On this blog we will talk about Mittens, the 1-elo bot.
_________________________"Mittens loves chess but, how good is she?"_________________________ Mittens was a chess engine developed by Chess.com. It was released on January 1, 2023, alongside four other engines, all of them given cat-related names. The engine became a viral sensation in the chess community due to exposure through content made by chess streamers and a social media marketing campaign, later contributing to record levels of traffic to the Chess.com website and causing issues with database scalability. Mittens was released on January 1, 2023, as part of a New Year event on Chess.com. It was one of five engines released, all with names related to cats. The other engines released were named Scaredy Cat, rated 800; Angry Cat, rated 1000; Mr. Grumpers, rated 1200 and Catspurrov (a pun on Garry Kasparov), rated 1400. Mittens was conceptualized by Will Whalen, a college student at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York appearing as a kitten. In my opinion, Mittens is one of the best (if she isn't the best) bot of chess.com.
