Dear Chessfriends,
in the 4th round of the Hivechess tournament there were 12 players. New this time were 
Hive account@aakrist (TheOnlyNischal) and 
Hive account@digitalis (Digitalis888), the latter we know from Season 1. Welcome to both! The field had - due to the absence of some strong players today - an average rating of "only" 1708 (second to lowest so far).
This time winning streaks were not allowed. In hindsight, I think it made not that much difference in the ranking today, but I like it, as it keeps the field closer together and makes it thus more "dramatic" who will get the top ranks at the end of the hour. Do you like this mode too, or would you prefer winning streaks back in the next rounds?
Hive account@jaki01 had again a flawless performance and won all his games, except a draw against 
Hive account@pereu4ivatel (drakOnb). But due to the missing winning streaks the distance to the followers was not that big as usual! Hive account@pereu4ivatel had today a very good flow and could earn a well deserved second spot! I could land close behind him on rank 3, followed by 
Hive account@evgsk (evgchess) who as well had his best rank in this season. Rank 5 was taken by 
Hive account@yazp (zulukill), and the remaining tournament points went to 
Hive account@gingerbyna (Jeanjarrgh) (6th), 
Hive account@rafaelaquino (ajedrezclub2t) (7th) and 
Hive account@sammy00 (migmag) (8th) who could win his first tournament point today.
The games of this round can be found here, in case you want to replay some of them.
Season 2 "Summertime": 19 June to 21 Aug 2020 / Standing after 4 rounds:
No changes at the first two places, Hive account@jaki01 could increase his lead over 
Hive account@jrevilla (josephchess90), who was missing today, to comfortable 10 points. Hive account@pereu4ivatel (drakOnb) due to his great performance today could propel himself to the hard-fought third place, followed by myself. @cattoOOO who was present today but then could not play, lost three places, but if the daughter wakes up, this is of course more important!
The other changes you can find in the table.
Payouts:
The winner of each round gets 8 points, the second 7,... and the 8th 1 point.
Season 2 goes over 11 rounds and all points are summed up. All Hivechess-related post rewards are pooled and 90% go to the price pool. The winner will get 30% of that price pool, the second 20%, the third 10%, the rest is divided equally among the other players active on Hive or Steem, according to the no. of rounds they have played. So everyone has a chance to get something and the more you play the more you win! Prices are payed out in Hive Tokens.
The remaining rules you can look up in the announcement post.
See you hopefully next Friday and as always - keep practicing!
