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Chess.com launched a poker site and is planning even more classic games - The Verge
WorldBy Stevie Bonifield8/30/20261 min read
Chess.com’s new poker site, Gambit, is its first expansion, and now it’s working on launching sites for more games, like go, backgammon, and mahjong.
✨ Key Highlights
- Chess.com launched Gambit, a free online poker site, in beta in May 2026, marking its first companion site after nearly 20 years focused solely on chess.
- The company chose poker for its debut expansion because, like chess, it combines learning and social elements alongside gameplay, according to chief growth officer Albert Cheng.
- Cheng emphasized that Gambit will never feature real-money gambling, arguing the industry profits when beginners lose and that the site instead aims to help players learn.
- Gambit mirrors Chess.com's design and offers familiar play modes including bot matches, games with friends, tournaments, a review mode for studying past games, and a learning mode.
- Recognizable elements carry over, such as Chess.com's bot characters like "Martin," the lowest-skill bot, and a custom Elo-style rating system built to motivate improvement instead of monetary stakes.
- Gambit is preparing its first livestreamed event and content-creator collaborations, and Chess.com plans to expand into additional classic games; Cheng said AI helped a two-person team get the project off the ground.