--- title: Paul Rudd, Stephen Hawking Play Quantum Chess: Caltech Video description: If you need another reason to watch the video: it's narrated by Keanu Reeves. canonical: https://time.com/4196061/stephen-hawking-paul-rudd-quantum-chess/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-27T18:14:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:29:19.749Z og:title: Watch Stephen Hawking and Paul Rudd Play a Game of Quantum Chess og:description: In a video narrated by Keanu Reeves og:url: https://time.com/4196061/stephen-hawking-paul-rudd-quantum-chess/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Stephen Hawking and Paul Rudd Play a Game of Quantum Chess twitter:description: In a video narrated by Keanu Reeves twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch Stephen Hawking and Paul Rudd Face Off in a Game of Quantum Chess by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Jan 27, 2016 6:14 PM UTC by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Jan 27, 2016 6:14 PM UTC Quick, who would win in a game of quantum chess: the brilliant, world-renowned theoretical physicist [Stephen Hawking](http://time.com/4045560/stephen-hawking-quotes/), or the goofy, lovable actor [Paul Rudd](http://time.com/3957135/paul-rudd-jimmy-fallon-drinking-game/)? Check out this video, directed by Alex Winter, to see how things play out. According to the filmmakers, quantum chess is “a version of the classic game of strategy that follows the rules of probability and uncertainty and treats each piece as a quantum particle.” The video was made for a recent [Caltech event](https://www.caltech.edu/news/entangled-evening-quantum-science-49509) that celebrated all things quantum science. Hawking was an obvious choice for the video, but if you’re wondering why they tapped Rudd, it’s because he starred in _Ant-Man_, a film that dealt directly [with quantum physics](http://time.com/3960542/science-ant-man-film/). So, you know, he’s basically an expert too. And if you need another reason to watch the video: it’s narrated by [Keanu Reeves](http://time.com/4066201/jimmy-kimmel-keanu-reeves-trailer-reasonable-speed/). Enjoy. Paul Rudd, Stephen Hawking Play Quantum Chess: Caltech Video ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4196061/stephen-hawking-paul-rudd-quantum-chess/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4196061/stephen-hawking-paul-rudd-quantum-chess/"},"headline":"Watch Stephen Hawking and Paul Rudd Face Off in a Game of Quantum Chess","datePublished":"2016-01-27T18:14:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:29:19.749Z","description":"In a video narrated by Keanu Reeves","url":"https://time.com/4196061/stephen-hawking-paul-rudd-quantum-chess/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Science topic","celebrity"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4196061/stephen-hawking-paul-rudd-quantum-chess/","name":"Watch Stephen Hawking and Paul Rudd Face Off in a Game of Quantum Chess"}}]}] ```