Elon Musk feuds with Chess.com over whether AI will “solve” chess like checkers

The debate centers on whether artificial intelligence can achieve a perfect theoretical understanding of chess, a concept known as "solving" the game. In games like checkers, AI has exhaustively analyzed all possible moves and outcomes, determining optimal strategies for every scenario and thus effectively "solving" it. This means a perfect player can always force a win or a draw.

The application of such exhaustive analysis to chess is far more complex due to its vastly larger number of possible positions and moves. While AI has achieved superhuman performance in chess, it has not reached a state of "solving" the game in the same definitive manner as checkers. Musk's assertion suggests AI's computational power will overcome these complexities, a claim met with skepticism within the chess community, who point to the game's inherent, enduring strategic depth.