Lichess4545 Season 47 Finale: No pressure, Just the Entire Season on the Line

Season 47 of Lichess4545 league is in the books and let's not bury the lede here. It ended up with maybe the single highest-stakes game in league history. That might sound like a bold claim, but the way stars lined up for the final game was a bit absurd. Simply put, depending on the finish of that fateful single game, one team would become the champions and the other team would be guaranteed to be knocked off the podium.

I will not bore you with the details on how this constellation came to be, but this is where @PonderInSilence (playing White for Think Like a Grandpatzer) and @Lotus_62 (playing Black for Better Call Tall) found themselves.

As complicated as the league standings situation was, the outcome here was simple. With the score 4-3 for the Tallers coming into the game, White needed to win the game to win the league, or else the team would be off the podium. Black needed to win or draw to win the league, or else the team would be off the podium.

As it became clear how big this game was going to be, Lotus_62 shared a few clear messages with other league members: "Out of all the things in this world, I hate being put at spotlight! 😭😅" while also confessing to being a bit scared. Meanwhile, we did not hear much from their opponent. We may only assume they pondered in silence...?

Ok, enough of the jokes, this is the crucial game of the season:

This board 6 game had White really try to go for it, but Lotus_62 was fairly quickly able to liquidate any pressure. Better Call Tall won the match 5-3 and they became the champions. Lotus_62 let us all know: „I think I will treat myself to a nice meal“ The feast and the celebration might still be ongoing. The Grandpatzers had to settle for fourth spot.

Second and third place were already a lock by that point and we have to acknowledge the podium finishers. Proof by Checkmate were even in a position to potentially dream about winning the league as their match against Elo from the other side unfolded. They needed to win and they needed to win big to have a chance and that is what they were doing. One of the wilder games of that contest was a board 4 fight between @basyaar (Proofers) and @MasterSRV (Elo) which could have gone either way but in the end, basyaar pushed their winning streak to 6 and kept the hope alive.

In the end, the Proofers went on to win the match 6.5-1.5 and when the dust settled, that was enough to grant them 2nd place on the podium (which turned out to be the same position they would get if they won the round 8-0, so they do not need to rue any missed chances).

Which brings us to the 3rd place team and this turned out to be contested between Blunder? I hardly know her and May I offer you a pawn in these trying times?. Here we have to highlight the game between @BLang316 and @adande1. If you love endgames and if you love mountains and valleys, this is your game.

Either way, Blunderers came out on top in this match to the tune of a 5.5-2.5 victory and in the end, that was enough for a bronze medal. The final Season 47 standings show how close it all was and I have to say, this was definitely one of the most exciting and unpredictable finishes the league remembers.

And before we leave, one more thing: @scarff is officially the first and only member of the 300 games club. A true league legend. They celebrated with a victory, too!

We want to thank everyone who took part in Season 47 of our league and of course, big congratulations to the winners.

Now, onward we go! Season 48 registrations are open and we are starting it soon. We expect scarff back...and hopefully see you there too.

Lichess4545 is an online chess league for people who like playing long time control games online. Players are assigned to teams and play one game per week with a 45+45 time control. For more information visit our league home page.
LoneWolf is a side league of the Lichess4545 league. It is an 11-round Swiss tournament where players play one game per week with a 30+30 time control. For more information about the LoneWolf tournament visit the LoneWolf homepage.
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