Have Devin make a chess app with an AI opponent
An early tester used Devin to create a chess program where the user played a language model, and the build stalled before completion.
- What they did
- Andrew Kean Gao, a computer science student, assigned Devin a project to create a chess game with a language-model opponent. Devin ran in a separate workspace with a shell, editor, and browser, but the account does not spell out the exact work it carried out or any outside guidance Gao provided.
- How it went
- Devin got a long way into the app, then stopped making progress and never finished it. Gao reported mixed results from other experiments as well: a Chrome extension worked, while an Antarctic temperature chart did not meet expectations.
- Tips
- For a task like this, ask the agent to surface blockers instead of continuing in circles. It also helps to define the completion point clearly, including what counts as a playable game and when it should stop for approval before any irreversible step.
Try it yourself with Devin
Create a chess app in which [player] competes against [model or API]. Render the board, enforce valid moves, and have the model choose the opponent’s replies. Keep going until a full game can be played through to checkmate; if progress stops, pause and report the obstacle and what is still unfinished before taking any irreversible action such as sending, deleting, or submitting anything.
Fill in the [brackets]. Agents can make mistakes, so review anything before it is sent, paid or deleted.
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