Chess.com reviews

4.1

74% would recommend to a friend

(92 total reviews)
avatar

Erik Allebest

84% approve of CEO

62% positive business outlook

Chess.com has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 92 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Chess.com employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Mídia e comunicação industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

92 reviews
1.0
Jan 29, 2026
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Fully Remote, and if you enjoy chess, there aren't many other options to make a real living in the industry. If you don't feel secondhand embarrassment easily, and enjoy bad rap and pop music, you'll find plenty of opportunities to watch tech industry cliches unfold in real time.

Cons

Make sure to modify the Glassdoor filters to see all the reviews, as many are hidden by default. * You'll see the culture of the company self-described as "family like" and "non-corporate," which anyone with experience knows describes an unprofessional environment. From lack of accountability, juvenile behavior, cliques and poor management, to "leadership" acting like their actions are beyond reproach. * The company does not care about its users apart from their value as targets for SEO and advertising. Dark patterns are common, especially in the billing process. They amplify controversy to disturbing levels to help drive engagement, while acting like the moral arbiters of chess. * The CTO is insecure and lacks technical depth, which manifests in all the predictable ways and has created a cult of personality where sycophants have learned to survive by reflecting the CTO's desired emotional state back at him. * Communication is chaotic. Meetings devolve into people talking over each other, more interested in hearing themselves speak than actually solving anything. * The stack is antiquated and filled with a significant amount of technical debt, with no leadership or vision to move the product to a manageable state. Also the platform is constantly criticized publicly by chess players and the tech community at large (see "The Real 100x Dev" for an example).

5.0
Aug 1, 2025

You Want To Work Here

Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

When I interviewed at Chess.com, I was told it might just be the best job of my life due to the flexibility of remote work and learning from people all over the world. At the time, I was skeptical, fresh off a rough corporate experience and not quite ready to believe the hype. But wow… a few months in, and I can honestly say this place has exceeded every expectation. The people here are genuine, kind, and consistently show up as their authentic selves, driven to do meaningful work and bring joy through the game and community. Which translates to feelings of excitement and joy internally every day. I also have to give major credit to our CEO and leadership team. They foster an environment where individuality, passion, and purpose are not only welcomed, but encouraged. Chess.com truly is a special place to work.

Cons

With the rapid growth over the past few years, naturally comes some growing pains. The team works hard to stay aligned, maintain an “anti-corporate” spirit, and still follow the internal processes that keep things running smoothly. At times, it can feel more like a startup, fast-moving, constantly evolving, and a bit messy. If you're not naturally curious or a self-starter, it might be a tough place to get your footing. The pay is generally a bit lower than big tech or SaaS -- but culture makes up for it.

5.0
Jan 20, 2023

Best Place I have ever worked

Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

You are respected when you work here. Your time, your mental outlook and everything else under that umbrella. The team genuinely wants to see you happy and stress free. Maintaining that positive balance is the number one priority, doing your best work and helping you grow comes after that.

Cons

Distributed remote work across the entire globe can occasionally make syncing with teammates tricky. But that in itself is also a huge bonus, remote work is awesome.

Viewing 10 - 12 of 92 Reviews

Glassdoor has 152 Chess.com reviews submitted anonymously by Chess.com employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Chess.com is right for you.