# Stockfish Chess > Powerful, free chess engine with adjustable strength and play styles. (iPhone/iPad app by Tord Romstad.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stockfish-chess/id305558605 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Tord Romstad](https://appshunter.io/developer/305558608) - Category: Games, Board - Price: Free - Rating: 4.00/5 from 216 App Store ratings · 179 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 7.0 · 38 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2009-02-22 - Data updated: 2026-08-17 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stockfish-chess/id305558605/reviews.md ## What is Stockfish Chess? Strong free chess program. Features: * Free, but much stronger than most commercial iPhone chess apps! * Plays aggressive and dynamic chess, and is not afraid of sacrificing material for initiative or attacking chances. * Adjustable playing strength. * Choose between several styles of play: "Passive", "Solid", "Active", "Aggressive" or "Suicidal". * Big, deep and varied opening book. Choose between three levels of book variety. * Displays book moves and engine analysis, including search depth, evaluations and main lines. * Allows you to easily set up board positions. * Able to think during the opponent's time, for maximum playing strength (disabled by default, in order to save battery life). * Supports saving and loading games to PGN files, sending games by e-mail, and transferring PGN files between your device and your computer. * Play against the machine, or play both sides, with or without book moves and engine analysis displayed on the screen. * Choose from nine piece sets and eight color schemes. * Complete source code available under the GNU General Public License. ## Key features - Adjustable playing strength - Multiple play styles - Extensive opening book - Engine analysis display - Custom board position setup - Save and load games (PGN) - Customizable piece sets and colors ## Recent user reviews (10 of 179) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stockfish-chess/id305558605/reviews.md ### 5/5 — 3 brilliant moves *2026-05-28, version 2.13.0* Oh my god, I really love this Stockfish, this one is real guys. I’ve try Stockfish with Chess.com and it’s make 3 brilliant moves. This is awesome. ### 5/5 — Rubbish *2026-02-14, version 2.13.0* The engine is very weak ### 2/5 — No unlimited time option *2022-10-10, version 2.13.0* I understand you need to restrict Stockfish to some time limit or else it can think for eternity on some moves, but why does the human player need a time limit? Please let me play a game where stockfish has a maximum amount of time per move, but the human player is allowed unlimited time per move. ### 1/5 — iOS 16 burns up w/Stockfish *2022-10-09, version 2.13.0* Use Stockfish at highest settings, play well, and the iPhone 13 Pro will overheat, and shut down. ### 4/5 — . *2022-08-31* It’s a boon for chess enthusiasts.Only negative is it crashes while loading Pgb files ### 2/5 — Crashes when loading game *2022-08-13, version 2.13.0* Every time I try to load a saved game the app crashes ### 4/5 — A little slow *2022-07-24, version 2.13.0* Sometimes it thinks longer than I do; otherwise it is great ### 5/5 — Great game *2022-05-01, version 2.13.0* I use this app if I need help in a hard chess app . My favorite thing about this app is that it has no ads. It has no glitch to ### 1/5 — Worst chess app ever! *2022-03-04, version 2.13.0* I have been playing chess for years now and this is on of many chess apps I have but this on is the worst by far. The games are designed to make you lost even if you are a good chess player. I am playing on the lowest level and still haven’t won a single game because the bot is made to play like a grandmaster. This is a good app for the people that like defeat and a challenges they know they are going to lose. If you are looking for a good chess app just download chess.com which has everything from puzzles and game analysis to help you get better and not feel like a loser. This app only has games with no analysis or puzzles or anything. It is a waste of time an I learned nothing from this app. Chess.com has mad me a better chess player not this horrible app. ### 4/5 — Board keeps flipping *2022-02-27, version 2.13.0* Often the board will flip after the move button is touched. It would be better if the flip function were removed. ## Frequently asked questions about Stockfish Chess ### What does this chess app do? This app is a strong, free chess program that allows you to play against an AI opponent. It offers adjustable playing strength, various play styles, and detailed engine analysis. You can also set up custom board positions, save and load games, and customize the visual appearance. ### What are the key features of this chess app? Key features include adjustable playing strength, the ability to choose from different play styles like 'Aggressive' or 'Solid', a large opening book with adjustable variety, and the display of engine analysis including search depth and evaluations. It also supports setting up custom positions and saving/loading games in PGN format. ### Is this chess app free to use? Yes, the app is completely free to use. It is described as a 'strong free chess program' and explicitly states it is free, while being stronger than many commercial alternatives. ### What platforms is this chess app compatible with? The description mentions it is 'much stronger than most commercial iPhone chess apps!', suggesting compatibility with iOS devices. It also mentions saving and loading games to PGN files and transferring them between your device and computer, implying broader device compatibility for game management. ### How can I use this app to improve my chess game? You can use this app to play against a strong AI opponent with adjustable difficulty, allowing you to practice against various styles. The engine analysis feature provides insights into game positions, helping you understand better moves and strategies. You can also set up specific positions to study or solve tactical puzzles. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.13.0 — 2014-10-29 This update from Apple will improve the functionality of this app. No new features are included. Fixed a bug that caused the target area for the toolbar buttons to be shifted a few pixels up, making it difficult for some users to hit the buttons reliably. Fixed broken move lists (not the one below the board, but the one that appears after tapping "Move" and "Move List" -- does anybody use this one?) on the new larger iPhones. ### 2.12.0 — 2014-10-19 Another bug fix release. Supporting two iOS versions with subtly different behaviors appears to be too difficult to me. The previous version was broken in both iOS 7 and iOS 8, each in its own way. This version addresses both problems: * In iOS 8, user input of promotion moves didn't work. Fixed in the new version. * On iPads running iOS 7, it was not possible to access the white pieces when editing positions, because they had disappeared below the bottom of the dialog. Fixed in the new version. ### 2.11.0 — 2014-10-10 This is a boring, but important bugfix release: * Fixed a bug that would cause the end of the move list in long games to be hidden behind the toolbar on large phones. * Fixed a bug that would occasionally cause the app to crash when importing PGN files. ### 2.10.0 — 2014-10-08 * Bug fixes. * By popular request, an ugly arrow displaying the computer wants to play while analysing. Disabled by default, enable in the "Options" menu. * Various minor graphical tweaks. ### 2.9.0 — 2014-06-27 Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause the app to crash during launch when the clipboard contained non-ASCII characters. ## Related topics [aimchess](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/aimchess) · [lotus chess](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/lotus-chess) · [chess engine for stockfish](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chess-engine-for-stockfish) · [chess engine](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chess-engine) · [really bad chess](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/really-bad-chess) · [chess ai helper](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chess-ai-helper) · [stockfish chess engine](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/stockfish-chess-engine) · [chess universe](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chess-universe) · [chess cheater](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chess-cheater) --- *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 2026-08-17.*