it.com Domains at Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon
- by Ilona K.
On November 11-14 2024, the it.com Domains team joined Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. Our team, in partnership with the Web Summit and World Chess, created a truly fascinating project Hans Niemann vs. You there.
The Web Summit, one of the largest and most important events in the world of technology and innovation, offered us a unique chance to meet industry leaders, learn about the latest tech trends, and strengthen our connections within the global community of entrepreneurs and innovators.
The Web Summit attracted over 70,000 attendees from 160 countries, including 3,000+ companies and 900+ speakers. Companies such as Airbnb, Apple, Amazon, Meta and X (formerly Twitter) took the stage and shared their success stories.
This year, it.com Domains returned to the Web Summit with a new and exciting project: a chess game between Hans Niemann and an AI-supported international team.
This collaborative project was inspired by two historic matches of Garry Kasparov. The first one was in 1999, when he played against the whole world in the MSN Gaming Zone. Over 50,000 participants took part in the game. The second one was his legendary defeat by IBM’s Deep Blue in 1997. It was the first time a computer had defeated a reigning world champion. This event highlighted the potential of collaborative strategy and the evolving capabilities of artificial intelligence in chess.
The use of artificial intelligence in chess is no longer a novelty. For several decades, users have had the opportunity to test their skills against a computer. However, the it.com Domains team decided to take things to the next level and ask the question: “What if, instead of playing against AI, you collaborate with it?” This is how the concept for the project came about.
One of the world’s leading grandmasters, Hans Niemann, joined a game against the AI-assisted World Team. Anyone, from all over the world, could have joined the game to challenge Hans in a unique interactive match.
The event took place on November 13, 2024. The game ended with Hans Niemann’s victory, demonstrating the power of one mind against thousands. The game attracted over 106,638 participants from 132 countries. This broke the previous record for the largest online game with 60,000 opponents, which was held by Viswanathan Anand. The match took 71 moves and lasted 42 minutes.
Hans played as White, while the World Team played as Black. The World Team played the game online in real-time from their own devices, both from the audience and from around the world. The online game was replicated on the physical board on stage. Emil Protalinsky, the famous tech reporter, made the moves on behalf of the World Team, holding a tablet with the online game interface. Official stream hosted by James Canty III, a world-renowned chess player, FIDE Master, streamer and entrepreneur.
The AI advisor system, designed by it.com Domains and based on the Stockfish AI engine, presented participants with three options for each move that emulated different levels of play — Grandmaster, Advanced, and Amateur. Participants weren’t aware of which move corresponded to which level.
Participants had 30 seconds to vote for a move. The chosen move was executed on the board. Hans Niemann had a total of 5 minutes to make his moves, with 1 second added for each move.
This game shows how technology can enhance player engagement and accessibility, paving the way for more interactive competitions that unite players around the world. The combination of traditional chess with modern technology is set to transform the way we experience and enjoy this timeless game.
The Hans Niemann vs. You chess match was a wonderful opportunity for the worlds of chess and technology to come together. Web Summit provided us with the chance to expand the audience of this ancient game and reach out beyond the chess community to popularize it in the world of tech.
Together with the more than 106,000 participants of the event, we had the chance to see for ourselves how effective and productive human interaction with modern technologies can be, especially with AI. We’re very grateful to our partners, Web Summit and World Chess, who took a step into the future with us and helped to bring our unique project to life,
shared Andrey Insarov, Founder and CEO of it.com Domains.
Also at our stand, participants and guests of the Web Summit had the opportunity to explore the nature of intelligence and play chess, experiencing the benefits of working with AI. Some participants had the chance to test their skills in a game against James Canty III.
Want to know more about domain industry events? Visit it.com Domains blog and follow us on social media.
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