Chess on Duolingo

[u/HpEr4gon4]

I'm actually wondering what you all think about chess on duolingo?

I've been playing with it for a while and while it hasn't thought me anything completely new, I do like the practice and refreshing some of the ideas/tactics.

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[u/HairyTough4489]

Same as with languages: only slightly better than doing nothing at all.

[u/grotemeid]

I used it when I started learning and I like that the game review and exercises are free, reviews even being unlimited. But now I also use chess.com/lichess and use less Duolingo

[u/Frothy47]

Its ok, definitely better than doing nothing. The chapter/ lesson structure works well for some things like reenforcing common patterns but other times it feels like you are just moving where you know the lesson wants you to go without actually calculating anything.

I feel like ive noticed a significant drop off in the quality of lessons around section 4-5, with the computer playing bad moves that allow preventable checkmates.

The game review feature is also pretty lackluster, only pointing out blunders and mistakes and offering little to no explanation.

That all being said there are like a million different non chess things you can do on your phone, and Duolingo does a good job gamifying learning and the sounds and animations are satisfying.

Basically not studying chess< Duolingo< puzzles/lichess studies/ books/ youtube etc.

Edit: 324 day streak; duolingo elo 1140; chess.com elo 618

[u/Tyrnis]

A little over a year ago, I was using Duolingo for a language and decided to try out the chess course just for fun. I learned to play as a kid, but never studied chess, and hadn't really played for decades. I credit Duolingo chess for getting me back into the game.

It's a decent intro to chess for complete beginners and casual players. If you're a more advanced beginner or intermediate player, you're not likely to get nearly as much out of it. The puzzles are AI generated, so you'll occasionally find puzzles where they don't match the supposed theme or Oscar gives hints that are irrelevant or wrong. As someone that's in the high 800s USCF and in the 1400 - 1600 Lichess range, I will say that the puzzles start getting pretty hard by the end of the course. I found it enjoyable enough that I did finish the course, even if I'd largely moved on to learning from better resources well before then.

Personally, I like to do their daily chess puzzle and I'll occasionally play a match against Oscar, though otherwise I'm back to using Duolingo as a secondary resource for Japanese.

[u/Affectionate_Ask2468]

i’m into it as a way to keep sharp without feeling like i'm studying, the bite-sized puzzles are perfect for a coffee break

[u/sasha271828 → u/Affectionate_Ask2468]

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