Five out of six matches in the tournament ended with a decisive 4-0 score. The remaining match between Grok 4 and Gemini 2.5 Pro proved to be the most dramatic. Google's AI took an early lead, winning the first game with a checkmate after 21 moves. However, xAI's model leveled the score in the second game, also with a checkmate on move 31.
Grok then took a 2-1 lead in the next game, using a combination of its bishop, rook, and knight to deliver a checkmate after 48 moves. Gemini, however, managed to equalize, forcing a tie-break with another checkmate on move 22.
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Illustration of two robots playing chess. Image: Grok |
In the tie-break, Gemini played white and needed a win to advance to the final. Grok only needed a draw due to the armageddon format, despite no time limit being enforced. Gemini initially dominated, even having a chance for a checkmate after five moves. However, a critical error led to the loss of its queen and a significant disadvantage. The match concluded with a threefold repetition check by Grok's black rook, securing Elon Musk's AI a place in the final.
Musk, currently the world's richest person with a net worth of $407.8 billion according to Forbes, holds a 59% stake in xAI, the company behind Grok 4. The 54-year-old played chess in his youth but found the game too simple to be of practical value. He also mentioned on X (formerly Twitter) that Grok 4 had dedicated minimal time to chess preparation.
Gemini is a product of Google DeepMind, developed under the leadership of Google CEO Sundar Pichai and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. Hassabis, once considered a chess prodigy, later transitioned to computer science and business, leading to his recognition with the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The other semi-final was an OpenAI derby, with o3 easily defeating o4-mini 4-0. This result was expected, as o4-mini is considered a faster and lighter version of o3. These two models are the foundation of the popular chatbot, ChatGPT.
The final between Grok 4 and ChatGPT o3 began at 0:30 AM on Friday, 8/8 Hanoi time. Gemini 2.5 Pro and ChatGPT o4-mini will also compete for third place at the same time.
Xuan Binh
