Technologies

Knight Takes Pawn. Chess Lessons Are Coming to Duolingo

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 soon you’ll be able to learn and practice chess on the language learning app, too. Duolingo announced on Tuesday 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.

Duolingo’s chess lessons aim to be beginner-friendly

I spoke with a Duolingo rep about the upcoming lessons. They said they wanted 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 at a1 on a chessboard.

Chess lessons should 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 chess lessons are in beta now and will begin rolling out on iOS in English around mid-May. Duolingo said it is working to bring these lessons to Android devices and more languages in the coming months.

For more on Duolingo, here’s 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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Nov. 26

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 26.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a tough one for a change! Think transit — maybe the kinds some people might take to get home for Thanksgiving. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Greyhound, e.g.
Answer: BUS

4A clue: Passenger’s walkway on a 1- or 6-Across
Answer: AISLE

6A clue: The Wolverine to Chicago’s Union Station, e.g.
Answer: TRAIN

7A clue: Barely beat, with «out»
Answer: EDGED

8A clue: «___ out!» (ump’s cry)
Answer: YER

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Feathered creature, in kid-speak
Answer: BIRDY

2D clue: Electricity bill calculation
Answer: USAGE

3D clue: More like a fox
Answer: SLIER

4D clue: Past-tense verb that sounds like a number
Answer: ATE

5D clue: Redundant word before «result»
Answer: END

Technologies

iPhone Fold Will Be Creaseless and Cost $2,400, Report Says

Apple’s first foldable could be an expensive one.

The first foldable iPhone could be less than a year away, and reportedly, you won’t ever see a crease. You could, however, see a decent dent in your wallet.

According to a report by Chinese publication UDN, engineers have made «breakthroughs» in creating a «crease-free design» for the iPhone Fold, and the product cycle has now moved past the experimental stage to pre-mass production mode. The Fold reportedly could be launched in September 2026.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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But you’ll pay dearly for the iPhone‘s creaseless screen. Another report by Fubon Research says the iPhone Fold could cost as much as $2,399, which would make it the most expensive foldable phone on the market — higher than the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the Samsung Galaxy Flip 7, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, Motorola Razr Ultra and Motorola Razr, all which range between $700 and $2,000.

More from CNET: A Word of Warning to Apple About the Fold

The reported $2,400 price tag might pack a wallop, but so could the Fold’s possibly game-changing design quality. The market has steadily grown since the first foldable phone was launched in 2018, but no one has yet been able to make one that doesn’t show a crease after several folds. The OnePlus Open has the least visible crease of all the foldables — there’s even a subreddit extolling the virtues of its near-creaseless-ness. But a crease is still a crease.

‘No crease is a hard feat!’

Jessica Naziri, a content creator focused on tech made for women at TechSesh.co, says, «2026 is the year of foldables.»

«We’ve been begging our phones to behave like laptops, and this gets us a lot closer to that reality,» Naziri told CNET. «If Apple is doing it, you know it will be good. Between the iPhone Air and the upcoming foldable, it’s nice to finally see Apple trying new form factors.

Despite the high price, Naziri says consumers will still pony up.

«Obviously, the engineering feat is expected to come with a premium price tag, and people will find a way to save up and pay up,» she said.

Creaseless comes at a cost

The UDN report said that teams from Apple, NewRixing and Amphenol have been collaborating on key component bearings to avoid the iPhone Fold showing creases. Those teams have used high-strength hinge component technology made of liquid metal to improve folding durability, according to the report.

The inner screen is developed by Samsung Display, and the panel structure, material handling and lamination are designed by Apple, the report said. UDN also said that Taiwan-based Hon Hai Technology Group has created a production line where several dozen iPhone Fold devices will be initially manufactured for testing before mass production begins.

The advanced components and design work led to the hefty consumer cost, however. Fubon Research analyst Arthur Liao said the OLED panel, hinge and lightweight internals will help drive up the price of the iPhone Fold. He also said that RAM prices have risen 75% in the past year, and total material cost could go up between 5% and 7% in 2026 because of increased demand for chips, memory and storage.

Technologies

Fubo Loses NBCUniversal Channels, Putting Your NBA Games in Jeopardy

Sound the carriage dispute Klaxon: Some network programming has disappeared from the streaming service after content negotiations fell through.

If you’ve noticed your favorite show has recently gone missing from Fubo, it’s probably because an entire block of programming just disappeared from the site’s channel lineup.

The live TV streaming service is engaged in a carriage dispute with NBCUniversal, a media company whose subsidiaries include NBC News, Universal Studios, Peacock, Telemundo and Illumination, among other brands.

On Nov. 21, NBCUniversal pulled all of its networks from Fubo. This is an especially big deal for sports watchers on the streaming service, since the Fubo Sports subscription — which began earlier this year — depends on the licensing agreement with NBCUniversal. However, viewers can still access sports content on networks like ESPN, CBS and ABC.

Fubo released a statement on Tuesday, alleging the media giant is engaging in «discriminatory tactics» that are harming the streamer’s subscribers.

«NBCU is discriminating against Fubo and our subscribers,» the statement says. «They allowed YouTube TV and Amazon Prime to integrate Peacock directly into their channel store, but refused to give Fubo the same rights.»

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Fubo says NBCUniversal is trying to force a multiyear deal for certain channel packages under the media giant’s new spin-off media company, Versant, and that it’s trying to upcharge on the Fubo Sports subscription by adding «expensive, non-sports channels» into the agreement, increasing the cost.

According to NBCUniversal’s website, the Versant brands include CNBC, E!, MS Now, SyFy and USA, among other channels.

NBCUniversal did not respond to a request for comment.

Fubo says that it’s willing to move forward without NBCUniversal content if an agreement cannot be reached.

«Fubo is committed to bringing its subscribers a premium, competitively-priced live TV streaming experience with the content they love,» its statement concludes. «That includes multiple content options, including a sports-focused service, that can be accessed directly from the Fubo app.»

Fubo recently became an affiliate of The Walt Disney Company, following its merger with Hulu’s live TV platform in October. It’s unclear whether this merger affected content agreement negotiations with NBCUniversal. Fubo did not respond to a request for comment on this.