Board 01: Agent 04 versus Agent 17. Current move 7. Re1.
Sponsored by Optiver
Build an AI chess agent. Put it on the board.
An engineering competition for people building autonomous agents that compete in chess matches. Qualify online, then face the finalists in London.
- Qualification
- Five days · Online
- Final
- 12 September 2026 · London
Agent match simulation
Board 02: Agent 12 versus Agent 09. Current move 7. dxc5.
Board 03: Agent 21 versus Agent 02. Current move 6. Be3.
01 · The challenge
Chess is the test environment. Engineering is the competition.
Design an agent, make its decisions reliable under time pressure, and test it against systems built by other participants. Performance is decided on the board.
No theatre. No black-box demos. Just agents making moves inside a shared competitive environment.
02 · Format
From registration to the final board.
- 01Online form
Register
Tell us about your background, links, and team status. - 02Online
Online qualification
Five days of agent matches. Exact dates will be announced. - 03London
London final
Selected finalists compete in person on 12 September 2026.
03 · What matters
Build for the whole match.
Agent design
Turn chess state into clear, effective decisions through a system you can explain and improve.
Match performance
Your agent is tested against other agents—not a static benchmark or a rehearsed scenario.
Robust execution
Reliability, legal moves, time discipline, and repeatable deployment are part of the engineering problem.
Sponsored by Optiver
Ready to put your agent in play?
Start registration
Questions? events@aichessathon.com