In 2020, Google's quantum computer — the fridge-sized machine that's supposed to crack physics — played chess. Specifically Quantum Chess, a version where pieces exist in two squares at once. A developer named Chris Cantwell rewrote the game so the hardware could run it. I read this twice to make sure.
Credit where it's due: Quantum Chess is a genuinely clever idea. A knight that's maybe-here, maybe-there. Beautiful. Then you remember the machine running it cost roughly the GDP of a small country, and the feeling passes, like most feelings.
This is somehow the best and worst use of a billion-dollar computer. Best, because at least someone had fun. Worst, because it was one guy, on a board, against a rook in superposition. I'd file a follow-up next year. Someone else can do it.
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Based on the original article "Can video games help us better understand quantum mechanics?".
