# Lantern Chess - ICC Online — Play & Video Online > Online chess platform for playing, learning, and analyzing with video content and offline features. (iPhone/iPad app by Michael Adams.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lantern-chess-icc-online/id743520893 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Michael Adams](https://appshunter.io/developer/743520896) - Category: Education, Games, Board, Puzzle - Price: Free - Rating: 5.00/5 from 6 App Store ratings · 7 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 9.0 · 58 MB - Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - Released: 2013-11-18 - Data updated: 2026-06-10 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lantern-chess-icc-online/id743520893/reviews.md ## What is Lantern Chess? Play, watch, chat and video on the Internet Chess Club as a member, trial or as a guest with no signup. Anyone can 'Connect as Guest' and play unrated. 50 current In-App Chess Videos Opening Explorer Dark Mode SupportBlack Board background choice with or without Dark Mode Tournament Support Sign up or no signup play Engine Analysis Seek Graph Rated Pool Options On-board Pulse Chess Engine with levels and Chess, Chess960 and variants Watch Fide Master, International Master, and Grandmaster games Open PGN Game collections shared with App Save To PGN Logs played games Chat and Channels Custom Colors or Preset Board Choices For play, the Find a Game board option opens a three tabbed view with a Seek Graph, Seek Form and Pool Options like 5-minute. Another option is Join Tournaments. Any game type can be played unrated with no signup. Many features are completely free and don't require signup. Engine analysis is available when observing and examining. Guests can examine games too, using Action menu on board. Also for members and trials, numerous options to choose from like 50 of the current chess instructional videos to watch in app. These are typically longer, 45-50 minutes, many given by grandmasters. There is an updating top games list to watch or international chess broadcast games to observe live and examine later. Lantern seeks to be a complete chess app for studying and learning. Chessclub.com is one of the oldest online chess clubs and has been producing chess video for over 15 years and currently has a searchable library of 3000 chess videos available for members and trials to watch. Many feature Grandmasters. There is a computer play option on board against the Pulsar Chess Engine that supports chess and chess960 with levels and some other variants. This is available offline as well and with no internet. There is also an Opening Explorer view option on board with engine analysis and load PGN also available offline. Both can be used with no signup. All games played in-app are also saved to PGN and can be opened in this view. Just go to Actions - Open Pgn on board. PGN files can be shared with the app. This also doesn't require signup or internet. There is a settings tab with board and pieces choices and options like premove or moving between touch touch and drag move can be set in settings. For members there's a channels window to quickly join and chat on channels. For advanced chatters the channels window can be changed to Split Chat in console settings. The console can be used to chat or send commands if desired. Lantern Chess has a play bots option on board for guests and members and tactical and endgame training is available. Lantern's board is accessible for the blind and visually impaired using Voice Over. With Voice Over on in device settings users can tap on a square to have it said what's on a square and double tap selects. Moves are announced as well with Voice Over. We are in 5 languages including Spanish and Voice Over will use device language setting. The internal chess engine offers chess and chess960 at multiple levels as well as five chess variants: Crazyhouse, Loser's Chess, Atomic Chess, Three Checks, and Giveaway(also known as Suicide Chess). Change from chess to a variant or modify difficulty in the engine board's "Game" menu - new game. The Opening Explorer is made from high rated FIDE games(both players rated over 2300). Users can add notes to positions in the Explorer View and mark moves with colors(green, yellow, red). The control bar on the Openings Board brings up these options. ## Key features - Online multiplayer chess - Engine analysis - Instructional chess videos - Opening explorer - Offline PGN support - Tournament play - Guest play with no signup ## Recent user reviews (7 of 7) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lantern-chess-icc-online/id743520893/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Great Interface! *2019-08-06, version 2.50* Awesome interface. I realize it’s an ICC client, but is it possible to adapt to FICS? I’d love support for this since there is no reliable iOS app to speak of that will let you access this server. **Developer response:** I want to keep Lantern always an ICC app. But if you contact support I can share some info about a new iOS App i'm working on for the App Store with FICS support. Support link shows on app store page next to privacy policy. Any new apps I do will show in more by me on app store page as well. Thanks for being a customer. ### 5/5 — Very well done *2017-08-12, version 2.01* Excellent interface. Stable, but provides the nostalgic feel of the ICC computer app. You should consider a PayPal account for donations. Thank you! ### 5/5 — Stable ICC Client *2016-05-14, version 1.91* Simple and intuitive. Much more stable than ICC's provided client. Only complaint is it will disconnect you if you minimize the app which is unfortunate if you play in any pools. Needs premove support. I recommend the app. **Developer response:** Happy to hear the positive comments. Premove is now possible to enable in settings. ### 1/5 — Cannot get the pieces to move! *2015-10-12, version 1.91* I attempted to play the "Training Bot", And couldn't get the pieces to move, Trying both the drag method, and the touch piece, then touch destination square; Nothing! The touched piece would highlight with a red square around it, but wouldn't move... and I kept getting the message "illegal move". ... trying both colors! I didn't see any instructions how to move pieces/use this app in general... Consequently it's worthless@ useless! **Developer response:** The version you were on would send any completed move to the server for validation. Client side move legality checking was added in 2.05 this month. Illegal moves will buzz and not typically require a server round trip for validation anymore which is more responsive. A few cases still require a server trip. its pseudo legality checking not 100% complete. ### 4/5 — Crazyhouse via iPad on ICC *2014-08-22, version 1.20* Worked as described. ### 5/5 — Great for Online Chess *2014-08-15, version 1.20* This is a advanced power-tool for accessing the paid subscription service of The Internet Chess Club. I like that the app offers both a nice graphical chess board and a powerful command-based console that exposes the full range of features available at the club without too many "frills". With that said, this app is for advanced users. People wanting a fancy graphical interface with menus, buttons, etc, should try "Chess at ICC" instead. This app is for people know already belong to the Internet Chess Club, know what they're doing, and want an interface similar to the club's advanced BlitzIn interface. **Developer response:** We have quite a few menus now since the version you reviewed. I'd encourage you to try a newer version. Play is particularly simple, just go to Board's 'Options' menu and select find an opponent for a tabbed view with a seek graph, post a seek and pool buttons. ### 1/5 — Crap *2014-08-11, version 1.20* Don't bother. Don't waste your time. It failed to connect to my icc account at all. ## Frequently asked questions about Lantern Chess ### What is Lantern Chess? Lantern Chess is an online chess platform that allows users to play, watch, chat, and analyze chess games. It offers features like engine analysis, a large library of instructional videos, and offline capabilities for PGN analysis. ### Can I play Lantern Chess without an account? Yes, you can connect as a guest and play unrated games without any signup. Many features, including offline analysis and PGN support, are also available without an account. ### Does Lantern Chess offer chess lessons? Yes, Lantern Chess provides access to a library of instructional chess videos, many of which are presented by Grandmasters. These videos cover various aspects of chess strategy and gameplay. ### Is Lantern Chess available offline? Yes, certain features of Lantern Chess are available offline, including engine analysis and the Opening Explorer. You can also open and analyze PGN files offline. ### What are the pricing details for Lantern Chess? Lantern Chess is free to download and use. The app is listed as 'Free' and does not mention any subscription fees or in-app purchases for core functionality. ### How often is Lantern Chess updated? The latest version of Lantern Chess is 2.79, and it was last updated on December 11, 2021. This indicates a relatively infrequent update schedule. ### Is Lantern Chess suitable for visually impaired users? Yes, Lantern Chess is designed to be accessible for the blind and visually impaired using Voice Over. Users can have squares and moves announced and interact with the board through voice commands. ### What devices support Lantern Chess? Lantern Chess is supported on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. It is rated for ages 4 and up. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.79 — 2021-12-11 bug fixes ### 2.78 — 2021-12-07 Fix for tab bar coloring in dark mode Added 1-minute choice to Seek a Game Option on Board Fix to Connect view to make sure it can always load the saved name and pass Fixed it so so an error message shows in consoles and board when sending data to ICC and disconnected ### 2.77 — 2021-12-03 Fix for long press menu in consoles that broke in 2.76 ### 2.76 — 2021-12-01 fixed font being to large in typing area ### 2.75 — 2021-11-13 For members and trials: 50 chess videos to watch in-app Settings now organized into sections Seek a game form now has all controls fit in one page with no scrolling on phone Options in settings to move more chat types to game console Option to not timestamp chat iPad now supports split screen Safe chat implemented with options to block and report and clear chat ## Apps similar to Lantern Chess | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [PVXiangqi](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pvxiangqi/id1476986038) | 4.6 (30) | Free | Education | | [Dino Preschool ABC Math Games](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dino-preschool-abc-math-games/id565100820) | 4.3 (314) | Free | Education | | [Sheep Heap Jigsaw Puzzle](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sheep-heap-jigsaw-puzzle/id597079500) | 5.0 (5) | $7.99 | Education | | [iAnnotate Chess by Avikam C.](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iannotate-chess-by-avikam-c/id1078043380) | 3.6 (7) | Free | Education | | [Chess - Sicilian Combinations](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-sicilian-combinations/id1593803112) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Education | | [Chess Alliance](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-alliance/id1089848809) | 4.0 (89) | Free | Education | ## More apps by Michael Adams - [Pulsar Chess Engine](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pulsar-chess-engine/id839640447) - [OpeningTree - Chess Openings](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/openingtree-chess-openings/id882614935) - [Diamond Chess Online](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diamond-chess-online/id1496131224) - [Astrology Charts Mars & More](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/astrology-charts-mars-and-more/id1615627889) - [Crocodile Math Speed Quiz](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/crocodile-math-speed-quiz/id6740887531) All apps by Michael Adams: https://appshunter.io/developer/743520896 --- *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.*