Comparison

Chess vs Chess ⁺

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

Head to head
About

Chess

Learn chess from scratch and progress to club level with this comprehensive guide. It covers rules, openings, middlegames, endgames, and tactics through interactive lessons, examples, and exercises. Improve your game with personalized feedback and practice against a computer.

Highlights
  • 100 chess topics covered
  • 500 teaching examples
  • 700 consolidation exercises
  • Interactive theoretical lessons
  • Personalized coaching and hints
  • Play positions against the computer
  • Tracks ELO rating changes
Features
Read full description

This teaching program is a kind of guide. It will introduce you to the rules and laws of chess and let you work your way of improvement from the level of Beginner to the one of Club Player. In the course 100 chess topics are considered including rules of chess game; methods of playing in opening, middle game and ending; combinational techniques and basic elements of strategy. All in all, the course contains 500 teaching examples and 700 exercises useful for consolidation of acquired knowledge. This course is in the series Chess King Learn, which is an unprecedented chess teaching method. In the series are included courses in tactics, strategy, openings, middle game, and endgame, split by levels from beginners to experienced players, and even professional players. With the help of this course, you can improve your chess knowledge, learn new tactical tricks and combinations, and consolidate the acquired knowledge into practice. The program acts as a coach who gives tasks to solve and helps to solve them if you get stuck. It will give you hints, explanations and show you even striking refutation of the mistakes you might make. The program also contains a theoretical section, which explains the methods of the game in a certain stage of the game, based on actual examples. The theory is presented in an interactive way, which means you can not only read the text of the lessons, but also to make moves on the board and work out unclear moves on the board. Advantages of the program: • High quality examples, all double-checked for correctness • You need to enter all key moves, required by the teacher • Different levels of complexity of the tasks • Various goals, which need to be reached in the problems • The program gives hint if an error is made • For typical mistaken moves, the refutation is shown • You can play out any position of the tasks against the computer • Interactive theoretical lessons • Structured table of contents • The program monitors the change in the rating (ELO) of the player during the learning process • Test mode with flexible settings • Possibility to bookmark favorite exercises • The application is adapted to the bigger screen of a tablet • The application does not require an internet connection The course includes a free part, in which you can test the program. Lessons offered in the free version is fully functional. They allow you to test the application in real world conditions before releasing the following topics: 1. Your first move 1.1. The board 1.2. The simplest endings 1.3. Some basic concepts 1.4. How to start a game 1.5. The Opening 1.6. Middlegame 1.7. Endgame 1.8. Chess composition 1.9. Short games and traps 1.10. History of chess 1.11. How to use mistakes 1.12. How would you play here 2. Chess: from beginner to club player 2.1. The board 2.2. The simplest endings 2.3. Some basic concepts 2.4. Short games and traps 2.5. Middlegame 2.6. Endgame 2.7. Chess composition 2.8. How to use mistakes 2.9. How would you play here

About

Chess ⁺

Enhance your chess abilities with this comprehensive training application. It offers a vast array of puzzles, tactical exercises, and learning modes for players of all levels. Track your progress with live statistics and enjoy a visually engaging experience.

Highlights
  • 2D & 3D chess pieces
  • Hundreds of levels
  • Thousands of exercises
  • Tactics training
  • Opening and endgame practice
  • Checkmate puzzles
  • Learning mode with hints
Features
Read full description

The most advanced chess training app. Improve your skills, learn tactics and strategies. Chess + was created with the goal to improve chess skills of every player. This app is perfect for any amateur or professional. Difficulty of tasks is dynamically adjusted to the skills and previous performance. Features: ● 2D & 3D chess pieces ● Hundreds of levels ● Thousands of exercises ● Tactics training ● Opening and endgame training and practice ● Checkmate puzzles ● Time and move limit puzzles ● Learning mode with best move hints ● Play chess in infinite rematch fights ● Live chess statistics and leaderboards ● Game boosters ● Mistake preventing (Learn how to play without mistakes in your chess games) ● Amazing 3D chess world, with cartoon graphics. ● No advertising Chess + is an offline application. You don't need internet to play online, but you can switch to online play using our other app. Play chess and learn various strategies and compare your results with friends. Chess + is completely free to play app, but you can purchase some optional in-game items. Download this free chess game and let the journey begin!

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
Chess ⁺4 screens

Verdict

The call

Chess and Chess ⁺ both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 85% of Chess ⁺'s written reviews are positive against 73% of Chess's. Chess ⁺ also leads on ratings volume (2.9K vs 368). Chess's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 11.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chess ⁺ sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Chess against 4.7 for Chess ⁺. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ⁺ has 2.9K ratings behind it against 368, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 85% of Chess ⁺'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update every 5 weeks, Chess ⁺ every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Chess versus Chess ⁺: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessChess ⁺
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (368 ratings)4.7 (2.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.6% of reviews85.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3682.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB57 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperChess KingEntertainment 4Media AG

Customer experience

Chess

All ratings364 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral5.2%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive72.6%
Neutral8.1%
Negative19.4%

Chess ⁺

All ratings2,866 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral5.3%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews184 reviews
Positive85.3%
Neutral6.0%
Negative8.7%

User reviews

Chess

From 368 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for beginners
  • 👍 Excellent for learning chess
  • 👍 Good for improving skills
  • 👍 Well-organized and structured
  • 👍 Clear theory and practice

Room to improve

  • 👎 Limited free content
  • 👎 No dark mode
  • 👎 Confusing interface/setup
  • 👎 In-app purchases are frequent
  • 👎 Language issues (non-English content)

Chess ⁺

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great gameplay
  • 👍 Visually appealing
  • 💡 Helpful for learning chess
  • 🎓 Effective teaching of tactics and strategies

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 💰 Limited free content, requires in-app purchases
  • ⏱️ AI can take too long to make moves

Bugs and requests

Chess

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Payment issues (charged more than stated)
  • Cannot send feedback/reviews
  • Errors in lessons (e.g., castling through check)
  • Language not working in courses/audio
  • App constantly prompts to pay for extras
Show 4 more
  • Confusing mix of different apps
  • Cannot cancel purchases
  • App makes you dislike chess
  • No guide on how to use the app

Requested features

13 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Interactive 3D chess set
  • More commentary on practice sessions
  • Text explaining procedures, charts, numbers
  • Cover theory for all practice sections
Show 8 more
  • Option to buy full version without Apple Pay
  • Voiceover for task conditions
  • More interactive theory to practice transition
  • Comments on errors linking to theory
  • Prevent solving by trial and error
  • Ability to play against other players
  • Clearer explanation of app functionality
  • More free content/tasks

Chess ⁺

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • AI freezing and not making moves
  • Game progress and achievements being reset
  • Connectivity issues with login and cloud sync

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to analyze and save past games
  • Option to play against other users online
  • More advanced training modes and challenges

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Chess

One-time1
  • Unlimited version$12.99
7 purchases

Chess ⁺

One-time7
  • 10 Gem Pack$0.99
  • Starter Pack$1.99
  • 50 Gem Pack$4.99
Show 4 more
  • 100 Gem Pack$9.99
  • 250 Gem Pack$19.99
  • 500 Gem Pack$36.99
  • 1000 Gem Pack$69.99

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess ⁺ free?
Chess ⁺ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess or Chess ⁺?
Chess ⁺ is rated higher. Chess averages 4.6 out of 5 from 368 ratings, while Chess ⁺ averages 4.7 from 2.9K ratings.
Do Chess or Chess ⁺ have ads?
Neither Chess nor Chess ⁺ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess or Chess ⁺?
Chess ships an update every 5 weeks, and Chess ⁺ every 2 months. Most recently, Chess was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chess ⁺ on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons