diff --git a/src/apps/chess/__tests__/rules.test.ts b/src/apps/chess/__tests__/rules.test.ts
index 3d4987fd..45a0810a 100644
--- a/src/apps/chess/__tests__/rules.test.ts
+++ b/src/apps/chess/__tests__/rules.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import {
+  nameOf,
   glyph,
   describeResult,
   formatClock,
@@ -126,3 +127,18 @@ describe('describeResult', () => {
     expect(describeResult({ ending: 'timeout' }, 'alice')).toBe('Draw: time ran out, and a bare king cannot win')
   })
 })
+
+// A bot's seat is named for its engine and strength; a player's id is
+// already their name.
+describe('nameOf', () => {
+  it('reads a bot’s seat as its engine and strength', () => {
+    expect(nameOf('stockfish@1500')).toBe('Stockfish 1500')
+    expect(nameOf('bouncy-coral-quokka-x9k2')).toBe('bouncy-coral-quokka-x9k2')
+  })
+
+  it('names a bot that won', () => {
+    expect(describeResult({ winner: 'stockfish@1500', winnerColor: 'white', ending: 'checkmate' }, 'alice')).toBe(
+      'Stockfish 1500 won by checkmate'
+    )
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/apps/chess/components/ChessTable.tsx b/src/apps/chess/components/ChessTable.tsx
index e4291a2a..2f1d6465 100644
--- a/src/apps/chess/components/ChessTable.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/chess/components/ChessTable.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { createPortal } from 'react-dom'
 import type { ChessTableActions } from '@/hooks/useChessTable'
 import felt from '@/apps/castle/components/CastleTable.module.css'
 import type { ChessColor, ChessView } from '../wire'
-import { describeMove, describeResult, formatClock, glyph, lastMoveSquares, movesTo, pieceName, readBoard, squaresFor, targetsFrom } from '../rules'
+import { describeMove, describeResult, formatClock, glyph, lastMoveSquares, movesTo, nameOf, pieceName, readBoard, squaresFor, targetsFrom } from '../rules'
 import styles from './ChessTable.module.css'
 import ScoreSheet from './ScoreSheet'
 
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ export interface ChessTableProps {
   playerId: string
   connected: boolean
   view: ChessView
-  table: ChessTableActions & { opening: boolean }
+  table: ChessTableActions & { opening: boolean; seating: boolean }
 }
 
 // The clocks a starter can pick, as minutes + increment seconds.
@@ -29,6 +29,15 @@ const CLOCKS: Record<string, { initialSeconds: number; incrementSeconds: number
   '10+5': { initialSeconds: 600, incrementSeconds: 5 }
 }
 
+// A bot's strengths, as Elo on Stockfish's scale (1320 to 3190).
+const BOT_STRENGTHS: Array<{ elo: number; name: string }> = [
+  { elo: 1320, name: 'Beginner' },
+  { elo: 1600, name: 'Casual' },
+  { elo: 1900, name: 'Club' },
+  { elo: 2300, name: 'Strong' },
+  { elo: 3190, name: 'Full strength' }
+]
+
 const PROMOTIONS: Array<{ letter: string; name: string }> = [
   { letter: 'q', name: 'Queen' },
   { letter: 'r', name: 'Rook' },
@@ -64,9 +73,9 @@ const ClockRow = ({ view, seatId, color, you }: { view: ChessView; seatId: strin
   return (
     <div className={`${styles.clockRow} ${running ? styles.running : ''}`}>
       <span className={styles.clockName}>
-        {you ? `${seatId} (you)` : seatId} · {color}
+        {you ? `${nameOf(seatId)} (you)` : nameOf(seatId)} · {color}
       </span>
-      <span role="timer" aria-label={`${seatId}’s clock`} className={`${styles.clock} ${ms < 10_000 ? styles.low : ''}`}>
+      <span role="timer" aria-label={`${nameOf(seatId)}’s clock`} className={`${styles.clock} ${ms < 10_000 ? styles.low : ''}`}>
         {formatClock(ms)}
       </span>
     </div>
@@ -107,6 +116,7 @@ const ChessTable = ({ playerId, connected, view, table }: ChessTableProps) => {
   const [promoting, setPromoting] = useState<{ view: ChessView; from: string; to: string; moves: string[] } | null>(null)
   const [confirmResign, setConfirmResign] = useState<ChessView | null>(null)
   const [clockChoice, setClockChoice] = useState('3+2')
+  const [botElo, setBotElo] = useState(BOT_STRENGTHS[1].elo)
 
   const me = view.players.find(player => player.playerId === playerId)
   const myColor: ChessColor = me?.color ?? 'white'
@@ -215,15 +225,15 @@ const ChessTable = ({ playerId, connected, view, table }: ChessTableProps) => {
       // A leave mid-game is that game's result; between games, the news.
       if (view.result?.ending === 'abandoned') return describeResult(view.result, playerId)
       const left = view.players.find(player => player.playerId !== playerId)
-      return `${left?.playerId ?? 'Your opponent'} left the table.`
+      return `${left === undefined ? 'Your opponent' : nameOf(left.playerId)} left the table.`
     }
     if (pendingPromotion !== null) return 'Choose a piece to promote to.'
-    if (!myTurn) return `${view.currentPlayerId ?? ''} to move.`
+    if (!myTurn) return `${nameOf(view.currentPlayerId ?? '')} to move.`
     // The move just made is the opponent's: say it, since the board only
     // shows it.
     const lastMove = view.moves[view.moves.length - 1]
     const lastMover = view.sideToMove === undefined ? undefined : view.players.find(player => player.color === other(view.sideToMove!))
-    const played = lastMove !== undefined && lastMover !== undefined ? `${lastMover.playerId} played ${describeMove(lastMove)}. ` : ''
+    const played = lastMove !== undefined && lastMover !== undefined ? `${nameOf(lastMover.playerId)} played ${describeMove(lastMove)}. ` : ''
     return `${played}${view.inCheck ? 'Check. ' : ''}Your move.`
   })()
 
@@ -255,9 +265,24 @@ const ChessTable = ({ playerId, connected, view, table }: ChessTableProps) => {
         <div className={styles.waiting}>
           <ul className={styles.seats}>
             {view.players.map(player => (
-              <li key={player.playerId}>{player.playerId === playerId ? `${player.playerId} (you)` : player.playerId}</li>
+              <li key={player.playerId}>{player.playerId === playerId ? `${player.playerId} (you)` : nameOf(player.playerId)}</li>
             ))}
           </ul>
+          {/* Alone at the table, a bot can take the other chair. */}
+          {view.players.length === 1 && (
+            <div className={styles.clockPick}>
+              <select aria-label="Bot strength" value={botElo} onChange={event => setBotElo(Number(event.target.value))}>
+                {BOT_STRENGTHS.map(({ elo, name }) => (
+                  <option key={elo} value={elo}>
+                    {name} ({elo})
+                  </option>
+                ))}
+              </select>
+              <button type="button" className={felt.secondary} onClick={() => table.addBot(botElo)} disabled={!connected || table.seating}>
+                Add a bot
+              </button>
+            </div>
+          )}
           <label className={styles.clockPick}>
             Clock
             <select value={clockChoice} onChange={event => setClockChoice(event.target.value)}>
diff --git a/src/apps/chess/components/ScoreSheet.tsx b/src/apps/chess/components/ScoreSheet.tsx
index c2632846..25c7fb13 100644
--- a/src/apps/chess/components/ScoreSheet.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/chess/components/ScoreSheet.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { nameOf } from '../rules'
 import type { ChessView } from '../wire'
 import styles from './ChessTable.module.css'
 
@@ -29,8 +30,8 @@ const ScoreSheet = ({ view, playerId }: ScoreSheetProps) => {
           <tr>
             <th scope="col">#</th>
             {columns.map(id => (
-              <th key={id} scope="col" title={id}>
-                <span className={styles.notepadName}>{id === playerId ? 'you' : id}</span>
+              <th key={id} scope="col" title={nameOf(id)}>
+                <span className={styles.notepadName}>{id === playerId ? 'you' : nameOf(id)}</span>
               </th>
             ))}
           </tr>
diff --git a/src/apps/chess/components/__tests__/ChessTable.test.tsx b/src/apps/chess/components/__tests__/ChessTable.test.tsx
index e48b9be1..2de3b9e9 100644
--- a/src/apps/chess/components/__tests__/ChessTable.test.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/chess/components/__tests__/ChessTable.test.tsx
@@ -51,11 +51,13 @@ const waiting = (over: Partial<ChessView> = {}): ChessView =>
 
 const table = (over: Partial<ChessTableProps['table']> = {}): ChessTableProps['table'] => ({
   opening: false,
+  seating: false,
   startTable: vi.fn(),
   leaveTable: vi.fn(),
   playAgain: vi.fn(),
   play: vi.fn(),
   resign: vi.fn(),
+  addBot: vi.fn(),
   ...over
 })
 
@@ -500,6 +502,49 @@ describe('ChessTable', () => {
     })
   })
 
+  describe('a bot', () => {
+    it('is offered to a player alone at the table, at the strength they pick', () => {
+      const { t } = mountWith(waiting({ players: [{ playerId: 'alice' }] }))
+      const strength = screen.getByRole('combobox', { name: 'Bot strength' })
+      fireEvent.change(strength, { target: { value: '1900' } })
+      fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Add a bot' }))
+      expect(t.addBot).toHaveBeenCalledWith(1900)
+    })
+
+    it('is held while one is being seated, so a double tap asks once', () => {
+      mountWith(waiting({ players: [{ playerId: 'alice' }] }), { seating: true })
+      expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Add a bot' })).toBeDisabled()
+    })
+
+    it('is not offered once the second seat is taken, or off the hub', () => {
+      const { unmount } = mountWith(waiting())
+      expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: 'Add a bot' })).toBeNull()
+      unmount()
+      mountWith(waiting({ players: [{ playerId: 'alice' }] }), {}, 'alice', false)
+      expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Add a bot' })).toBeDisabled()
+    })
+
+    it('is named for its engine and strength wherever a player is', () => {
+      const { unmount } = mountWith(waiting({ players: [{ playerId: 'alice' }, { playerId: 'stockfish@1500', bot: true }] }))
+      expect(screen.getByText('Stockfish 1500')).toBeInTheDocument()
+      unmount()
+      mountWith(
+        view({
+          players: [
+            { playerId: 'alice', color: 'white' },
+            { playerId: 'stockfish@1500', color: 'black', bot: true }
+          ],
+          sideToMove: 'black',
+          currentPlayerId: 'stockfish@1500',
+          scoreSheet: [{ winner: 'stockfish@1500', ending: 'checkmate' }]
+        })
+      )
+      expect(status()).toHaveTextContent('Stockfish 1500 to move.')
+      expect(screen.getByText(/Stockfish 1500 · black/)).toBeInTheDocument()
+      expect(within(screen.getByRole('table', { name: 'Score sheet' })).getByText('Stockfish 1500')).toBeInTheDocument()
+    })
+  })
+
   describe('the ending', () => {
     it('is said, and focus goes to the next game at this table', () => {
       const { t, rerender } = mountWith(view())
diff --git a/src/apps/chess/rules.ts b/src/apps/chess/rules.ts
index 78a49a7d..4779474a 100644
--- a/src/apps/chess/rules.ts
+++ b/src/apps/chess/rules.ts
@@ -117,9 +117,18 @@ const DRAWN_BY: Record<ChessEnding, string> = {
   abandoned: 'Draw'
 }
 
+// A seat as people read it: a player's id is their name; a bot's
+// ("stockfish@1500") its engine and strength. The id's shape is the hub's
+// bot-naming contract (games_hub chess_bots.h); a new engine extends it here.
+export function nameOf(playerId: string): string {
+  const bot = /^stockfish@(\d+)$/.exec(playerId)
+  return bot === null ? playerId : `Stockfish ${bot[1]}`
+}
+
 export function describeResult(result: ChessResult, playerId: string): string {
   if (result.winner === undefined) return DRAWN_BY[result.ending]
   const mine = result.winner === playerId
-  if (result.ending === 'abandoned') return mine ? 'You won: your opponent left' : `${result.winner} won: their opponent left`
-  return `${mine ? 'You' : result.winner} won ${WON_BY[result.ending]}`
+  const winner = nameOf(result.winner)
+  if (result.ending === 'abandoned') return mine ? 'You won: your opponent left' : `${winner} won: their opponent left`
+  return `${mine ? 'You' : winner} won ${WON_BY[result.ending]}`
 }
diff --git a/src/apps/chess/wire.ts b/src/apps/chess/wire.ts
index 8a97a2ff..fc603364 100644
--- a/src/apps/chess/wire.ts
+++ b/src/apps/chess/wire.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ export interface ChessPlayer {
   playerId: string
   // Absent while waiting.
   color?: ChessColor
+  // A bot's seat, its id naming engine and strength ("stockfish@1500").
+  bot?: boolean
 }
 
 // Each side's time left as of the moment the hub built the view; the
@@ -86,6 +88,8 @@ export interface ChessMovePayloads {
   leaveGame: undefined
   play: { uci: string }
   resign: undefined
+  // Stockfish in the empty second seat, at an Elo of 1320 to 3190.
+  addBot: { elo: number }
 }
 
 export type ChessMoveName = keyof ChessMovePayloads
diff --git a/src/apps/topology/topology.mmd b/src/apps/topology/topology.mmd
index 37d9ae56..9c57a28b 100644
--- a/src/apps/topology/topology.mmd
+++ b/src/apps/topology/topology.mmd
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ flowchart LR
     mcpserver["mcpserver"]
     portrait["portrait"]
     mithril["mithril"]
+    chess_engine["chess_engine"]
     posterize["posterize"]
     microgpt-serve["microgpt-serve"]
     iili["iili"]
@@ -112,6 +113,7 @@ flowchart LR
   games_hub -->|sql| shared_postgres
   games_hub -->|http| microgpt-serve
   games_hub -->|http| mithril
+  games_hub -->|http| chess_engine
   one_d4 -->|sql| shared_postgres
   one_d4_worker -->|sql| shared_postgres
   iili -->|sql| shared_postgres
diff --git a/src/hooks/__tests__/useChessTable.test.tsx b/src/hooks/__tests__/useChessTable.test.tsx
index ee4d4505..6a330b06 100644
--- a/src/hooks/__tests__/useChessTable.test.tsx
+++ b/src/hooks/__tests__/useChessTable.test.tsx
@@ -52,6 +52,12 @@ describe('useChessTable', () => {
     expect(move.mock.calls).toEqual([['startGame', { initialSeconds: 60, incrementSeconds: 1 }]])
   })
 
+  it('a bot is asked for at its strength', () => {
+    const { result, move } = mount()
+    act(() => result.current.addBot(1600))
+    expect(move.mock.calls).toEqual([['addBot', { elo: 1600 }]])
+  })
+
   it('a play and a resignation go out as the hub spells them', () => {
     const { result, receive, move } = mount()
     receive({ gameJoined: { view: view() } })
@@ -107,6 +113,18 @@ describe('useChessTable', () => {
     expect(result.current.opening).toBe(false)
   })
 
+  it('holds a bot asked for until its seat arrives, or the hub refuses it', () => {
+    const { result, receive } = mount()
+    receive({ gameState: { view: view({ phase: 'waiting' }) } })
+    act(() => result.current.addBot(1600))
+    expect(result.current.seating).toBe(true)
+    receive({ gameState: { view: view({ phase: 'waiting' }) } })
+    expect(result.current.seating).toBe(false)
+    act(() => result.current.addBot(1600))
+    act(() => result.current.handleRejected())
+    expect(result.current.seating).toBe(false)
+  })
+
   it('announces another seat’s table, never its own', () => {
     const { receive, showNotice } = mount()
     receive({ gameCreated: { gameId: 'GAME01', createdBy: 'alice' } })
diff --git a/src/hooks/useChessTable.ts b/src/hooks/useChessTable.ts
index a4a906c3..cca3caba 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useChessTable.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useChessTable.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ export interface ChessTableActions {
   playAgain: () => void
   play: (uci: string) => void
   resign: () => void
+  // Stockfish in the second seat, at an Elo of 1320 to 3190.
+  addBot: (elo: number) => void
 }
 
 export interface UseChessTable extends ChessTableActions {
@@ -24,6 +26,8 @@ export interface UseChessTable extends ChessTableActions {
   view: ChessView | null
   // Another game has been asked for and not yet arrived.
   opening: boolean
+  // A bot has been asked for and its seat not yet arrived.
+  seating: boolean
   handleUpdate: (update: ChessUpdate) => void
   handleRejected: () => void
   clear: () => void
@@ -39,23 +43,28 @@ export interface UseChessTableProps {
 export const useChessTable = ({ playerId, move, showNotice, onLeft }: UseChessTableProps): UseChessTable => {
   const [view, setView] = useState<ChessView | null>(null)
   const [opening, setOpening] = useState(false)
+  const [seating, setSeating] = useState(false)
 
-  const clear = useCallback(() => {
-    setView(null)
+  // Held until the hub answers with a view, or refuses.
+  const settle = useCallback(() => {
     setOpening(false)
+    setSeating(false)
   }, [])
-  const handleRejected = useCallback(() => setOpening(false), [])
+  const clear = useCallback(() => {
+    setView(null)
+    settle()
+  }, [settle])
 
   const handleUpdate = useCallback(
     (update: ChessUpdate) => {
       if (update.gameJoined) {
         setView(update.gameJoined.view)
-        setOpening(false)
+        settle()
         return
       }
       if (update.gameState) {
         setView(update.gameState.view)
-        setOpening(false)
+        settle()
         return
       }
       if (update.gameCreated) {
@@ -68,7 +77,7 @@ export const useChessTable = ({ playerId, move, showNotice, onLeft }: UseChessTa
       }
       // gameStarted, turnChanged and gameEnded: the view says it all.
     },
-    [clear, onLeft, playerId, showNotice]
+    [clear, onLeft, playerId, settle, showNotice]
   )
 
   const createTable = useCallback(() => move('createGame'), [move])
@@ -95,6 +104,13 @@ export const useChessTable = ({ playerId, move, showNotice, onLeft }: UseChessTa
   }, [clear, move, onLeft, view])
   const play = useCallback((uci: string) => move('play', { uci }), [move])
   const resign = useCallback(() => move('resign'), [move])
+  const addBot = useCallback(
+    (elo: number) => {
+      setSeating(true)
+      move('addBot', { elo })
+    },
+    [move]
+  )
 
-  return { view, opening, handleUpdate, handleRejected, clear, createTable, joinTable, startTable, leaveTable, playAgain, play, resign }
+  return { view, opening, seating, handleUpdate, handleRejected: settle, clear, createTable, joinTable, startTable, leaveTable, playAgain, play, resign, addBot }
 }