Stockfish has done it again. The open-source chess engine clinched the Top Chess Engine Championship Season 29 Grand Champion title after a dominant 100-game Superfinal against the surging challenger Reckless, completing another masterclass in computer chess. The result marks Stockfish’s 19th TCEC championship overall and its 12th consecutive season title.
Official website of the Top Chess Engine Championship
Stockfish has done it again — Chessdom (@chessdom) April 21, 2026
The result marks Stockfish's 19th TCEC championship overall and its 12th consecutive season title.https://t.co/6z7euJcVPR
TCEC Season 29 Superfinal
Throughout the broader Season 29 tournament, the competition was notably fierce. Engines such as Torch, which joined the field for the first time, and several other Premier Division monsters such as Lc0, Plentychess, and Integral, pushed hard for Superfinal qualification, reflecting the accelerating pace of development across the computer chess ecosystem.
For years, the top tier of computer chess has been defined by a familiar rivalry: Stockfish versus Leela Chess Zero (see last season Stockfish vs Lc0 Season 28 Superfinal). But in a dramatic and unexpected turn, that era was disrupted. For the first time in many seasons, the prestigious Top Chess Engine Championship Superfinal did not feature the long-standing clash between those two giants. Instead, a new contender, Reckless, has surged into the spotlight. A relative newcomer that had turned heads throughout the Season 29 leagues with its aggressive, unconventional playing style, Reckeless pushed Stockfish harder in the early game pairs than many observers expected.
However, as the tournament progressed, Stockfish established its dominance and step by step increased the lead. The final score of the match was a dominant 59.0 – 41.0 in favor of the reigning champion.
Replay: TCEC Season 29 Superfinal Interview: Arseniy Surkov, author of Reckless
TCEC Grand Champion (Superfinal/Leagues Season)
Season
Date
Stockfish Version
Score
Runner-up
Season 6
Feb–May 2014
Stockfish 170514 (1st title)
+13 =45 -6
Komodo 7x
Season 9
May–Dec 2016
Stockfish 8 (2nd)
+17 =75 -8
Houdini 5
Season 11
Jan–Apr 2018
Stockfish 260318 (3rd)
+20 =78 -2
Houdini 6.03
Season 12
Apr–Jul 2018
Stockfish 180614 (4th)
+29 =62 -9
Komodo 12.1.1
Season 13
Aug–Nov 2018
Stockfish 18102108 (5th)
+16 =78 -6
Komodo 2155.00
Season 14
Nov 2018–Feb 2019
Stockfish 190203 (6th)
+10 =81 -9
LCZero v0.20.2
Season 16
Jul–Oct 2019
Stockfish 19092522 (7th)
+14 =81 -5
AllieStein v0.5
Season 18
May–Jul 2020
Stockfish 202006170741 (8th)
+23 =61 -16
LCZero v0.25.1
Season 19
Aug–Oct 2020
Stockfish 202009282242 (9th)
+18 =73 -9
LCZero v0.26.3
Season 20
Dec 2020–Feb 2021
Stockfish 20210113 (10th)
+14 =78 -8
LCZero 0.27.0d
Season 21
May–Aug 2021
Stockfish 14_202107131735 (11th)
+19 =74 -7
LCZero 0.28
Season 22
Jan–Apr 2022
Stockfish dev15_20220401 (12th)
+28 =63 -9
KomodoDragon 2894.00
Season 23
Aug–Nov 2022
Stockfish dev16_20221027 (13th)
+27 =63 -10
LCZero 0.30
Season 24
Feb–Apr 2023
Stockfish dev-20230409 (14th)
+20 =64 -16
LCZero 0.30
Season 25
Aug–Oct 2023
Stockfish dev-20231010 (15th)
+27 =50 -23
LCZero 0.31
Season 26
May–Jun 2024
Stockfish dev-20240513 (16th)
+31 =52 -17
LCZero 0.31
Season 27
Oct 2024–Jan 2025
Stockfish dev-20241208 (17th)
+35 =47 -18
LCZero 0.31
Season 28
Jun–Sep 2025
Stockfish dev-20250824 (18th)
+36 =43 -21
LCZero 0.33
Season 29
Jan–Apr 2026
Stockfish dev-20260318 (19th)
+41 =36 -23
Reckless 0.10.0-dev-b5462f11
Stockfish has amassed 19 Grand Champion titles, 12 Cup titles, 5 Swiss titles, 5 FRC titles, 2 DFRC titles, 4 FRD titles, making it by far the most decorated engine in TCEC history.
TCEC Cup
Cup
Date
Stockfish Version
Score
Runner-up
Cup 1
Oct 2018
Stockfish 270918 (1st)
+1 =7 -0
Houdini 6.03
Cup 4
Oct 2019
Stockfish 19100908 (2nd)
+1 =7 -0
LCZero v0.22.0
Cup 5
Apr 2020
Stockfish 202004181536 (3rd)
+1 =3 -0
LCZero v0.24
Cup 7
Nov 2020
Stockfish 2020102823 (4th)
+1 =3 -0
LCZero v0.26.3
Cup 8
Feb 2021
Stockfish 202102202249 (5th)
+1 =7 -0
LCZero 0.27.0
Cup 9
Oct 2021
Stockfish dev15_20211015 (6th)
+1 =3 -0
LCZero 0.28
Cup 10
May 2022
Stockfish dev16_2022051413 (7th)
+2 =9 -1
KomodoDragon 3
Cup 12
Jul 2023
Stockfish dev-20230713 (8th)
+10 =9 -9
LCZero 0.31
Cup 13
Mar 2024
Stockfish dev-20240217 (9th)
+4 =17 -1
LCZero 0.31
Cup 14
Oct 2024
Stockfish dev-20240928 (10th)
+12 =13 -11
LCZero 0.31
Cup 15
Jun 2025
Stockfish dev-20250602 (11th)
+6 =13 -3
LCZero 0.31
Cup 16
Jan 2026
Stockfish dev-20260101 (12th)
+7 =12 -3
LCZero 0.33
TCEC Swiss
Swiss
Date
Stockfish Version
Runner-up
Swiss 3
May–Jul 2022
Stockfish dev16_20220521 (1st)
LCZero 0.30
Swiss 4
Jan–Feb 2023
Stockfish dev-20230114 (2nd)
LCZero 0.30 / KomodoDragon 3.2
Swiss 5
Jun–Jul 2023
Stockfish dev-20230614 (3rd)
LCZero 0.31
Swiss 8
Apr–Jun 2025
Stockfish dev-20250513 (4th)
LCZero 0.31
Swiss 9
Nov–Dec 2025
Stockfish dev-20251203 (5th)
LCZero 0.33
TCEC FRC (Fischer Random Chess)
FRC
Date
Stockfish Version
Score
Runner-up
FRC 1
Oct–Nov 2019
Stockfish 191107 (1st)
+10 =10 -0
AllieStein v0.5
FRC 2
Nov 2020
Stockfish 202011101829 (2nd)
+8 =42 -0
LCZero v0.26.3
FRC 4
Dec 2021–Jan 2022
Stockfish dev15_2021121915 (3rd)
+13 =28 -9
LCZero 0.29
FRC 5
Jul 2022
Stockfish dev16_20220705 (4th)
+17 =20 -13
LCZero 0.30
FRC 6
May 2023
Stockfish dev-20230507 (5th)
+15 =23 -12
LCZero 0.31
TCEC DFRC (Double Fischer Random Chess)
DFRC
Date
Stockfish Version
Score
Runner-up
DFRC 1
Jul–Aug 2022
Stockfish dev16_202207131801 (1st)
+18 =23 -9
LCZero 0.30
DFRC 2
May–Jun 2023
Stockfish dev-20230528 (2nd)
+10 =33 -7
LCZero 0.31
TCEC FRD (Fischer Random Double)
FRD
Date
Stockfish Version
Score
Runner-up
FRD 1
Nov–Dec 2023
Stockfish dev-20231116 (1st)
+11 =29 -10
LCZero 0.31
FRD 2
Jun–Jul 2024
Stockfish dev-20240612 (2nd)
+20 =16 -14
LCZero 0.31
FRD 3
Feb 2025
Stockfish dev-20250126 (3rd)
+13 =25 -12
LCZero 0.31
FRD 4
Sep–Oct 2025
Stockfish dev-20250913 (4th)
+18 =18 -14
LCZero 0.33