At the time this article was written (September 2026), a surprising number of parents have told me that their kids are learning chess through Duolingo.  It's still too early to say whether this is a good or bad thing, and whether using the app frequently will accelerate chess improvement.  My son also uses Duolingo for the chess course.

I did complete the Duolingo chess course in the past (in addition to having a 10 year streak studying Spanish!), and I thought at the time:

- This is a good resource for learning basics such as piece movement and simple tactics.

- Once past the beginner sections, it's value diminishes but may still be helpful.  I recall it did not address equally the various aspects of a game, and was heavily weighed towards tactics.

- Not a fan of Duolingo gamification ... yes, it may help scholastic players learn chess basics, but gamification is not an optimal way to learn.  I have also yet to meet a scholastic player who played at an intermediate level or above and learned exclusively from Duolingo.  Finally, players are constantly nudged to watch ads and upgrade to the premium plan. 

- It's unclear what the opportunity cost of using Duolingo daily is to keep a streak alive.  Better than watching Youtube or playing Roblox, but gamifying chess to get better skills may not lead to better critical thinking, increase focus, or help a child think strategically.  

So if your child enjoys Duolingo, it may be a complimentary resource to learn about chess, but there are limitations.  I have met a few young players who are already familiar with basic concepts which they learned through the app.

Some other possible app resources are chess.com or lichess.org, both of which have apps for Android and Apple devices.

* Coach Kim *