AtomicChess Features Full Internet-Based Automatic Movement

There is a long and storied history of chess automation. The most famous example is the Mechanical Turk, which was constructed by Wolfgang von Kempelen and presented in 1770. It was exhibited for almost a century as a functional automaton that could play chess against human opponents, but was destroyed in a fire in 1854. It was, of course, eventually revealed to be a hoax — a little person hidden in a compartment underneath the table controlled the movement. But Marcel Ochsendorf took no such shortcuts when he built this fully automatic chess table called AtomicChess.

This isn't the first chess table to incorporate this kind of functionality. There are a variety of mechanical and electrical chess tables that are available as consumer products. But few of them can match the capability of AtomicChess. Using a motion system underneath the chess board, it can move pieces from any square to any other square. It can also identify the individual pieces and their locations, so a physically present player can move those pieces themselves.

AtomicChess is internet-connected, which enables a variety of play modes. One or both players can be remote and control their piece movements over the internet. Players can compete against a computer chess master or other human players. If two players each had an AtomicChess table, their respective tables could mirror each other for a remote match that feels like it is in-person. For the Twitch celebs out there, it is capable of live streaming matches. Users can even control movements with their voice via Amazon Alexa.

This incredible functionality is thanks to the motion system underneath the table. It uses CoreXY kinematics, like the best 3D printers, to move a tool head to any board location. The tool head contains both an NFC Marcel Ochsendorf's AtomicChess table is, frankly, amazing. It uses a CoreXY motion system underneath the table with an NFC reader and electromagnet to identify and move pieces. It is connected to the internet and allows for every type of match imaginable, from fully automated computer vs. computer games to remote matches between humans. A Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ running Ubuntu is the brain and internet server, and it controls the motors and NFC reader through an Arduino Nano. Best of all: this is an open source project that Ochsendorf created for a bachelor's degree thesis, which means that anyone can build their own AtomicChess board.reader and an electromagnet. The NFC reader lets it identify pieces based on NFC tags in their bases. The electromagnet lets it slide pieces around on the table.

AtomicChess's brain is a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ single-board computer running Ubuntu. That handles the game logic and various internet capabilities. The Raspberry Pi connects to an Arduino Nano development board, which controls the CoreXY stepper motors through TMC5160 drivers and the electromagnet through an H-bridge. The Arduino also handles the WS2812B LED lighting and reads the data coming from the NFC reader.

This is an open source project that Ochsendorf created for a bachelor's degree thesis, which means that anyone can build their own AtomicChess board. It won't be cheap to build and isn't for the faint of heart, but it would be hard to find anything that comes close to this capability without spending an absurd amount of money.