Once known purely as a language-learning app, Duolingo has steadily expanded into a broader learning platform — from maths and music to one of India’s oldest and most storied games: chess. Its chess course has quickly gained traction globally, with India emerging as a particularly strong market, given the country’s deep-rooted legacy of producing generational chess talent.
Fronting the campaign is Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, one of India’s most recognisable young chess grandmasters. But instead of leaning into familiar tropes — the socially awkward genius, the reclusive intellectual, or the overly earnest prodigy — the film presents him differently. Cool, sharp, stylish and self-assured, Praggnanandhaa appears less as a stereotype and more as a contemporary icon: aspirational yet approachable, confident without being distant.
The campaign film, conceptualised by Talented and directed by Akimbo (M G Bopanna and Mandakini), frames chess through a cultural and editorial lens rarely afforded to the sport. Shot vertically, the film plays with the chaos of recognition in modern India, offering small, realistic vignettes of fame — moments where intellect meets pop culture.
Watch the campaign:
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Complementing the film are outdoor billboards across Chennai and other Indian cities, featuring Praggnanandhaa in a contemporary take on Madras checks — a deliberate nod to Tamil Nadu and its outsized contribution to Indian chess. Styled alongside Duolingo’s mascot, the visuals blur the line between sport, fashion and mainstream celebrity.
Regional Marketing Director at Duolingo, Karandeep Singh Kapany, said, “Chess has long carried the perception of being either overly intellectual or inaccessible. Our ambition was to change that — to make the game inviting rather than intimidating. The Duolingo chess course is designed to democratize the sport and
bring it to a much wider audience. Choosing Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa as the face of the course in India was a natural decision. He represents a new generation of chess excellence that is modern, aspirational, and deeply relatable. By presenting him through the same cultural lens we reserve for mainstream icons, we’re simply acknowledging what the chess community already knows: this is a sport with stars, stories, and a massive, passionate following.”
Speaking on his new avatar, Shania Pereira & Pearl Alex, Creatives at Talented said, “Praggnanandhaa deserves to be portrayed as the force he is, but as never seen before: iconic, commanding, and unmistakably stylish. Those who noticed the Madras Checks in his wardrobe have correctly read them as a deliberate nod to Tamil Nadu - his roots, and the land that has given India so many grandmasters. Conceptualizing a shoot like this meant stepping outside familiar territory, as chess has rarely been framed through an editorial lens. The fact that this avatar has surprised the internet as much as it has only means it was long overdue.”
Director duo, Akimbo (M G Bopanna & Mandakini) add, "In India, fame manifests in chaotic ways and we wanted to create small realistic vignettes of that with Praggnanandhaa. We worked closely on the script with Talented to try and achieve that. Thinking about the film vertical-first was a challenge for us. It changes variables ranging from cinematography to set design. And shooting with Praggnananda was a tick of the old bucketlist.”
The response online suggests the gamble paid off. Netizens have embraced the grandmaster’s new avatar, while the chess community has expressed appreciation for a brand that chose to elevate its champions rather than caricature them.
In doing so, Duolingo’s campaign doesn’t just teach chess — it repositions it, placing the game firmly within the realm of contemporary culture.
