Want to join the 600 million people worldwide who play chess? Duolingo, the popular language learning app known for its gamified short lesson format, announced on Tuesday that it has started early tests of a new chess course.
The course will roll out to all learners on Duolingo's iPhone app in English in the coming weeks, with broader plans to reach more users in different languages in the coming months. Chess is Duolingo's first new subject since the company added a music course in 2023.
Duolingo's chess course will be open to learners of all aptitude levels, from complete beginners to those who already know the game, though its primary aim is to capture the interest of new chess players.
Duolingo's group product manager Edwin Bodge told The Verge that many chess products on the market are geared towards advanced players, so Duolingo's goal is to "make chess as accessible as possible" for newbies.
Related: 'Probably Died Waiting for You to Do Your Lesson': Duolingo Says Its Mascot, Duo the Owl, Is Dead
The app will teach users how each piece moves and take them through gamified exercises, including short chess puzzles, to help them learn how to strategize and play the game.
Users will also have access to "mini matches" that are just a couple of minutes long, and longer, full-length games against a virtual character named Oscar who acts as a chess coach for all of the lessons.
Luis von Ahn, CEO and co-founder of Duolingo, posted on X on Tuesday that the chess course would involve "strategy, logic, and a little bit of trash talk."
Duolingo is free to use with ads, but it also has paid subscription options, including a $12.99 per month Super plan without ads and a $9.99 monthly Super Family plan. The app offers 37 languages for English speakers to learn, including Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, and Spanish, and reported 103.6 million monthly active users as of June 2024.
Related: Duolingo Says It's Seen '216% Growth in New Chinese (Mandarin) Learners' as TikTok Users Try Out a Competing App
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