Technologies

Bishop Takes Rook: You’ll Be Able to Learn Chess on Duolingo Soon

The course is in beta now but will be available to everyone in a few months.

«Hola, ajedrez» means «Hello, chess» in Spanish. You’ve always been able to learn Spanish on Duolingo. And you’ll be able to learn and practice chess on the language learning app soon. Duolingo announced on April 22 that beta testers can practice the centuries-old board game in Duolingo now, and others will be able to learn the game on the app in a few months.

Chess will be the first new Duolingo course since the app began offering math and music lessons in 2023. And Duolingo hopes that to bring the classic board game to more people of all experience levels.

Duolingo chess lessons aim to be friendly to beginners

I spoke with a Duolingo rep about the upcoming lessons. He said the company wants to continue expanding what people can learn through the app, and chess was an early contender.

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, said. «We thought it would fit with the Duolingo medium really well.»

When I asked why people would use Duolingo over other chess learning sites and tools, Bodge said a lot of other chess content is geared toward advanced users, not newcomers. «We really saw a great opportunity to try and cater to more of a beginner, medium (player) and try and increase access to the game,» he said.

The chess lessons are slightly different from others you might find on Duolingo, like Spanish and math, but the progression system is similar. And from what Duolingo showed me, the lessons really do start at square one, or A1 on a chessboard.

Chess lessons feel similar to other Duolingo lessons

When you start, Duolingo asks how much you already know about chess, like in other lessons on the app. Duolingo will then adjust the lessons according to your response. If you say you’re brand-new to chess and have no knowledge of the game, early lessons will focus on how each piece moves before moving on to capturing other pieces and checking the king. Other lessons are similar to mini-puzzles where you might be asked to capture different pieces using a single piece, like your knight or rook, in four moves or fewer.

You can access hints for each lesson, but if you get something wrong, your opponent will react to show you you’ve left a piece open for capture, like in a real match. And if you keep getting something incorrect, Duolingo will show you what to do. «If you get it wrong multiple times, eventually we’ll show you an arrow that shows you exactly where to move,» Sammi Siegel, a software engineer with Duolingo, said.

If you are subscribed to Duolingo Max and make a mistake in a language lesson, the app can explain the mistake — and what the right solution is — with a feature called Explain My Answer. However, that feature won’t be available with the chess lessons for now. It’s not always easy to explain why something is right or wrong in chess because there are so many millions of different moves.

«We want to get better at fuller explanations,» Siegel said. «There is some mix of AI and model training that we’re hoping to use to better explain why a certain move is wrong.» Because there are so many moves in chess, it’s possible to make moves that could be correct but aren’t the best options. In such instances, Duolingo will show a banner that lets you know that a move isn’t wrong but isn’t necessarily the best move.

Duolingo also said each section represents a range on the Elo rating system, the method by which a chess player’s skills are calculated. As you progress, your lessons will be tougher and more challenging. This is similar to the CEFR language proficiency levels attached to the different language sections in the app.

You’ll also have the opportunity to have «mini-matches» or full-on games against Duolingo’s chess coach, Oscar. These matches will scale in difficulty to challenge you as well, so you aren’t facing a grandmaster-level chess player after your first week of playing the game. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off and play sloppily. If you make a mistake, like leaving your queen open to capture, Oscar will take advantage and leave you scrambling to recover.

While playing against Oscar is good practice, you won’t be able to face off against other players when these chess lessons launch. But Duolingo said matches against other people are something they are looking into, so you might be able to play against a friend over the app in the future. «One of the big reasons why we’re doing this is we think we can get a whole generation of people interested in chess,» Bodge said.

Duolingo’s new chess lessons are now available in the beta version now and will start rolling out on iOS in English in May. Duolingo said it is working to bring these lessons to Android devices and more languages in the coming months.

For more on Duolingo, check out how well the free version prepared me for a trip to Italy and our review of the language learning app. You can also check out our best language learning apps.

Technologies

We Love This Ugreen Tracker, and It’s Just $13 Right Now

These handy tags are a great way to keep track of your items without having to fork over the full price of $20 — for a limited time, at least.

Losing keys, having misplaced luggage and other items can be a major inconvenience. It takes time to recuperate your things, and replacing them can cost you money you’d rather spend on other needs. If you’ve got a few things you want to keep a closer eye on, then a tracker might be a great option for you. We’ve spotted this Ugreen FineTrack smart finder for just $13 at Amazon, which saves you $7 after you clip the on-page coupon. Amazon prices tend to fluctuate, so we suggest acting fast if this deal is of interest. Plus, it’s a great chance to save on electronic goods that might increase in cost due to impending tariffs.

This Ugreen FineTrack smart finder is compact, light and easily clips onto your keys, bags and other items. It’s compatible with Apple’s FindMy feature, which makes it a more affordable alternative to AirTags, which have a list price of $30. Once removed from the package, all have to do is use Bluetooth and sync this tracker to your FindMy app on any Apple device. The Ugreen FineTrack requires a battery that can last up to two years.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

Need an extra pair of eyes? You can share the location of your tag with up to five more people. Plus, you can turn on an alarm that makes a loud sound so you can locate misplaced items. You can also set up notifications that can remind you if you’ve left something behind.

To better take advantage of these trackers, take a look at our article about the best places to use your tracker during travels.

Why this deal matters

This Ugreen FineTrack smart finder is down to just $13 for a limited time at Amazon. This saves you $7 over its usual asking price and is much more budget-friendly than other available trackers. Considering the potential for price increases due to tariffs, now is an excellent opportunity to nab this deal.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 28, #421

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 421 for April 28.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a very strange, long spangram, but the answers themselves are short and pretty easy to solve. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: My bad!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Uh-oh!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

NUMB, TOLE, POLE, POLES, SPIT, PITS, SOPPY, BREW, TALE, DUMB, DUMBS, ALTER, LETS, BALE, BALES.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

SLIP, SPILL, FALTER, TOPPLE, BLUNDER, STUMBLE.

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is WHOOPSIEDAISY.To find it, start with the W that’s four letters down on the far right row, and wind across, and then down.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 28, #687

Hints and answers for Connections for April 28, #687.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

As an ’80s girl, I immediately spotted the four words in the yellow category of today’s Connections puzzle. I definitely had at least three of those products in my college apartment, so that was an easy solve. And since I read a lot of Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie, the blue category came along pretty easily, too. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Bought at Ulta, maybe.

Green group hint: Not fancy.

Blue group hint: Nancy Drew would spot these.

Purple group hint: Yawn.