Comparison

Chess Tablebase for Stockfish vs ScrollChess

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

Head to head
About

Chess Tablebase for Stockfish

Manage chess endgame tablebase files for enhanced Stockfish AI analysis. Import pre-installed or custom files, and query positions for win/draw outcomes. Ideal for serious chess players seeking to improve engine performance.

Highlights
  • Manage chess endgame tablebase files
  • Integrates with SmallFish iOS app
  • Import pre-installed 5-men tablebases
  • Import custom tablebase files
  • Query endgame positions for win/draw
  • Enhances Stockfish engine performance
Features
Read full description

Chess Tablebase for Stockfish is a file management app for managing chess endgame tablebases. Seamlessly integrating with the SmallFish iOS chess app for Stockfish, it enables you to import your tablebase files into the SmallFish app, which operates on the latest Stockfish AI. Additionally, you can query specific endgame positions to determine if they result in a win or a draw. This app provides the answers you need. Download this app to import the pre-installed 5-men tablebase files, you may also import your own tablebase files. The app has the instructions that you can follow. --------------------- TABLEBASE BUNDLE --------------------- This app bundles all 5-men chess tablebase piece configurations. You may also want to download 6-men tablebase files . ----------------- REQUIREMENTS ----------------- This app is a 1GB download. You will need the following if you want to run tablebase with Stockfish on your iOS device: - 1GB disk space for this app - The SmallFish chess app - running the Stockfish engine - Another 1GB disk space to process the tablebase files -------------- DESCRIPTION -------------- Chess endgame tablebase is a vast database containing pre-calculated, exhaustive analyses of chess endgame positions. It can instantly determine whether your position is a win, loss, or draw without the need for lengthy analysis. This app is ideal for enhancing your Stockfish engine's analytical performance. The tablebase included with this app can provide an approximate 50 ELO improvement to the Stockfish engine, making it highly recommended for all serious chess players.

About

ScrollChess

Features
Read full description

Chess on Apple Watch you cannot mis-tap. ScrollChess is a chess app for Apple Watch and iPhone. Play an engine at four levels, solve a daily puzzle in about twenty seconds, or play a friend on one iPhone. Everything works offline, with no account, for a single purchase with no subscription. A chess square on a watch is about half the size Apple's own guidelines set as the minimum for anything you tap. So ScrollChess does not ask you to tap one. The Digital Crown moves a crosshair from one legal option to the next, and a tap — anywhere on the screen — confirms it. Nothing on the board is a touch target, so there is nothing to miss. ON YOUR WRIST • Play a full game against a chess engine written for this app, at four levels — from beginner to a strong club player • A daily puzzle that takes about twenty seconds, with a streak. 1,048 of them are in the app, which is a new one every day for nearly three years • Add a complication and today's puzzle is one tap from the watch face • It all runs on the watch alone — no phone nearby, no signal, no account ON YOUR IPHONE • The same engine and the same daily puzzle, with direct taps on a larger board • Take a move back, replay it, and step through the game move by move • Turn the phone sideways and the board and the moves sit side by side PLAY A FRIEND ON ONE PHONE • Side by side: hand the phone over and the board turns itself around between moves • Across the table: lay the phone flat between you, and the pieces turn to face whoever is to move • Or keep the board still, the way a real set stays put on the table ON IPHONE DUO Fold it like a laptop and the board lies flat on the table, with the moves standing up behind it — the board never crosses the fold. Open it like a book and the board and the moves sit side by side. AN OPPONENT THAT PLAYS LIKE A PERSON The four levels are not one engine with the brakes on. A weaker level chooses among moves the search already approved, so it plays inaccurately rather than absurdly — it will punish a blunder but it will not hand you a queen for nothing. It also takes a moment to answer, because an opponent that replies instantly to a move you thought about is not an opponent, it is a machine. BUILT FOR THE WATCH FIRST Every number in this app came off a wrist rather than a monitor. The board fills the screen, the haptics are tuned so one pulse means one step of the crosshair, the piece the crosshair lands on gives a small bounce, and the puzzles were filtered for lines short enough to solve while your arm is up. ACCESSIBILITY The board is fully navigable with VoiceOver on both platforms: every square announces where it is, what stands on it and what is happening to it, and can be played directly. NO ACCOUNTS, NO ADS, NO TRACKING There is nothing to sign into and nothing to switch off. The engine, the puzzles and your games live on your device. No analytics, no advertising, no data leaves the app — it works the same in Airplane Mode. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO There is no online play and no matchmaking with strangers. This is a game against the engine, a daily puzzle, and a board you share with the person next to you or across the table. The watch and the phone each keep their own games and their own streak — nothing syncs between them yet. One purchase. No subscription, no in-app purchases. Questions: hey@scrollchess.com

Screenshots

Chess Tablebase for Stockfish4 screens
ScrollChess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess Tablebase for Stockfish at Free against ScrollChess's $6.99. Chess Tablebase for Stockfish also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.6). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Chess Tablebase for Stockfish is free to download; ScrollChess costs $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Tablebase for Stockfish ships an update fortnightly, ScrollChess every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Chess Tablebase for Stockfish versus ScrollChess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Tablebase for StockfishScrollChess
PriceFree — better$6.99
Rating4.8 (21 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings21 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size944 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTed WongANDRII BONDAR

In-app purchases

None

Chess Tablebase for Stockfish

No in-app purchases

None

ScrollChess

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess Tablebase for Stockfish free?
Chess Tablebase for Stockfish is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ScrollChess free?
ScrollChess costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Chess Tablebase for Stockfish or ScrollChess have ads?
Neither Chess Tablebase for Stockfish nor ScrollChess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Tablebase for Stockfish or ScrollChess?
Chess Tablebase for Stockfish ships an update fortnightly, and ScrollChess every 3 months. Most recently, Chess Tablebase for Stockfish was updated on October 26, 2026 and ScrollChess on October 31, 2026.

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