Torch enters TCEC Season 29
The upcoming Season 29 of the Top Chess Engine Championship (TCEC) is poised to deliver one of the most competitive and high-profile editions in its history. This season will mark the highly anticipated debut of Torch, a leading proprietary engine developed by Chess.com. Its inclusion introduces a new dynamic to an already elite field, which includes established engines such as Stockfish (the reigning champion), Leela Chess Zero (Lc0), Integral, Obsidian, others.
The TCEC season is live 24/7 the official website of TCEC, in video format on TCEC Twitch TV, a broadcast on our favorite game server Lichess, and news reports on Chessdom. Upcoming: a computer chess calendar in The Chess Calendar
TCEC: The Premier Platform for Computer Chess
Since its founding in 2010 and hosted by Chessdom.com, TCEC has served as the premier competitive arena for state-of-the-art chess engines. It is widely regarded as the gold standard for computer chess championships, featuring long time controls, high-performance hardware, and a structured season spanning approximately six months of continuous play. TCEC has drawn global attention for showcasing the forefront of AI-driven chess innovation, attracting both researchers and enthusiasts.
Over the years, TCEC has featured engines that defined their respective eras—from Hiarcs and Rybka, to Stockfish, Leela Chess Zero, Komodo Dragon, Ethereal, Berserk, PlentyChess, Integral, and Obsidian. These engines compete in a fixed seasonal format designed to test engine performance across diverse scenarios.
Structure of the TCEC Season
Each TCEC season consists of multiple competitive events:
- 4K Competition – a niche event for engines under 4096 bytes in size
- TCEC Swiss – an 11-round Swiss tournament that also acts as a qualifier for subsequent events
- TCEC Cup – a knockout-format competition
- TCEC Leagues & Superfinal – the core of the season, including ascending league levels culminating in the Premier Division, followed by a 100-game Superfinal between the top two engines
- Fischer Random Double Event – concludes the season with a variant format
Additional bonus events, such as the Viewer-Submitted Openings Bonus (VSOB) and the ongoing 1-Day-Per-Move match, are interspersed between main competitions to further engage the audience and test engines in unique formats.
Torch: A New Contender for the TCEC Superfinal?
First introduced by Chess.com in July 2023, Torch is a proprietary chess engine developed collaboratively by a distinguished group of computer chess experts. Contributors include Andrew Grant (Ethereal), Finn Eggers and Kim Kähre (Koivisto), Michael Whiteley, Dietrich Kappe, and advised by Mark Lefler and Larry Kaufman (Komodo). Torch is built from the ground up, integrating state-of-the-art neural network architecture with refined evaluation techniques.
While Torch has already demonstrated exceptional performance in Chess.com’s Computer Chess Championship, its competitive games have remained exclusive to that platform so far. Its debut in TCEC Season 29 will be its first appearance in an open, high-stakes environment against other top-tier engines under standardized tournament conditions.
As TCEC Season 29 approaches, the inclusion of Torch, combined with the massive performance by Integral, Obsidian, PlentyChess, and a general shortening of the rating gaps at the top, raises significant anticipation and scholarly interest. The coming months promise an insightful demonstration of modern engine capabilities, as well as a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of computer chess.