Atomic World Championship #2: More Scams

Overview

In the atomic world, there is a special word "scam" — It can basically mean anything, from "winning by strange methods" to an interjection after losing a game.
It's been 3 weeks since my last post. Quite a few matches were played, and now let's update all the results till now and look at some of the best games!
Disclaimer: When commenting about the games, I have engine, so I'm not saying players who played sub-optimal moves or blunders are bad, I'm just objectively analyzing. If I played in these positions, I might play worse moves or blunder mate in 1!

Qualification Rounds

You can see the bracket updates here: https://challonge.com/2025awctop64qualifier

Group A

As I said in the previous blog, this is a fairly evenly matched group, anything can happen. After the forfeit of @CyberShredder, @SoftBerserkRoyalty convincingly defeated higher seeded @Divagueur 6-1. The match started with 2 white wins in Nf3 e5 opening, then Divagueur lost 3 games in a row due to missing king moves:

In atomic, we often hesitate to move our kings, but in some cases, moving the king can be a good idea to stop the mate threats. These moves can be hard to find in real games. Being up 4-1, SoftBerserkRoyalty quickly wins the match against the tilted opponent.
Group winner: SoftBerserkRoyalty

Group B

This group is not finished yet, @tantuini33 defeated @OllieParker 5.5-3.5, despite being the lowest rated players, they put up a good fight. The highlights of this match include the first stalemate in AWC2025:

I might also fall for this scam..

And the final chance.

@szura is due to play @tantuini33 in the next round, szura will be the favourite.

Group C

This group is also unfinished, with no matches played. @Pietroand007 and @joe121 will be battling for the main bracket spot. It will be a close match, @joe121 is actually a slight favourite.

Group D

Similar to group C, @Alphadream vs @miller2345 will also be a close match. @Alphadream is a slight favourite.

Group E

Well, the Group of Death ended prematurely with @SAC_Chess_Champions forfeiting. @cFlour defeated @GreatSteelPanda convincingly 6.5-1.5, the latter was clearly tilted during the match. GSP played well as black in the first game, had a winning position but got into time trouble, and blundered mate. cFlour played well in the second game with Nf3 e5 and took an early 2-0 lead. GSP didn't give up, and drew comfortably as black in game 3 despite an opening blunder:

GSP then won the next Nf3 e5 game with a queen invasion. The 5th game was the turning point. cFlour opened with c3, and allowed a knight invasion for seemingly no reason. GSP, being up a rook, was easily winning and could tie the game... But here comes the final scam...

Yeah, in a hopeless position, cFlour used spite checks to confuse GSP, successfully flagging GSP. GSP is now clearly tilted and hung the queen and mate in 1 for no reason the next game. In the match-deciding game, there was a 9-move engine sequence where white and black had some strange only moves:

But black didn't find the d4 counterattack idea, and lost to a knight invasion. The last game was just to balance the colours.
Group winner: cFlour

Group F

Similar to Group B and C. Both @squiggliey and @R2300 have decent chances.

Group G

As for my group, the only finished one without forfeits, there were also interesting games. I defeated @huangyuting2377 5.5-0.5, it was not that eventful but my opponent probably played too quickly. I accepted their draw offer because it secures the win and I'm not a farmer.
@FrogAndCranberries defeated @ajcortez 7-0, the first perfect score. ajcortez had some chances, for example: (consider these as puzzles)

My match against FAC was closer than the scoreline 5.5-0.5 suggests. I think this is a great pawntinization (Idk why it is called this, but it means being up a bad bishop not able to capture any pawns, and it's a theoretical draw) example —

And my bad sacrifice which doesn't work —

My opponent's final possible scam —

But all in all, I prepped well and took the win. Not sure how to steal games from the main bracket opponents though.
Group winner: Ericahhhhhhh

Group H

@Marcello01785, being the clear favourite, took care of business, beating @therealkdnagrani 6-0 and @Ulisse_Dusci 6-2 to qualify.
Some highlights in this group include:
A successful Botez Gambit.

The shortest game.

The missed chance. (If it had been 2-0, the result might be different)

The Fool's diagonal. (Remember your chess! XD)

The hook scam.-(Nobody likes the hook as black in Nf3 e3)

And of course, sometimes if you are not in a time scramble, don't move too fast...

Group winner: Marcello01785
My Predictions: 2/5, so don't trust my predictions.

Main Bracket

Quite a few matches in the main bracket has been played. So far there are no major upsets, all the top seeds are still safe. But as we all know, some upsets are bound to happen -v-
https://challonge.com/2025awc

Due to a lichess bug, the study positions don't show up in the blog. You can click the links to find the positions.

Group A

This is already finished. @NeverOFzero, being seed #1, firstly defeated @Marcello01785 (from the qualifiers) 6-0. The strength difference was huge. NoZ did not make meaningful mistakes after the opening, and Marcello's best chance was probably Game 3:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/NyN0AAj6#20
But even if Marcello kept the advantage, it's possible that NoZ can find some sequence to win in the endgame. You never know.
Meanwhile, @DanDan2016 defeating @ARM64 6-2 was probably the only upset so far seeding-wise. DanDan2016 prepared well and started with a nearly perfect Nh3 d4 game and a quick win as black. In game 3 DanDan had a good position but blundered a queen in time scramble. ARM also got into time scramble and missed the win. The final position is a perfect showcase of "When you have a draw, take the draw, don't play for the loss":
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/E0FXo84Q#93
DanDan with the winning streak then quickly extended the lead to 5-0. However, ARM fought back with two perfect wins in a row, one being a 7-move beautiful double checkmate:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/Ch4IC0lQ#13
However, ARM64 got too greedy as white and fall to a bishop scam -
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/Yd96Eavc#13
DanDan didn't have much time to prepare for NoZ, the result was brutal - NoZ won 6-0 again. DanDan did enjoy some big advantages in the Nh3 d4 and Nh3 e5 openings, and NoZ played g4 as white, so DanDan was winning in all openings, but NoZ always successfully managed to turn it around. This is just pure trolling. Also a problem is that DanDan got into time trouble too often, and lost the last game due to flagging. Probably DanDan's best chance was playing the practical and easily winning Nxh7 in this game:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/jFRFRwyG#12
Winner (qualified for top 16): NeverOFzero

Group B

Not yet played. @chrisrapid will face the winner of @StealYourKidney and I.
Do I even need to predict? >_<
Winner prediction: chrisrapid

Group C

Not yet played. @Natso will play qualifiers Group F winner, and @ekulxam will play @Rider3208 . The winners of these matches will face each other.
Rider and Ekulxam are not easy opponents for Natso, but the defending champion should still qualify for last 16 after probably a tough match.
Winner prediction: Natso

Group D

Not yet played. @vlad_00 will play @cFlour, and @Paul8900 will play @Orcinus_Orca . The winners of these matches will face each other. Vlad will need to prepare a bit but should still go through. Upset is possible, I'm not convinced by Paul's recent performance, Orcinus_Orca can win first match. But overall vlad will still be a favourite.
Winner prediction: vlad_00

Group E

Not yet played. @MaxwellsSilvrHammer will play qualifiers group D winner, and @BlackJack84 will play @sircachetes . It's very possible that Maxwell ragequits or forfeits, and sircachetes is now higher rated than BlackJack. Sircachetes is good at 2N spam, so I'm going for an upset here. Maybe sircachetes can do this scam -.-. As we all know, there will always be upsets, just where and when.
Winner prediction: sircachetes

Group F

@seaside_tiramisu, being a great player, has defeated @Chijss 8-2. (Practically only the first 8 games count so it's more like 6-2). Seaside barely made any mistakes in the first 3 games, and Chijss fought back with Nc3 opening where seaside allowed mate in time trouble:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/hYjHxTEM#40
However, Chijss has no solution to the Nh3 d4 opening and played a "king sacrifice" immediately after:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/4uZqr2V9#8
Seaside missed a chance to all but claim the victory — they chose the wrong pawn to capture.
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/J2Imifse#31
But Chijss also missed an equalizing move in the opening. It's hard to find. Probably some theoreticians know this line.
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/nqbltlL6#15
Chijss' final mistake was to move the queen too early, which I might also do (it's such a natural move.) After 6-2 the remaining games no longer mattered.
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/JREjCoI3#16
Seaside will be a tough challenge for @Ihatespammers who needs to defeat qualifiers group C winner first. However Ihatespammers is a spammer and can probably outspam seaside. Or it will be 10 white wins and armageddon.
Winner prediction: Ihatespammers

Group G

Not yet played. @Opabinia will play qualifiers group B winner, and @kuma0418 will play @U1CBC . U1CBC is not that scary for Opa, but kuma0418 recently improved a lot, but is still a bit behind Opabinia. However, if Opa doesn't prep, an upset is coming.
Winner prediction: Opabinia but upset is very possible

Group H

@RandoomPlayer defeated @SoftBerserkRoyalty 6-0 as expected. The match was hardly interesting — in fact Randoom was very accurate, there were barely any mistakes in the whole match, just like Never's Round 1 match. This performance proves that he will be the favourite against the winner of @ArjunZS and @JurrYan. (The former is pretty high rated but kinda rusty.)
Winner prediction: Randoomplayer

Group I

Another finished group. @Wolfram_EP dominated @Passionate_Player 5.5-0.5, but Passionate_Player played well to earn the half point as black (avoiding 6-0 is surely a success, let alone drawing as black.) In fact, there was even a hard-to-find win:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/Cd3DvI8b#27
There were other points where Passionate_Player had chances as well, especially in the final game. White didn't address the mating threat and Wolfram finished with a queen sacrifice.
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/isVusnmB#34
The match between @basementperson and @StudieB was the most breathtaking so far, they were evenly matched. The first two games ended in white wins caused by missing mates. StudieB missed the chance to go 2-0 by being greedy... So sometimes being greedy is OK.
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/GBNayx8m#33
In Game 3 they both played well till the endgame, where white had a win but the idea was not simple. Apparently the winning idea was to connect kings and win with 2P vs R. I don't even know if it is actually humanly winnable.
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/xqA7XQfe#110
Game 4 was a good game by basementperson and white won. Game 5, StudieB decided to "play for the win", made an objectively losing move to avoid the draw, but then managed to win because basementperson had no time, given that StudieB was down 1.5-2.5, it was the right decision. The QvP endgame was also a classic:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/5OLy88mX#71
Tilted basement lost a quick game as white in game 6. However, in game 7, basement defended well as black and caught a blunder to pull the score back to even, and then won as white in game 8. StudieB survived a hopeless position to take it to the final game:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/dMT49aHI#81
The final game was also eventful, basement correctly declined repetition draw and played on with an advantage, and quickly found a way to secure the match 5.5-4.5:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/jRDx1rn4#57
Finally, @Wolfram_EP faced @basementperson, the c3 opening didn't work well against Wolfram, the match finished 6-0 for Wolfram. Basement's best and probably the only chance was in a rook and pawn endgame to secure at least a draw:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/4g7AOep9#41
Winner: Wolfram_EP

Group J

@JakeStateFarm defeated @Maroa106 5.5-0.5, but the draw was possibly due to a misclick. Later Maroa was winning but accepted a draw anyway.
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/W3TE3Fdx#34
Maroa had a chance to win the very next game as well, but missed the chance:
https://lichess.org/study/QuIhOBmW/5KddANmu#42
The thing is: the uncastled king is actually the safest here, castling queenside was also bad, but just calmly pushing pawns wins.
The other match, @RabbieR vs @always_play_atomic will be a very close match, both will be able to give JSF some scare. But JSF has improved this year.
Winner prediction: JakeStateFarm

Group K

@Rechesster defeated @LiquidPlantFood 10-0. Well, the first one to play the full 10 games after getting 6-0ed, LiquidPlantFood surely has fighting spirit. As for the best chance, it's probably here:
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/GUeLNsfH#22
There was only one winning move, can you find it? Apart from this game, Rechesster didn't make meaningful mistakes,
@Quasabianth and @average200 are solid players, but Rechesster's good form shows why he is still the favourite.
Winner Prediction: Rechesster

Group L

Another finished group. @TAIsThuban defeated chess.com player @Tormozavrus 5.5-0.5 without much trouble. Tormozavrus had a mate in 2 in one of the games though:
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/0J2xmELP#22
@Superprosper was a top player in the old days, and defeated @memeliciouss 7.5-2.5 (6-2). Here are some highlights of this match:
Endgames are hard.
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/xkSj42uc#64
How to defend this?
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/zv4P28iw#23
How to defend this, again?
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/nggcON1J#39
Remember, g6 only works against e4. Not against d4. I made this mistake before.
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/7WKhc6sT#8
@TAisThuban and @SuperProsper also had a close match. First 2 games were black wins where both players played well as black. Then Thuban dominated as white in game 3 and won with Nf3 e5 in game 4. Game 5 saw a time scramble, where Thuban successfully took advantage of a blunder:
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/VBgMamjf#65
Thuban missed a chance to go 5-1 and allowed Super back into the match:
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/dG5dM3pS#23
Superprosper then found a way into white's position as black in another time scramble to make it 3-4. But then he proceeded to miss a mate for several moves to even the score:
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/1MYJxPys#50
To be fair, the mate was not obvious and I couldn't find it. Thuban then made no mistakes as white and clinched the match, the last game was just to balance the colours. The match ended 6-4 in Thuban's favour.
Winner: TAIsThuban

Group M

@Maracker got a forfeit win, the other favourite @GRX_bullet defeated @KNIGHTBLADE_123 6-1, after losing first game by flagging:
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/QAF857FM#33
GRX bounced back quickly and played well in Nf3 e5 games. Knightblade did have chances in time scrambles, but overall GRX was the better player.
Maracker, despite being higher seeded, is actually an underdog by rating. As the 11th on the leaderboard, GRX should be able to get into top 16.
Winner Prediction: GRX_BULLET

Group N

@digvijay_sunil defeated @JuanC95 6-4 in a close match. The match included no fewer than 4 draws — the most so far. Sunil played well in games 1 and 2 with no mistakes, making a draw and a win. In Game 3, white prevailed in a complicated queen imbalance middlegame where black failed to use the queen:
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/dhodcdwb#25
Juan then played well as black despite missing a hard win —
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/pqkh6hND#49
The match was still tied after both players won perfect games with white. Then Sunil won as black in a Nc3 game by converting the material advantage. After two more draws, one by pawntinization, Sunil won the final game as white to clinch the match.
This seemingly natural move lost the game.
https://lichess.org/study/hx7OenmN/DADFHffs#20
On the other hand, @JudeBaeTorrens will face @C9H13N and the winner will play Sunil. JBT is the favourite in both matches.
Winner Prediction: JudeBaeTorrens

Group O

No matches played yet. The winner of @boogaly and @imjustanotherbot will face the winner of @CondensedWater and @F55555. Boogaly is back in form, imjustanotherbot is improving, F55555 is also playing well, making this the closest group, so it's hard to predict who wins. However, boogaly recently played a lot and is showing good form, so will be a slight favourite.
Winner Prediction: boogaly

Group P

No matches played yet. The winner of TD @HowlinD and @BlunderPandaZz will face the winner of @mike-bear and @arinor0109. BlunderPandaZz is a GM — the only GM in the tournament. But as for atomic skills, @HowlinD is the favourite in this group. Mike-bear winning will not be that surprising, though.
Winner Prediction: HowlinD

Trivia

• So far, nobody successfully defeated any of the top 16 seeds. The final 16 will NOT be re-seeded, unlike previous editions, so in the main bracket, Group A winner always faces Group P winner, Group B winner faces Group O winner, and so on.
• No 1.Na3 has been played. Where did all the Na3 spammers go?
• If you exclude my games, all e4 games ended in white losses. Where are my e4 spammers? Even g4 scored better win rate.

Thanks for reading, and good luck in your life and your chess games!

Chess might be for the nerds
but it's a well-made game.
In AWC you write your words
and let the world know your name.
Whichever opening you choose,
please don't always spam.
Don't be afraid to lose,
you might develop a new scam....