# Deep Green — No-nonsense classical chess. > Classical chess app with a clean UI, custom designs, and unique engine. (iPhone/iPad app by Cocoa Stuff.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deep-green/id299471086 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Cocoa Stuff](https://appshunter.io/developer/299471089) - Category: Games, Board, Strategy - Price: Free - Rating: 3.90/5 from 72 App Store ratings · 212 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 16.4 · 22 MB - Languages: Danish, German (Germany), British English - Released: 2009-10-23 - Data updated: 2026-08-30 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deep-green/id299471086/reviews.md ## What is Deep Green? A no-nonsense classical chess app. - CLEAN UI: Deep Green offers a distraction-free experience in a clean, native user interface – now with the Liquid Glass design on iOS 26. - CUSTOM PIECE DESIGN: Beautiful chess set designed specifically for Deep Green and rendered at high resolution in both outline and 3D throughout the app. - MADE FOR IPAD: Dedicated menu bar, multiple windows, and refined trackpad, mouse, and Apple Pencil support. Squares highlight as you hover over the board. - TIGHT SYSTEM INTEGRATION: System-level sharing, drag and drop, AirDrop, undo/redo, contextual menus, Quick Look previews of chess files, Dark Mode, high contrast support and more. - OPEN GAME FORMAT: Games can be shared, saved, copied, pasted, imported, exported in the ubiquitous, open source PGN and FEN formats. Deep Green can open chess files straight from the Files app. - UNIQUE CHESS ENGINE: Enjoyable opponent with adjustable strength, praised for its humane gameplay, developed for Deep Green on the Apple Newton more than 25 years ago. - TWEAKABLE APPEARANCE: Engage the knights in the game by having them turn towards the center of the board, apply a humane, slightly random placement of the pieces. - IN YOUR LANGUAGE: Available in English, German, and Danish. - MODERN ARCHITECTURE: Written in Swift as a fully native app – modern, maintainable, and prepared for the future. - PRIVATE, AD-FREE: No ads, no tracking, no analytics, no nonsense. If you like Deep Green, please rate it favorably on the App Store. ## Key features - Clean, native user interface - Customizable chess piece designs - Open game format (PGN/FEN) - Adjustable strength chess engine - Private and ad-free experience - System-level integration ## What do users think of Deep Green? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🌟 Elegant and polished design - 🤖 Strong chess engine - 👍 Intuitive and easy to use - 🎨 Beautiful graphics and animations - 🕹️ Smooth gameplay and controls **Cons** - 🐛 Crashes and stability issues - ⚠️ Lack of features (e.g. game saving, online play) - 🔍 Difficulty settings too challenging for some users - 🔕 Missing audio/sound effects - 📏 Board/pieces not optimized for larger screens **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes when promoting pawns - Board orientation issues when rotating device - Unresponsive UI elements - Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions **Most requested features** - Game saving and loading functionality - Online/multiplayer mode - Customizable board/piece themes - Difficulty settings for beginners - Indicators for check, checkmate, and draw ## Recent user reviews (10 of 212) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deep-green/id299471086/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Latest update ruined this game. *2026-02-12* I used to love and play this chess app every single day. But, the latest update, 2/26, took away the ability to take back or replay moves, which completely takes away the game’s use as a learning tool. You can no longer back up and try different moves and outcomes. Features have been stripped away slowly for years, but this is the last straw for me. I’m now looking for another chess app. Very sad. :( ### 4/5 — Neat-o *2026-02-11* It doesn’t draw after threefold repetitions, otherwise, great app, very clean. ### 2/5 — Шахматы *2026-01-17, version 2.0.3* После обновления, пропала функция отмены ошибочного хода. Стало очень неудобно. ### 5/5 — Buena *2025-03-24, version 2.0.2* Ta’ bacán ### 1/5 — Unresponsive *2024-12-07, version 2.0* Not working iOS 18 ### 1/5 — Ruined by tasteless redesign! *2024-11-10* This previously beautiful chess game was completely ruined by an utterly tasteless and unimaginative redesign. Deep Green Chess is now a pathetic and shallow black & white, and is riddled with flaws and crashes. Look elsewhere, chess lover... there's nothing to see here! ### 1/5 — Not working with iOS 18.0 *2024-10-04, version 2.0* The icon for starting a new bars nor any other menu icons are working ### 5/5 — Longtime favorite *2024-06-07* Deep Green has been a favorite since my Newton. Great chess game that is well designed. ### 4/5 — Great at what it does. *2024-06-06, version 2.0* I have enjoyed using this, especially now that the Stockfish app for iPhone has disappeared from the App store. I just want a simple lightweight on-device chess program for user vs computer play. I have noticed a bug recently: -- you can accidentally move a piece if your finger slips on the board: the piece moves (e.g. a knight might move forward like a pawn), and then the piece is displayed in the new position even though the computer knows it is "really" in its previous position. This makes the game unplayable. -- there should be some indication of stalemate -- when you get a pawn to row 8 (or 1) you should be able to select the piece you want, as per the rules of the game. In many situations a rook is preferable because if you are playing an endgame with a queen or three it's far too easy to accidentally create a stalemate. I guess I would also want to be able to select an option for dark mode all the time. Otherwise, this is really good! ### 1/5 — This App used to be BEAUTIFUL! *2024-06-03, version 2.0* It’s a shame they made the design of the app way too minimal and bland… it’s hard to look at and boring to look at… I used to love playing this app. It would be awesome if you have users the option to toggle back to the old design. This new UI is simply awful. ## Frequently asked questions about Deep Green ### What is Deep Green? Deep Green is a classical chess application designed for a no-nonsense, distraction-free experience. It features a clean, native user interface, custom piece designs, and a unique chess engine with adjustable strength. ### What are the key features of Deep Green? Key features include a clean UI, custom piece designs, system-level integration (like Dark Mode and Sharing), support for open game formats (PGN/FEN), a unique chess engine with adjustable strength, tweakable appearance options, and a private, ad-free environment. ### How much does Deep Green cost? Based on the provided information, Deep Green is a paid application. It does not have in-app purchases or advertisements, indicating a one-time purchase model. ### What platforms is Deep Green available on? The description mentions system-level integration features common to Apple's ecosystem, such as Dark Mode and system-level Sharing, suggesting it is likely available on iOS devices. It also mentions being developed for the Apple Newton in the past. ### Can I share or save my chess games? Yes, games can be shared, saved, copied, pasted, imported, and exported in the ubiquitous, open-source PGN and FEN formats. This allows for easy management and sharing of your chess matches. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.1 — 2026-08-26 Deep Green 2.1 embraces iOS 26 and makes the iPad a first-class chess board. - REFRESHED DESIGN: Liquid Glass and a new app icon on iOS 26, improved chess piece design in the Game List, and a modernized welcome sheet. - MADE FOR IPAD: Dedicated menu bar, multiple windows, and refined trackpad, mouse, and Apple Pencil support. Squares highlight as you hover, and tints show where a dragged piece may legally land. - CHESS FILES: Import PGN and FEN files from the Files app, by drag and drop, or via AirDrop – with Quick Look previews and thumbnails showing the actual position. - BOARD IMAGES: Copying or sharing a game or position now also includes an image of the board. - SMARTER PLAY: Pick between variations with the Step Forward button, choose the engine's search depth for Suggest Move, and stalemate now correctly ends the game in a draw. - IN YOUR LANGUAGE: German, UK English, and Danish localizations. Plus a zoom transition into games, tips introducing features, and a long list of fixes. See the full change log via What's New in the app. ### 2.0.3 — 2025-06-09 Fixed - Moved to scene-based life-cycle to comply with upcoming iOS requirements - Cleaned up and smoothened launch sequence - "No Games" placeholder is now vertically centered on screen - Reduced binary app size by more than a megabyte ### 2.0.2 — 2025-01-31 Added - You can now Share to Deep Green directly from within Files.app and other apps that can share PGN content. Fixed - Engine could crash while making move right after opening game (thanks Richard!) - In a game where the player resigns after being checked, the king now goes to show resignation instead of just flashing and going back to normal. - When sending an e-mail to support@deepgreen.app from within the app, it is now as plain text, not HTML. Unless you specifically apply rich content. Plus the recent improvements in version 2.0.1: Added - Dark and Tinted app icons on iOS 18, refreshed light mode icon - Copy Position (FEN) in addition to Copy Game (PGN) item in contextual menu, accessible from the Games List Fixed - Capturing rook on its start position did not update state correctly, causing the engine to crash - Tapping New Game could cause the app to freeze when device’s Text Size was set to more than 100% - Empty game list graphics looked like you could tap it to create new game - Status bar appearance glitch when presenting What's New after first launch - Animating between two non-adjacent positions could move pieces in a way they were not played in the game - King highlighting between certain states made it appear almost flashing - King highlighting in a drawn game was done in gray (is now yellow) - Colors have been adjusted to improve contrast (still some way to go on the board scene in general) - Board selection color is now more subdued ### 2.0.1 — 2025-01-07 Added - Dark and Tinted app icons on iOS 18, refreshed light mode icon - Copy Position (FEN) in addition to Copy Game (PGN) item in contextual menu, accessible from the Games List Fixed - Capturing rook on its start position did not update state correctly, causing the engine to crash - Tapping New Game could cause the app to freeze when device’s Text Size was set to more than 100% - Empty game list graphics looked like you could tap it to create new game - Status bar appearance glitch when presenting What's New after first launch - Animating between two non-adjacent positions could move pieces in a way they were not played in the game - King highlighting between certain states made it appear almost flashing - King highlighting in a drawn game was done in gray (is now yellow) - Colors have been adjusted to improve contrast (still some way to go on the board scene in general) - Board selection color is now more subdued ### 2.0 — 2023-04-24 - Modern, clean UI and piece design. - Support for storing multiple games. - Share, save, copy/paste, import/export chess games in PGN format. - Enjoyable opponent with adjustable strength, praised for its humane gameplay. - No ads, no tracking, no analytics, no-nonsense. Rewritten from scratch to make it a modern, maintainable app. ## Apps similar to Deep Green | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Chess worksheet](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-worksheet/id1547726770) | — | $1.99 | Games | | [Chess - tChess Lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-tchess-lite/id296756437) | 4.6 (77) | $0.99 | Games | | [Chess - tChess Pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-tchess-pro/id295445501) | 4.7 (251) | $7.99 | Games | | [Chess-Studio](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-studio/id684224545) | 4.7 (116) | $3.99 | Games | | [Chess Deluxe](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-deluxe/id500880061) | 4.6 (188) | $2.99 | Games | | [Chess Score Pad](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-score-pad/id518018730) | 4.6 (177) | $9.99 | Games | --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-30.*