Why Elon Musk Doesn’t — And Can’t — Play Chess

Elon Musk continues to grab the headlines. He is constantly in the news, but how relevant is he to the chess community? Here is what you should know:

• Who Is Elon Musk?
• Why Doesn't Musk Play Chess?
• Does Musk Really Understand These Rules of Chess?

Who Is Elon Musk?

There are so many ways to describe Elon Musk, but here are the most conventional ones:

• Business magnate and investor
• Wealthiest person in the world (with a net worth of $238 billion as of September 2022)
• Founder, owner, and chief engineer of SpaceX
• CEO and product architect of Tesla
• Anticipated buyer of Twitter
• Star player on his high school chess team
• Founder of a few more companies (but let’s stop here).

So many quotes are attributed to Musk, particularly since he is such a proficient tweeter, but let’s consider only this one: “The most entertaining outcome is the most likely.” Does this statement sound like someone who would be bored with the game of chess or be more fascinated with another game of strategy?

The most entertaining outcome is the most likely.
—Elon Musk

Why Doesn’t Musk Play Chess?

Musk says that he did play chess as a child; however, he has lost interest in the game and no longer plays. In his own words, Musk gives six reasons why he thinks chess is “too simple” and no longer plays:

• The chessboard has just 64 squares. As Musk observes, it’s “a mere 8 by 8 grid.”
• The class game is so open, and nothing is concealed or hidden from a player’s view. As Musk describes, there’s “no fog of war.” (Actually, there is. We just call it a variant.)
• In strategy games, a technology tree is a hierarchical visual representation of the possible sequences of upgrades that a player can take. Musk complains that chess has “no technology tree.”
• Anyone concerned that chess doesn’t have “a technology tree” probably is also upset by this complaint of Musk: “no random map or spawn position.” True, nothing on a chessboard is random (except with a variant).
• You might be surprised by this complaint of Musk: “only two players.” Most of us don’t consider this a serious limitation. If you do, try the four-player variant.
• Get ready for the most serious problem that Musk has about chess: “both sides exact same pieces.” How unfair! Why not have a stacked deck that you play against an opponent?

When Musk was asked on Twitter if he still plays chess, here is his full response that shows all the reasons why he no longer plays the game. (Yes, the tweet is from his verified profile.)

Does Musk Really Understand These Rules of Chess?

If those “limitations” of chess are so troubling to Musk, imagine what his response would be about how rich chess is with these moves:

• Castling: This move is so discombobulating. Imagine moving a king and then a rook on a back rank in one move. Does it even make sense to a player of strategy like Musk?
• En passant: If castling is confusing, do you remember trying to explain en passant captures to a beginning player? It’s not random or simple. Perhaps Musk doesn’t understand this maneuver.
• Pawn promotion: Does a pawn really “spawn” into a queen or another piece? If Musk truly understands how promotion in chess works, perhaps he would withdraw some of his objections to the game.
• Knight moves: How can one piece jump over another and then have the possibility of landing on up to eight squares? True, it’s not random and it’s probably confusing to someone who is a billionaire.

Now you understand why Musk doesn’t and shouldn’t play chess. If he challenges you, at least give him knight odds.

What do you think? Is Musk offbase or way-y-y-y offbase? Please comment below.