Chess.com is expanding beyond the game that made it a household name for online players. The company behind the biggest online chess platform quietly launched its first companion site in beta back in May: Gambit, a free online poker website where players can learn the game without wagering real money. Now Gambit is preparing its first livestreamed event and collaborations with content creators, and the company is planning to branch into even more classic games.
Why Chess.com Chose Poker
Chess.com’s chief growth officer, Albert Cheng, said the company selected poker for its first companion site because, like chess, it combines learning and social elements on top of gameplay. He also stated that Gambit will never feature real-money gambling. “Real money is the problem we built Gambit to get away from, the whole industry makes money when beginners lose,” Cheng said. “We’d rather build a place where people can actually learn.”
Gambit will feel familiar to anyone who has used Chess.com. It borrows the same design style and includes comparable play modes, including bot matches, games with friends, tournaments, a review mode for studying past games, and a learning mode. Gambit even carries over Chess.com’s bot characters with matching skill levels, including “Martin,” the lowest-skill-level bot on both platforms.
The Rating System and Subscription Model
Chess.com developed its own Elo-style rating system for Gambit, which Cheng described as the main motivator for players to improve. “You’re not gambling your own hard-earned money necessarily, so the stakes are lower from that standpoint, but you need something to counterbalance it that you care about, and that keeps the ecosystem in play, and keeps the poker that’s on Gambit reasonably high-quality,” he explained.
The rating system also underpins Gambit’s paid subscription for premium learning features, mirroring the model Chess.com already uses. “Our primary business model of Chess.com is a subscription, but most people play Chess.com for free,” Cheng said. “They subscribe to get unlimited access to review their games and to get unlimited puzzles, lessons, et cetera.” A reliable rating lets players track their progress, which can encourage them to pay for those premium features.
More Classic Games on the Way
Rating systems are also central to Chess.com’s next move. The company is now looking to expand into additional classic games, including go, backgammon, and mahjong. As with Gambit, Chess.com is building Elo-style rating systems for each of these games. Cheng did not give a launch date for the new sites but said development is moving rapidly. Chess.com has operated its core chess platform for nearly 20 years, and Gambit marks its first step outside that domain.
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Image: theverge.com
