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Magnus Carlsen just beat ChatGPT at chess without losing a single piece.

Emerging tech and AI2 min readSam Page

His feedback to ChatGPT afterwards was spot on:

“You played really well in the opening, but failed to follow it up correctly.”

It's a great example of why we need to be cautious about how we use Gen AI / LLMs like ChatGPT.

They can make an impressive first impression, which makes them appear smart. But what they are producing is based on the past and pattern-matching. Not real intelligence.

To win at chess, you need to use precise calculation, deep visualisation, and strategic planning across many many potential moves - skills that go beyond broad language reasoning.

And of course it doesn't help that ChatGPT's not a specialist model trained in chess, it has a limited memory, and it doesn't have a board to visualise (it's a bit like a human playing blindfolded).

Used well, tools like ChatGPT can help you generate new ideas, create high-quality content faster, and make sense of complex information... especially when time’s tight.

But it should start and assist the thinking. Not replace it.

I’m Sam, CEO and Founder of 7DOTS, a digital innovation agency that helps considered purchase brands grow through people-first digital experiences.

I’m passionate about making digital feel more human, building trust through clarity, creativity and commercial sense. If you’re facing a complex challenge, I’d love to connect.

Whilst I use LLMs to brainstorm ideas, I write all my LinkedIn posts and comments myself.

Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

First published on LinkedIn.

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---
title: "Magnus Carlsen just beat ChatGPT at chess without losing a single piece."
url: https://sam-page.com/thinking/magnus-carlsen-just-beat-chatgpt-at-chess-without-losing-a-single-piece
date: 2025-07-21
author: Sam Page
type: Post or article
categories: [Emerging tech and AI]
reading_time: 2 min
summary: "His feedback to ChatGPT afterwards was spot on:"
first_published: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn%3Ali%3Ashare%3A7353069747233587200
---

# Magnus Carlsen just beat ChatGPT at chess without losing a single piece.

His feedback to ChatGPT afterwards was spot on:

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/magnus-carlsen-just-beat-chatgpt-at-chess-without-losing-a-single-piec-li1.webp)

“You played really well in the opening, but failed to follow it up correctly.”

It's a great example of why we need to be cautious about how we use Gen AI / LLMs like ChatGPT.

They can make an impressive first impression, which makes them appear smart. But what they are producing is based on the past and pattern-matching. Not real intelligence.

To win at chess, you need to use precise calculation, deep visualisation, and strategic planning across many many potential moves - skills that go beyond broad language reasoning.

And of course it doesn't help that ChatGPT's not a specialist model trained in chess, it has a limited memory, and it doesn't have a board to visualise (it's a bit like a human playing blindfolded).

Used well, tools like ChatGPT can help you generate new ideas, create high-quality content faster, and make sense of complex information... especially when time’s tight.

But it should start and assist the thinking. Not replace it.

---

I’m Sam, CEO and Founder of 7DOTS, a digital innovation agency that helps considered purchase brands grow through people-first digital experiences.

I’m passionate about making digital feel more human, building trust through clarity, creativity and commercial sense. If you’re facing a complex challenge, I’d love to connect.

Whilst I use LLMs to brainstorm ideas, I write all my LinkedIn posts and comments myself.

---

Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian