Will Chess Be Fully Solved One Day? Magnus Carlsen Reacts To Elon Musk's Viral Claim

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News sports chess Will Chess Be Fully Solved One Day? Magnus Carlsen Reacts To Elon Musk's Viral Claim

Last Updated:September 11, 2026, 20:58 IST

As Musk and Chess.com continue their online debate over whether chess can be solved, Magnus Carlsen believes the game is already close to being understood at the highest level.

Magnus Carlsen admits he struggled to recall details during the game. (AP Photo)

Chess legend Magnus Carlsen has said that he isn’t a computer expert and hence doesn’t know if the sport will ever be fully solved, as claimed by Elon Musk, but chess is already semi-solved, given that so many players win matches, adding that computers have made the sport much more accessible.

On September 3, Musk said that he believes that the number of moves that are not ‘stupid’ in chess is tiny and that the sport will one day be solved.

Chess.com, the world’s largest chess community, replied to his tweet, saying, “Skill issue".

“I’m not a computer expert, so I don’t know if it is going to be solved. We are pretty sure that it is a draw and it is a draw in a tonne of ways. The margin is quite big," Carlsen said while speaking to the Indian media on Thursday during the ongoing Global Chess League.

“AI and computers in general have made the game a lot more accessible. You are now able to follow it, see the score and improve a lot faster," Carlsen added.

Meanwhile, Musk’s debate with Chess.com didn’t end there.

“Chess is hard for humans, but not for computers. One day, it will be fully solved like checkers," Musk replied.

“There are more possible chess games, by about 40 orders of magnitude, than atoms in the observable universe," Chess.com said.

There are more possible chess games, by about 40 orders of magnitude, than atoms in the observable universe. To solve chess, you’d have to map them all. Good luck. https://t.co/JmcWn0C9Di— Chess.com (@chesscom) September 4, 2026

“Wrong, all legal chess positions are ~40 oom less than the estimated atoms in the Universe," Musk replied. “Here I am arguing with some random intern at a chess website 🤦‍♂️," he added.

“I am a full-time employee," the Chess.com admin replied.

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Magnus Carlsen stated that he is not a computer expert and does not know if chess will ever be fully solved. However, he noted that the game is already semi-solved given how many players win matches, and added that we are pretty sure the game is a draw in a ton of ways with a quite big margin.

Elon Musk claimed chess will one day be fully solved like checkers. Chess.com countered that there are about 40 orders of magnitude more possible chess games than atoms in the observable universe, meaning solving it requires mapping them all. Musk disputed this, arguing that all legal chess positions are actually about 40 orders of magnitude fewer than the universe's estimated atoms.

Magnus Carlsen stated that AI and computers in general have made chess a lot more accessible. He explained that because of this technology, people are now able to follow the game, see the score, and improve a lot faster.

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First Published:

September 11, 2026, 20:58 IST

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