Chess.com is expanding into new games after nearly 20 years of operating in the online chess space. The company is preparing to expand Gambit, a free online poker site it launched in beta in May. Players can learn poker on the platform, where real money is not used; Chess.com Chief Growth Officer Albert Cheng said there would be no real-money gambling on Gambit, adding that the company wanted to avoid a model that profits from beginners’ losses.
Gambit offers a design and game options similar to those on Chess.com. Users can play against bots, set up games with friends, participate in tournaments, review their past games and study poker through interactive lessons. The platform also features Chess.com’s bot characters and corresponding skill levels. Chess.com has also developed its own Elo-style rating system to encourage players to improve.
After poker, the company plans to expand into classic games such as Go, backgammon and mahjong. Elo-style rating systems are also being prepared for these games. While the company has not announced when the new sites will launch, Cheng said development was progressing “quite rapidly.”
According to Cheng, AI helped Gambit go from prototype to launch within a year, with Cheng and one employee working on it. AI was used particularly to read the existing codebase and design system and quickly adapt Chess.com’s development patterns to the new platform. However, it was said to be inadequate in areas such as brand and feature design. Cheng said that although AI makes coding easier, it should not be operated on its own. The version of Gambit currently in use contains “zero or close to zero” AI-generated assets, and such content was used mostly in early prototypes.
Gambit will be expanded through content creators and community-focused initiatives. The first livestream event, Gambit Cup, will be broadcast on Twitch and YouTube on August 31st at 12PM ET / 9AM PT, with Danny Rensch and Alexandra Botez taking part.
Why it matters
This move shows Chess.com’s effort to extend its chess-focused service to other games around similar skill measurement, education and community features. The absence of real money forms the core framework that distinguishes Gambit from online gambling models that tie their revenue to beginners’ losses; for this reason, the platform is of particular interest to users who want to learn poker. The company’s use of its existing code and design systems helps it develop new products in a shorter time, while also demonstrating that human oversight remains in place for brand and feature design. However, the scope and timing of the plans being prepared for Go, backgammon and mahjong have not been disclosed, leaving open the question of whether Chess.com can establish the same community model in games outside chess.