Comparison

Chess for iPhone vs Chess Challenge Elite

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Chess for iPhone

Improve your chess skills with online and offline games, and over 1000 free puzzles. Play against opponents worldwide or AI with adjustable difficulty levels. Features a simple interface for a great chess experience.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer chess
  • Offline AI opponents
  • 1000+ free chess puzzles
  • Five AI difficulty levels
  • Profile promotion system
  • Simple user interface
Features
Read full description

Online and offline chess game with more than 1000 free puzzles. If you like playing chess and you want to improve your skills this application offers you the best chess experience. You opponents from all over the World are waiting for you at iChess. You can play with the bots and while you improve your skills you can earn points and promote your profile or you can play against artificial intelligence with five difficulty levels. iChess provides more than 1000 free puzzles free which are the easiest way to improve your chess skills. With simple user interfaces and properties iChess is one of your "have to have" applications.

About

Chess Challenge Elite

Engage in classic board game strategy against AI or a friend. Offers multiple difficulty levels, game modes, and customization options for pieces and boards. Track your progress with statistics and hints.

Highlights
  • 12 AI play levels
  • Casual and Pro modes
  • 2 player hot-seat
  • Chess stats and hints
  • Customizable boards and pieces
  • Sound effects
Features
Read full description

Chess is a board game for two players. It is played on a square board, made of 64 smaller squares, with eight squares on each side. Each player starts with sixteen pieces: eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king. The goal of the game is for each player to try and checkmate the king of the opponent. Checkmate is a threat ('check') to the opposing king which no move can stop. It ends the game. During the game the two opponents take turns to move one of their pieces to a different square of the board. One player ('White') has pieces of a light color; the other player ('Black') has pieces of a dark color. There are rules about how pieces move, and about taking the opponent's pieces off the board. The player with white pieces always makes the first move. Because of this, White has a small advantage, and wins more often than Black in tournament games. Chess is popular and is often played in competitions called chess tournaments. It is enjoyed in many countries. -- 12 play levels (Novice->Expert) This uses intelligent weakening for lower levels. Good for beginners. -- Casual and Pro modes. Learn on Casual and progress to Pro. -- 2 player hot-seat. Play against your friends! -- Chess Stats, Timers and Hints -- 5 Chess Boards and 6 Chess Piece Sets - sound effects - small size

Screenshots

Chess for iPhone4 screens
Chess Challenge Elite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chess Challenge Elite at 79% against Chess for iPhone's 0%. Chess Challenge Elite also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). Chess for iPhone's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 98 months). On price, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Chess for iPhone sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess Challenge Elite asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess for iPhone ships an update weekly, Chess Challenge Elite every 98 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Chess for iPhone versus Chess Challenge Elite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess for iPhoneChess Challenge Elite
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.2 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews78.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—17 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 98 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaku TeknolojiLinda Mottley

Customer experience

Chess for iPhone

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Chess Challenge Elite

All ratings17 ratings
Positive76.5%
Neutral11.8%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive78.9%
Neutral10.5%
Negative10.5%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Chess for iPhone

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99
None

Chess Challenge Elite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess for iPhone free?
Chess for iPhone is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Challenge Elite free?
Chess Challenge Elite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Chess for iPhone or Chess Challenge Elite have ads?
Chess Challenge Elite shows ads; Chess for iPhone does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess for iPhone or Chess Challenge Elite?
Chess for iPhone ships an update weekly, and Chess Challenge Elite every 98 months. Most recently, Chess for iPhone was updated on October 14, 2026 and Chess Challenge Elite on October 24, 2026.

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