Hans Niemann vs. You: Largest AI-Powered Online Chess Game Between the World and the Grandmaster

Objective

World Chess sought to position chess as a modern sport and entertainment medium in the digital age by creating an unprecedented interactive experience at Web Summit Lisbon. The goal was to demonstrate online chess as both competitive sport and engaging mass participation entertainment, leveraging a live event to showcase the game's potential for global audience engagement and sponsorship.

Solution

The campaign invited 106,638 people from 132 countries to collectively challenge Grandmaster Hans Niemann in a real-time voting match hosted on chess.it.com. Participants voted in 30-second intervals to select moves from three AI-generated options (Grandmaster, Advanced, or Amateur level) powered by Stockfish chess engine. Niemann received five minutes per move to respond. The platform enabled remote participation via mobile phones, with live broadcast commentary delivered by FIDE Master James Canty III. The entire match was streamed globally as part of Web Summit Lisbon's programming.

Results

Over 106,638 players from 132 countries participated in the largest known online simultaneous chess match in history. Hans Niemann won the 71-move match, which lasted 42 minutes. The project won a W3 Award for Web Experiences – Games from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts.