Chess Lessons Are Coming to Duolingo

Never learned to play chess and don't know where to start? Duolingo, the gamified education app most famous for its language learning lessons, is adding chess lessons to the iPhone application later this month. You can learn how each piece moves before eventually moving on to tactics, all in the familiar Duolingo user interface.

A "limited number of learners" on iOS will get the chess feature on Tuesday, April 22; it will roll out to other English-speaking iPhone users "in weeks following." Other operating systems, along with versions for non-English speakers, are "planned in the months ahead," according to Duolingo.

This isn't the first offering outside of language learning offered by the application—the application currently has offered math and music lessons since 2023. The math lessons, which I've tried, are a great way to refresh your multiplication tables, while the music lessons go over the basics of music theory while also featuring rhythm-game-link sequences built around actual pop songs.

The chess lessons are a departure, though, by teaching you to play a game instead of a language or academic subject. “Chess is an ideal fit for Duolingo,” Luis von Ahn, co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, said in a press release. “It sharpens your brain, it’s packed with strategy, and like language learning, it’s a skill that gets better with practice.”

The app is intended to make chess more accessible, so it should be no surprise that the lessons themselves are intended for beginners, starting from the mechanics about how each piece moves before moving on to tactics and strategy. The average lesson is built around short puzzles—you may, for example, be asked to checkmate the opposition in a single move. There are also mini-matches, and even full chess games, all played against Oscar (the cartoon mustachioed man with a memorable deep voice, long featured in Duolingo's language learning courses).

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