Chess is considered a mental sport, as it transcends the game itself, but the first patient with a brain chip seems to have transcended it even further. Neuralink has achieved a quick and impressive feat, highlighting the power of the mind.
The first person with the Neuralink brain chip connected to a computer implanted on the surface of his brain showcased his “telekinetic” abilities to play chess. Ever since becoming quadriplegic at the age of 8, Noland Arbaugh can now achieve what others can’t—moving things with his mind (kind of like Matilda).
A Neuralink patient with cerebral palsy was able to play chess online
Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old man with quadriplegia (or paralysis affecting the body from the neck down), volunteered to have the device implanted as part of Neuralink’s ongoing technology trial. Until now, his identity had been a closely guarded secret.
In the video, released on March 20th on X, Arbaugh played a game of online chess on a laptop while controlling the cursor with his thoughts. He described controlling computers with his mind as “like using the Force” and joked that he planned to dress up as the telepathic superhero Professor X for Halloween this year.
Arbaugh described learning to use the brain chip to control the computer cursor, initially trying to move his hand to generate the necessary brain signals.
“From there, I think it became intuitive for me to start imagining the cursor moving,” he said in the live stream. “I just looked at the screen somewhere and it moved to where I wanted, which was a very wild experience.”
Arbaugh suffered a spinal cord injury from breaking his C4 and C5 vertebrae in a diving accident eight years ago. He expressed his amazement at the technology: “It’s crazy. It’s great,” he said, joking about having telepathic abilities thanks to this device.
