First Neuralink Patient Noland Arbaugh: 'Chess Got Me Through Hard Times'
Eight years after a freak accident left him paralyzed, Noland Arbaugh is not only playing chess with the help of a chip in his brain but he's also invited by Chess.com to attend the Speed Chess Championship Finals in Paris and meet the world's chess stars.
Noland Arbaugh's life took a dramatic turn when a swimming accident in 2016 severely injured his spinal cord and made him paralyzed from the neck down. Just eight years later, the 30-year-old from Yuma, Arizona made headlines globally after becoming the world's first human recipient of a ground-breaking brain-computer interface, as reported by Chess.com.
The device designed by Elon Musk's neurotechnology company Neuralink changed Arbaugh's life as it restored his motor function by reading signals from the brain. Despite initially facing some issues with it, he can now perfectly control the computer's cursor with his mind—and even play chess!
"Chess became a much bigger part of my life after the accident. It was one of the few games that I could play, and it really got me through some hard times," Arbaugh told Chess.com in an interview this week.
Chess became a much bigger part of my life after the accident. It was one of the few games that I could play, and it really got me through some hard times.
—Noland Arbaugh
His love for the game was discovered when he as a kid found his father's glass chess set. However, opportunities to play were scarce, and it wasn't until high school that he truly immersed himself in the game, even captaining his school's chess team despite challenges of organizing a small group of players.
Seven years after struggling with the accident that left him paralyzed, he was sitting in his room when he got a text message from a college buddy. "He said: 'Do you want to get a chip in your brain?' I was like, 'Sure, why not,' sort of jokingly. He called me, and we chatted about what Neuralink was because I had no idea."
He said, 'Do you want to get a chip in your brain?' I was like, 'Sure, why not,' sort of jokingly.
—Noland Arbaugh
Arbaugh applied, and was shocked when he realized he was approved to be the first to receive the brain implant. Asked to describe the feeling, he said:
"It was weird. Being the first at anything is a huge honor and responsibility, and I didn’t expect that it would be me. I never thought there was much left in the world to be the first at, honestly. So when all this happened, I was flabbergasted and really excited. I still don’t feel like I’m anything special. I just happened to be exactly what they were looking for."
Just a day after his surgery, he was out of the hospital. The first chess game against Neuralink's Bliss Chapman was covered live on Neuralink's X/Twitter account.
— Neuralink (@neuralink) March 20, 2024
"I’m just glad I won! It would have looked really bad if I lost, especially on a live stream. I remember playing against one of the Neuralink guys for the first time, and it went well. The device was much less capable then than it is now. We played a bullet game, and he beat me on time, even though I was winning on the board."
More importantly than becoming a world sensation and taking interview requests from all over the world, Neuralink has helped him reconnect wtih his friends and family, he says.
"Before Neuralink, it would sometimes take me 5,10 or even 15 minutes just to send a text message. That’s not sustainable if you want to have a conversation, let alone hold multiple conversations. Now, I can send a text in a few seconds."
Great suggestions. For the most part, I think our ideas align pretty well. We're waiting for FDA approval allowing me to control other physical machines such as a car, a drone, maybe a robot or two or 10,000. Something about making sure it's safe... https://t.co/OIk62xQdDk
— Noland Arbaugh (@ModdedQuad) August 12, 2024
Arbaugh has played thousands of five-minute games on Chess.com, and deepened since receiving the microchip. With that, he has cursor control of the computer with his brain and can even play faster games, such as bullet—if he had wanted to.
"I’ve never been a big fan of bullet games, even before Neuralink. They stress me out, and I’m not that good. I enjoy playing five-minute games with five-second intervals or three-minute games with two-second intervals. That’s my comfort zone—I can play for hours and enjoy myself without stressing about being too quick. I’m sure I could play some bullet games, but it’s been a while."
He is currently rated around 1300, but says he is working towards a goal of eventually reaching 2000. Don't rule out seeing him becoming a chess streamer: "I haven’t had much time to stream or play on Chess.com these past seven months because I’ve been so busy. But I’d love to stream and play people at some point, even if I get my butt kicked."
The microchip-powered 30-year-old is currently in Paris where he is invited by Chess.com to attend the Speed Chess Championship Finals as a special guest. Danny Rensch, Chess.com's CCO, said:
"When we came across Noland using Neuralink to play chess, we knew we had to get in touch with him. Getting to know Noland over the past few months, we have been blown away by his resilience and are deeply touched to see the important role chess has played for him throughout his life," adding:
Getting to know Noland over the past few months, we have been blown away by his resilience and and are deeply touched to see the important role chess has played for him throughout his life.
—Danny Rensch, Chess.com's CCO
"We wanted to do something special for him, and that's why we invited him to Paris to make the ceremonial first move of the SCC Finals."
Chess fan Arbaugh said he is thrilled to attend the finals, where he predicts his favourite player Magnus Carlsen will win against Hikaru Nakamura in the final.
"I’ve seen their matchups in the past, and it’s really hard. But I’m going with Magnus. It’s hard to bet against him, even though I love all my Americans. Hikaru, Fabi, and Hans. They’re all great players, but it’s tough to bet against Magnus."
Tarjei J. Svensen is a Norwegian chess journalist who worked for some of the country's biggest media outlets and appeared on several national TV broadcasts. Between 2015 and 2019, he ran his chess website mattogpatt.no, covering chess news in Norwegian and partly in English.
In 2020, he was hired by Chess24 to cover chess news, eventually moving to Chess.com as a full-time chess journalist in 2023. He is also known for his extensive coverage of chess news on his X/Twitter account.
