---
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.

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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.

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Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian