Sports
Messi Seeks AI‑Guided Chess Opening, ChatGPT Recommends ‘Goat Horns’
By Koushik Paul
Lionel Messi tried his hand at chess with the help of ChatGPT, a video of which went viral on social media. The Argentine football star, who recently retired from international football, asked the AI chatbot for a chess opening that matched his style, saying, “Chat, you know my style. Show me a good chess opening, step by step.” Within minutes, ChatGPT suggested the opening known as “Goat Horns.” The video, shared by ChatGPT, was captioned, “I asked ChatGPT to teach me a chess opening that matched my style. It suggested Goat Horns.”
Messi has appeared in chess‑themed advertising before. In November 2022, after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he and Cristiano Ronaldo featured together in a Louis Vuitton campaign centered around chess, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Earlier this year, Messi collaborated with OpenAI before the FIFA World Cup 2026, using the image tool to imagine his hair in Argentina’s blue‑and‑white colors and encouraging fans worldwide.
According to Chess.com, AI models can give poor advice in chess, and several top professionals are unlikely to approve the opening moves described as “Goat Horns”: 1.e4 a6 2.d4 c6. The new ad came just two weeks after OpenAI released its Intelligent UI, which will allow ChatGPT to provide more visual and interactive responses. The Messi‑ChatGPT ad was released a day after Bayern Munich used chess to promote a Champions League meeting with Arsenal, posting an image on X showing Harry Kane and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka on opposite sides of a chess board.
Koushik, a sports journalist with over eight years of industry experience, joined LiveMint as Deputy Chief Content Producer in 2024 after impactful stints at Outlook India, India.com, Sportskeeda, Women’s CricZone, and OrissaPOST. A 2017 Journalism and Mass Communication graduate from Maharaja Manindra Chandra College, Kolkata, he has reported on high‑profile events including the FIFA U17 World Cup 2017, Ranji Trophy, FIH Pro League, FIH World League finals, the Indian Premier League, and Lionel Messi’s historic visit to Kolkata in 2025. He specializes in cricket, breaking news, long‑form interviews, global sporting updates, and high‑energy live blogs. Koushik’s professional perspective was further sharpened through the 2020 AIPS Young Reporters Programme, where he gained insights from renowned international journalists such as Keir Radnedge and Riccardo Romani from the United Kingdom, and Martin Mazur from Argentina. Currently based between Kolkata and Delhi, he remains at the forefront of breaking developments that shape public sporting discourse. When not tracking scores or deconstructing plays, he explores new landscapes on his travels or channels his creative energy into the kitchen.