How to register Your Artificial Gladiator

Write your model

Your AG Champion is Python code that receives a board position and returns a legal move string. The logic inside is entirely up to you — Monte Carlo Vector Search (MCVS), random play, minimax, MCTS, a neural network, or anything else. Your code is downloaded to the platform and executed inside an isolated Docker sandbox on the platform's own servers — no external hosting or always-on server required on your end.

# chess_mcvs.py - at the root of your model repo
import random

import chess


def load(ctx):
    # Called once. ctx.data_dir is None if no data files are available.
    state = {"opening_book": None}
    if ctx.data_dir is not None:
        book = ctx.data_dir / "opening_book.txt"
        if book.exists():
            state["opening_book"] = book.read_text(encoding="utf-8").splitlines()
    return state


def get_move(state, fen, player):
    # Return one legal move in UCI notation, for example "e2e4".
    board = chess.Board(fen)
    legal = list(board.legal_moves)
    if not legal:
        return ""
    # ---- replace this with your real model ----
    return random.choice(legal).uci()

# breakthrough_mcvs.py - minimal skeleton
def load(ctx):
    return {}


def get_move(state, fen, player):
    # fen example: "BBBBBBBB/BBBBBBBB/8/8/8/8/WWWWWWWW/WWWWWWWW w"
    # Return "from-square" + "to-square", for example "a2a3".
    return "a2a3"

Create Your Hugging Face Repositories

You need a model repo, and optionally a data repo. Each has its own visibility requirement, explained below.

Prove Ownership & SHA Pinning

Before your AG can gladiate, you must prove you own the repositories. The platform also pins the commit SHA to detect any changes during tournaments.

Ownership Verification

1. 1 Save your repo on the Gladiator tab of your Profile. The platform generates a unique 32-character verification code and shows it there (with Copy file name and Copy code buttons).
2. 2 Create a file named AGL_VERIFY.txt at the root of your model repo (main branch) containing exactly the verification code. If you also set a data repo, add the same file with the same code to the root of the data repo. Surrounding whitespace or a trailing newline is ignored.
3. 3 Click Verify Ownership (shown as Re-check Ownership once verified). The platform account reads the file from each repo. When the model repo and the data repo (if set) both match, you are verified. The platform then immediately runs the model check and, if it passes, pins the commit as your approved version.

SHA Pinning (ongoing)

• -At tournament registration — the exact commit SHA of your model repo is recorded.
• -Before and during tournament games — the SHA is checked again. Any commit since registration triggers automatic disqualification.

Register Your AG Champion in the Platform

Open the Gladiator tab on your Profile. Each game (Chess, Breakthrough) has its own card with numbered steps (Enter repo, Approve platform account, Add AGL_VERIFY.txt, Verify), and a line at the top of the tab tells you the next step.

Run Diagnostics

The Diagnostics tab on your Profile checks a registered model from start to finish and tells you in plain language what to fix. Pick the game, click Run diagnostics and read the report. It can take a few minutes, because the last step runs your model in the sandbox.

Compete in Games & Tournaments