A ChatGPT ad featuring footballer Lionel Messi prompted discussion after users found errors in its chess lesson. The mistakes drew widespread attention within two days because the video showed both sides’ kings and queens on the wrong squares and recommended a sequence that permits a fourth-move checkmate.

In the video, Messi says he asked ChatGPT to choose a chess opening matching his playing style. The chatbot suggested GOAT Horns, a pun on the footballer’s GOAT nickname, meaning “the greatest of all time.”

Errors in the chess lesson

In a standard chess setup, the white queen starts on a white square and the black queen on a black square, with each king beside its queen. The ad instead places the kings and queens for both sides on opposite squares from their correct positions.

With the pieces arranged that way, ChatGPT’s suggested move sequence opens a diagonal that allows White to checkmate the black king on the fourth move. The same sequence does not force checkmate when the pieces are set up correctly.

The GOAT Horns opening itself is not fictitious and has been used by Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen. However, prominent chess players sometimes experiment with tongue-in-cheek openings that are not suitable for teaching beginners.

At the time of writing, the ad had accumulated about 2 million likes and more than 20,000 comments in two days. Messi has more than 517 million Instagram followers.

Users recall an earlier OpenAI error

Users in Reddit’s r/chess community pointed out the incorrect placement and questioned whether anyone had checked the ad before publication.

One user wrote: “How did not one like, oh I don’t know, look at this for less than 5 seconds before sending it to the whole world?”

Another suggested: “Two options, either they are idiots or they are too clever, which is exactly why people are talking about it.“

Users also recalled an earlier OpenAI ad in which the black queen appeared on e8 instead of d8. One commenter remarked: “Nearly a trillion dollar evaluation and they can’t put the queen on the right square lol.”

OpenAI later corrected the piece placement in a separate version posted on X on October 22, 2026. The company retained the suggested opening, which remained a poor choice for a beginner.

OpenAI and chess

ChatGPT had previously performed poorly at chess. In 2025, the chatbot lost in the final of an AI model tournament organized by International Master Levy Rozman, partly because it made illegal moves and introduced pawns that did not exist.

The Messi ad appeared two weeks after the launch of GPT-6 with Intelligent UI, a feature that allows ChatGPT to respond with interactive charts, buttons and forms. Messi’s partnership with OpenAI began in June, when he posted an image created with ChatGPT Images ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

Less than a month before the ad, OpenAI also introduced GPT-6 Sol and Luna with lower usage costs.

Source: Incrypted