Duolingo is introducing chess lessons to its platform, further branching out from its typical repertoire of language courses. Beta testers can already try their hand at the new chess course, and regular users can expect to have access to the lessons in a few months. Duolingo intends on releasing the lessons in English for iOS sometime around mid-May, with plans for bringing them to Android devices and more languages in the following months.
Starting the chess lessons plays out similarly to how users begin the other courses on Duolingo. The app will first ask the user about their knowledge of the game, and then tailor the lessons accordingly. This means that complete beginners with no prior knowledge will be taught how to move the pieces before being guided on how to make captures and checks. Other lessons are like mini-puzzles that require the user to capture pieces with a certain piece, or within a number of moves.
The app can provide hints to the user if needed, and will also react when mistakes are made. If the user keeps making incorrect moves, Duolingo will eventually show the user what to do by showing an arrow that indicates where the user should move the piece. Users will also be able to play games against Duolingo’s chess coach, Oscar. The difficulty of the matches are based on the player’s skill.
According to Duolingo senior product manager Edwin Bodge, one of the big reasons the app is introducing chess lessons is to get a whole generation interested in chess. Bodge also noted that a lot of existing chess content is suited for advanced players and not beginners, and that it was an opportunity to cater to beginner and intermediate players, as well as make the game more accessible to everyone.
This is not Duolingo’s first foray into non-language courses as it had previously introduced math and music to its list of available lessons in 2023. It seems the company has no intentions to limit itself to languages anymore, so it’s likely we’ll be seeing lessons for a myriad of other topics in the future.
(Source: CNET)
