# Eugene Chess HD

> AI chess game with adjustable difficulty and unique opening strategies. (iPhone/iPad app by Adrian Hanft.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/eugene-chess-hd/id418816633 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Adrian Hanft](https://appshunter.io/developer/395435271)
- Category: Games, Entertainment, Board, Strategy
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.00/5 from 4 App Store ratings · 22 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 6.0 · 4 MB
- Languages: English, German
- Released: 2011-02-12
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/eugene-chess-hd/id418816633/reviews.md

## What is Eugene Chess HD?

Download Eugene Chess today and start playing with one of iTunes best Chess apps. With over 100,000 downloads, Eugene is one of the most popular Chess apps on iTunes. Can you defeat him? Download Eugene now and find out.

HOW SMART IS EUGENE?
A good chess player should be able to defeat Eugene with a good game. He starts out with a difficulty of 2, but you can increase it to 3 if he isn't challenging you enough. This will slow Eugene down a bit, especially on devices older than iPhone 4.

Eugene isn't programmed with any pre-set openings. This makes for some interesting and non-traditional situations right from the start. Obviously, this also means that Eugene might get into trouble early since his vision isn't as deep as other engines that play by the book.

Eugene's brains are basically javascript, the language that powers the web. Apple continues to improve the performance of javascript with each new phone so Eugene will continue to get faster.

An actual rating of Eugene is a bit hard to calculate. If someone would like to calculate his actual ELO that would be awesome and I will update this description accordingly. If I had to estimate it I would guess it is maybe 1600. That is really just a guess, however.

## Key features

- Adjustable AI difficulty
- Unique, non-traditional openings
- Offline gameplay
- Optimized for iOS devices
- Free to play

## Recent user reviews (10 of 22)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/eugene-chess-hd/id418816633/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Good looking but weak

*2014-10-28*

I found the computer too easy to beat , in all honesty , it was mate in 11 moves and it was on its hardest difficulty! It seems oblivious to simple tactics , forks , pins , double checks ext , just open e4 and mate

### 1/5 — Not ready for prime time

*2013-12-24, version 1.4*

Does not let you make some moves and makes move for you.  Undo doesn't work right.  For example, I tried to move the Queen's knight pawn and it just ignored me.

### 4/5 — Beautiful app, shame about the adverts

*2013-11-30*

This is by far the best looking chess game for iOS, but there's no option to remove adverts with an in-app purchase. I would happily pay more to have just the game on screen without adverts.

### 3/5 — This is ok

*2013-11-05*

Not too good

### 1/5 — Not HD!

*2013-11-02*

Hmmm...not as described.

### 4/5 — Good for mid ability players

*2012-09-23*

I'm a very middle of the road player capable of some quite strategic moves or complete Muppetry.

I have really enjoyed the fact that Eugene can be really challenging and sometimes will also make the kind of genuine mistakes that most of us make.

For this reason nearly every game is worth playing out to the end. Also if you really make a stupid move, you are allowed to 'UNDO' which means you can continue having learned a valuable lesson.

Yes there a few graphical problems but of the dozen or so programmes I have tried this one has certainly been the most rewarding.

### 3/5 — iPhone problem

*2012-06-12*

Menu resizes itself to be halfway up the iPhone screen so half of the board is untouchable.  Please fix!

### 1/5 — iOS 5+ required? Why?

*2012-04-11, version 1.3*

I used to play games all the time but now I can't upgrade because iOS 5+ is not compatible with some of my other apps. Disappointed to have to delete this one.

### 1/5 — Can not play as Black

*2012-03-04, version 1.2*

Junk.

### 2/5 — Not Player Friendly

*2011-12-27*

Very difficult to see the bigger picture of whats going on. Played once got innihilated.

## Frequently asked questions about Eugene Chess HD

### What is the difficulty level of Eugene Chess HD?

Eugene Chess HD starts with a difficulty of 2, which can be increased to 3 for a greater challenge. The AI's performance may vary on older devices.

### Does Eugene Chess HD have pre-set openings?

No, Eugene Chess HD is not programmed with any pre-set openings, leading to unique and non-traditional game situations from the start.

### What devices does Eugene Chess HD support?

Eugene Chess HD is supported on iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices.

### What is the age rating for Eugene Chess HD?

Eugene Chess HD has an age rating of 4+.

### How often is Eugene Chess HD updated?

The latest version, 1.6, was released on December 8, 2015. Updates depend on the developer's release schedule.

### Can I play Eugene Chess HD offline?

Yes, Eugene Chess HD is designed for offline play, allowing you to challenge the AI anytime without an internet connection.

### What is the estimated ELO rating for Eugene Chess HD?

While an official ELO rating is difficult to calculate, the developer estimates it to be around 1600.

### Does Eugene Chess HD have ads?

No, Eugene Chess HD is ad-free, providing an uninterrupted gaming experience.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.6 — 2015-12-08

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

- multi-tasking split view now available
- iPad Pro support
- bug fixes

### 1.5 — 2015-11-18

This is the long-overdue update to Eugene. The interface has been updated and bugs have been squished. Oh, and no more ads! I hope you like this new version, and as always send me feedback and I will try to incorporate your suggestions in future releases.

### 1.4 — 2012-04-18

Fixes a bug in IOS 5.1 that caused game history to be deleted.

### 1.3 — 2012-04-10

- HD graphics for new iPad (Alpha board only)
- Minor bug fixes
- Now supported by iAds

### 1.2 — 2011-10-08

Bug fixes, improved interface

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## More apps by Adrian Hanft

- [Kasparov's Choice: 100 Influential Chess Games](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kasparovs-choice-100-influential-chess-games/id428875551)
- [Free Chess Puzzles](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/free-chess-puzzles/id467956454)
- [Ghost-O-Meter](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ghost-o-meter/id476468510)
- [Grungy](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/grungy/id595550299)
- [Chess Server](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-server/id998153813)

All apps by Adrian Hanft: https://appshunter.io/developer/395435271

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*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 2026-06-10.*