single sport however all through the whole thing of the match. What this implies in sensible phrases is that your opponent might resolve that they stand to realize extra by “encouraging” you to berserk sooner or later by berserking again since, in spite of everything, as soon as you have berserked, all outcomes are actually extra constructive from their perspective than if you happen to hadn’t. Thus, it might be that Grandmaster Zhigalko had, throughout his seven sport skid, hoped for extra “cooperation” from his opponents, however alas, as a substitute fell sufferer to his personal prowess at bullet chess, for none save the fearless mutdpro was prepared to just accept Sergei’s invites to bop.

In any occasion, our saga doesn’t finish right here, for Zhigalko, being the indefatigable fighter he’s, now picks himself up, stops beserking, and embarks on an unbelievable run of 9(!) consecutive wins, culminating in dashing mutdpro’s last-minute hopes of snatching the match away from kontraJako:

https://lichess.org/research/BtCgti67/uO2TcPtF

To sum up – the match winner not solely went 3-0 vs Zhigalko, but additionally tilted him to the purpose the place Sergei finally, like some kind of unbelievable chess hulk, started demolishing all of kontraJako’s rivals all through the essential final half-hour of the occasion. Well performed, Jako. Well performed.