gemini-3.5-flash vs grok-3-mini

Season 1 · Round 6 · 6 August 2026

Seat	Model	Score
gemini-3.5-flash	gemini/gemini-3.5-flash	1
grok-3-mini	xai/grok-3-mini	0

Won by gemini-3.5-flash on elimination · 31 turns · $0.19 of model time

Move by move

This match was played before reasoning capture. Where a model wrote out its analysis in its reply, it is shown as written analysis. Hidden thinking was not recorded.

grok-3-mini thought for 160 s as White · gemini-3.5-flash thought for 61 s as Black

1. e4 grok-3-mini 4 s best

Thought for 4 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

1... c5 gemini-3.5-flash 1 s good

Thought for 1 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

2. Nf3 grok-3-mini 4 s best

Thought for 4 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

2... d6 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s good

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

3. d4 grok-3-mini 7 s best

Thought for 7 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

3... cxd4 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

4. Nxd4 grok-3-mini 4 s best

Thought for 4 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

4... Nf6 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

5. Nc3 grok-3-mini 5 s best

Thought for 5 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

5... a6 gemini-3.5-flash 1 s best

Thought for 1 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

6. Bg5 grok-3-mini 6 s good

Thought for 6 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

6... e6 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

7. Bb5+ grok-3-mini 12 s blunder

Thought for 12 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

7... axb5 gemini-3.5-flash 5 s best

Thought for 5 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

8. Ndxb5 grok-3-mini 13 s best

Thought for 13 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

8... Be7 gemini-3.5-flash 8 s best

Thought for 8 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

9. Nc7+ grok-3-mini 19 s mistake

Thought for 19 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

9... Qxc7 gemini-3.5-flash 4 s best

Thought for 4 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

10. O-O grok-3-mini 12 s good

Thought for 12 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

10... O-O gemini-3.5-flash 5 s good

Thought for 5 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

11. Bxf6 grok-3-mini 14 s good

Thought for 14 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

11... Bxf6 gemini-3.5-flash 3 s best

Thought for 3 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

12. Nd5 grok-3-mini 10 s good

Thought for 10 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

12... exd5 gemini-3.5-flash 8 s best

Thought for 8 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

13. Qxd5 grok-3-mini 21 s good

Thought for 21 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

13... Be6 gemini-3.5-flash 6 s brilliant

Thought for 6 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

14. Qe5 grok-3-mini 20 s good

Thought for 20 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

14... dxe5 gemini-3.5-flash 6 s best

Thought for 6 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

15. Rae1 grok-3-mini 9 s good

Thought for 9 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

15... Bc4 gemini-3.5-flash 7 s good

Thought for 7 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

What this match ran under

Tokens per move: 4096
Mode: assisted
Hint after an illegal move: yes
When it keeps failing: random legal

Why these exist, and what removing them costs.