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The Computer Olympiads 1989–2021

Abstract

The Computer Olympiads have been held 24 times over the past 33 years. This series of events is an important landmark that demonstrates the progress of artificial intelligence technology applied to games.

This article presents comparative data on the Olympiads. Some entries contain partial information, while a few have conflicting answers. The author asks the ICGA community for help in ensuring that the data is complete and correct.

1.Introduction

The Computer Olympiad was created in 1989 by former ICGA President David Levy. At the time, the only regularly-scheduled games competitions for computers were for chess. The Olympiad idea expanded this to a rich variety of games, encouraging the expansion of AI research into new and challenging domains. The planned annual event would bring researchers, hobbyists and companies together to compete. Anyone could enter and compete for the gold, silver, and bronze medal in each event.

Since its inception, there have been 24 Computer Olympiads. Authoritative data on this long-running scientific event is, in some cases, unclear. This article presents statistics on the events. We are asking for your help in correcting any errors, of which there are undoubtedly some.

The Olympiad data in the following table comes primarily from two sources:

There are various books and ICGA Journal articles that report on individual Olympiads (the numerous citations are not given here) that have been used for this report. In addition, there has been correspondence with some of the organizers of the events.

Note that some of the information reported here varies depending on the source used. We appreciate hearing from any readers who can make authoritative corrections to the table. Please contact jonathan@ualberta.ca.

Thank you.

2.Computer Olympiads 1989–2021 data

A summary of the Olympiads can be found in Table 1.

Legend

  • # = Olympiad Number (1–1989 to 24–2021)

  • Location = City/Country where the Olympiad was held

  • #P = Number of participants in the Olympiad

  • #C = Number of competitions in the Olympiad

  • Games = Games contested. Where applicable, the board size used for the game is given.

Notes
  • Some of the Olympiads had a co-located World Computer Chess Championship. Data on these events has been excluded from the table.

  • Most Olympiads have a co-located computer games conference. Participants in the conference are not included in the Olympiad totals.

Statistics

  • Most number of games competed in an Olympiad is 24 (in 2019).

  • Most number of participating programs in an Olympiad is 108 (in 2010).

  • The game most contested in the Olympiads is Chinese Chess (22 times), followed by Go 9×9 (21 times), Amazons (19 times), Go 19×19 (18 times), and Draughts (18 times).

  • Olympiad games that have solved: Checkers, Connect Four, and Nine Men’s Morris.

Table 1

Computer Olympiads 1–24

Year#Location#P#CGames
19891London, United Kingdom4415Awari, Backgammon, Bridge, Checkers, Chess, Chinese Chess, Connect Four, Dominoes, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Gomoku, Othello 8×8, Renju, Scrabble
19902London, United Kingdom3613Awari, Backgammon, Bridge, Chess, Chinese Chess, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Gomoku, Othello 8×8, Qubic, Renju, Scrabble
19913Maastricht, The Netherlands3614Awari, Backgammon, Bridge, Chess, Chinese Chess, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Gomoku, Nine Men’s Morris, Othello 8×8, Qubic, Renju, Scrabble
19924London, United KingdomAt least 3713Awari, Backgammon, Bridge, Chess, Chinese Chess, Draughts, Gin Rummy, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Gomoku, Othello 8×8, Renju, Scrabble
1993–1999No Olympiads
20005London, United Kingdom377Amazons, Awari, Chess, Go 19×19, Hex 11×11, Lines of Action, Shogi
20016Maastricht, The Netherlands336Amazons, Chess, Chinese Chess, GIPF, Lines of Action, Shogi
20027Maastricht, The Netherlands6111Amazons, Backgammon, Bridge, Chess, Chinese Chess, Dots and Boxes, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Lines of Action, Shogi
20038Graz, Austria5212Abalone, Amazons, Backgammon, Chinese Chess, Dots and Boxes, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Hex 11×11, Lines of Action, Poker, Shogi
20049Ramat-Gan, Israel267Amazons, Chinese Chess, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Hex 11×11, Lines of Action, Octi
200510Taipei, Taiwan468Amazons, Chinese Chess, Clobber, Dots and Boxes, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Pool, Shogi
200611Turin, Italy4912Backgammon, Chinese Chess, Clobber, Connect6, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Hex 11×11, Kriegspiel, Lines of Action, Pool, Shogi
200712Amsterdam, The Netherlands4610Amazons, Backgammon, Chinese Chess, Connect6, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Phantom Go, Shogi, Surakarta
200813Beijing, China8412Amazons, Chinese Chess, Connect6, Dots and Boxes, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Hex 11×11, Phantom Go, Pool, Shogi, Surakarta
200914Pamplona, Spain4812Amazons, Chinese Chess, Connect6, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 19×19, Havannah, Hex 11×11, Kriegspiel, Lines of Action, Phantom Go, Shogi
201015Kanazawa, Japan10820Amazons, Chinese Chess, Chinese Dark Chess, Clobber, Connect6, Dots and Boxes, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 13×13, Go 19×19, Havannah, Hex 11×11, Light Up, Nonogram, Nurikabe, Phantom Go, Quoridor, Shogi, Shogi (Mini), Surakarta
201116Tilburg, The Netherlands7418Amazons, Backgammon, Chinese Chess, Chinese Dark Chess, Clobber, Connect6, Dots and Boxes, Draughts, EinStein Würfelt Nicht, Go 9×9, Go 13×13, Go 19×19, Havannah, Hex 11×11, NoGo, Phantom Go, Shogi, Surakarta
2012No Olympiad
201317Yokohama, Japan7915Amazons, Chinese Chess, Chinese Dark Chess, Clobber, Connect6, Draughts, Go 9×9, Go 13×13, Go 19×19, Hex 11×11, Lines of Action, Nonogram, Shogi, Shogi 5×5, Shogi (Chu),
2014No Olympiad
201518Leiden, The Netherlands7316Amazons, Backgammon, Chinese Chess, Chinese Dark Chess, Clobber, Draughts, EinStein Würfelt Nicht, Go 9×9, Go 13×13,Go 19×19, Hex 11×11, Hex 13×13, Lines of Action, Shogi, Shogi (Mini), Shogi (Tori)
201619Leiden, The Netherlands4911Amazons, Backgammon, Chinese Chess, Chinese Dark Chess, Clobber, Draughts, EinStein Würfelt Nicht, Go 9×9, Go 13×13, Go 19×19, Shogi (Mini)
201720Leiden, The Netherlands6015Amazons, Breakthrough, Chinese Chess, Chinese Dark Chess, Draughts, EinStein Würfelt Nicht, Go 9×9, Go 13×13, Go 19×19, Hex 11×11, Hex 13×13, Lines of Action, Othello 8×8, Othello 10×10, Shogi
201821Taipei, Taiwan10322Amazons, Block Go, Breakthrough, Chinese Checkers, Chinese Chess, Chinese Dark Chess, Connect6, Curling (Digital), EinStein Würfelt Nicht, Go 9×9, Gomoku (Deep Learning), Gomoku (Outer-Open), Hex 9×9, Hex 13×13, Mahjong, Nonogram, Othello 8×8, Othello 10×10, Shogi (Dice), Shogi (Kyoto), Shogi (Mini), Surakarta
201922Macau, China8824Amazons, Block Go, Breakthrough, Chinese Checkers, Chinese Chess, Chinese Dark Chess, Connect6, Dots and Boxes, Draughts, EinStein Würfelt Nicht, Go 9×9, Gomoku (Outer-Open), Hex 11×11, Hex 13×13, Mahjong, NoGo, Nonogram, Othello 8×8, Othello 10×10, Othello 16×16, Shogi 5×5, Shogi (Dice), Shogi (Kyoto), Shogi (Mini), Surakarta
202023Online6521Amazons, Breakthrough, Chinese Checkers, Chinese Dark Chess, Clobber, Connect6, Dots and Boxes, Draughts, EinStein Würfelt Nicht, Go 9×9, Gomoku (Outer Open), Havannah, Hex 13×13, Honeymoon Bridge, Mahjong, Nonogram, Othello 8×8, Othello 10×10, Shogi (Mini), Surakarta
202124Online6022Amazons, Brazilian Draughts, Breakthrough, Canadian Draughts, Chinese Chess, Chinese Dark Chess, Connect6, Draughts, EinStein Würfelt Nicht, Go 9×9, Gomoku (Outer-Open), Havannah 8×8, Havannah 10×10, Hex 11×11, Hex 13×13, Hex 19×19, Mahjong, Nonogram, Othello 8×8, Shogi (Mini), Surakarta, Sylver Coinage