Duolingo will now teach you how to play chess

Chess, made easy.
 By 
Tim Marcin
 on 
duolingo logo on a phone
Credit: Photo Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Duolingo isn't just for languages anymore. Now, the app can teach you chess.

Duolingo is set to launch a new course to help folks learn chess in the coming weeks. Right now, the course is only available in beta form in iOS and will roll out to other iOS users in the next 4-6 weeks, the Verge reported. The course will use mini-games and puzzles to teach you the basics of chess and allow you to play matches against Duolingo’s Oscar character as you progress.

The goal from Duolingo was to "make chess as accessible as possible," the Verge noted.


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"[Chess is] one of those things that … any age group can learn … but then also something that takes the 10,000-hour theory to really master," Edwin Bodge, a senior product manager with Duolingo, told CNET. "We thought it would fit with the Duolingo medium really well."

So if you ever had dreams of becoming a chess master, it might be time to download Duolingo.

close-up of man's face
Tim Marcin
Associate Editor, Culture

Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).

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