Comparison

Chess King vs Chess Notation Trainer

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

Head to head
About

Chess King

Master the game of chess with this comprehensive learning app. It offers interactive lessons, puzzles, and analysis for all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. Improve your tactics and strategy with a personal chess trainer, available online and offline.

Highlights
  • 100+ learning courses
  • Interactive theoretical lessons
  • High-quality, double-checked puzzles
  • Personal chess trainer
  • Computer analysis
  • Offline support
  • Chess tasks for kids
Features
Read full description

Don't just play chess. Train like a master. Chess King teaches the game the way strong players are actually built — with a rigorous, structured curriculum, not a random feed of puzzles. 147 complete courses take you from your first move to advanced play, step by step. WHY CHESS KING IS DIFFERENT Most chess apps let you play. Chess King trains you. Every course is a real lesson built on classical training methods refined over 30 years — the same approach behind CT-ART, the tactics trainer used by serious players worldwide. You don't just solve a position and move on. Chess King gives you hints when you are stuck, explains the idea behind the right move, and shows you the striking refutation of the mistakes you might make. That is how understanding is built — not memorized. WHAT YOU GET - 147 structured courses covering tactics, strategy, openings, the middlegame, and endgames, organized by level from beginner to master. - Chess King University: 7 guided learning paths and 44 courses that give you a clear, ordered route to real improvement — no guessing what to study next. - Interactive theory: read the lesson, then play the moves on the board yourself. Learning by doing, not just reading. - Thousands of carefully selected exercises with graphic hints and full explanations. - Play against the computer to put what you have trained into practice. - A progress report for every lesson, so you always see how far you have come. TRAIN ON EVERY DEVICE Your subscription, purchases, progress, and rating sync automatically across web, iPhone, iPad, and Android. Train on your phone on the commute, continue on the web at home — your progress follows you. TRY IT FREE Preview courses before you commit. When you are ready, choose a monthly or yearly plan, or buy individual courses to keep forever. Chess King — train like a master. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Chess Notation Trainer

Master chess squares and notation with this training app. Improve your ability to identify coordinates, translate moves, and visualize the board, even without one. Ideal for serious players looking to enhance calculation speed and chess understanding.

Highlights
  • Identify squares by coordinate
  • Translate move sequences to notation
  • Determine square color instantly
  • Stay oriented on the board
  • Follow chess tutorials without a board
  • Speed up calculation
  • Practice blind chess
Features
Read full description

Serious about chess? But struggling to identify the squares, remembering sequences and follow chess notations? Well, you just landed on the perfect app! This training app is designed to dramatically uplift your mastery over chess squares. There are 5 training sessions. A small dose of regular practice will make you: 1. Spot a square as soon as you hear or see its coordinate 2. Translate a sequence of moves into their notation at ease 3. Immediately identify the color of a square 4. Stay oriented regardless of you facing white or black 5. Follow along with chess tutorials, books or any discussion without a board 6. Massively speedup your thought process on any calculation 7. Finally, start playing blind chess! Don't be surprised if you see a sudden surge of rating simply increasing your strength on square reading. The free version is already good enough to cause a major spike in your chess career. However, a one time purchase will unlock the full version which includes: - Extended time controls - Untimed practice mode - Milestones and achievements - Board assistance during training - And a complete visualization of your records There will be no ads, neither in the full version nor in the free one. Just a beautiful and satisfyingly addictive way to your square mastery. Caution: If you are rated below 1500, this app is probably not gonna be as useful for you, and tactics training is something you should prioritize.

Screenshots

Chess King4 screens
Chess Notation Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess Notation Trainer at none against Chess King's shown. Chess Notation Trainer also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 78%). Chess King's advantage is ratings volume (2.5K vs 16) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 King sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Chess Notation Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess King holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess King has 2.5K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 78% of Chess King's written reviews are positive against 100% of Chess Notation Trainer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess King ships an update every 3 weeks, Chess Notation Trainer every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Chess King versus Chess Notation Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess KingChess Notation Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.5K ratings) — better4.5 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.5K — better16
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size108 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChess KingNishat Majid

Customer experience

Chess King

All ratings2,490 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral2.3%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews323 reviews
Positive78.3%
Neutral5.3%
Negative16.4%

Chess Notation Trainer

All ratings15 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Chess King

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes on M1 Macs
  • Doesnot work with iOS 13 dark mode
  • Doesnot show board and pieces in exercises
  • Cannot restore purchases
  • Doesnot sync progress across devices

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve user interface and design
  • Add more opening courses
  • Provide better explanations for moves
  • Allow resetting progress
Show 2 more
  • Improve syncing across devices
  • Add online chess mode

Chess Notation Trainer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

17 purchases

Chess King

Subscriptions6
  • CT-ART: The Best Tactics7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Chess King University7 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Chess King Courses3 Days trial$11.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Chess King Maximum Pack1 Month trial$17.991 Month
  • Chess King Courses3 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • Chess King Maximum Pack1 Year trial$119.991 Year
One-time11
  • Mate in 1 move (Chess Puzzles)$3.99
  • Chess Endings for Beginners$7.99
  • Chess: From Beginner to Club$12.99
Show 8 more
  • Chess Combinations Vol. 1$12.99
  • Chess Tactics for Beginners$12.99
  • Chess Opening Blunders$12.99
  • Chess Opening Lab (1400-2000)$12.99
  • Chess Strategy for Beginners$12.99
  • Elementary Chess Tactics 1$12.99
  • CT-ART 4.0 (Chess Tactics)$17.99
  • Total Chess Endgames 1600-2400$17.99
1 purchases

Chess Notation Trainer

One-time1
  • Full Version$4.99

Questions

Is Chess King free?
Chess King is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Notation Trainer free?
Chess Notation Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess King or Chess Notation Trainer?
Chess King is rated higher. Chess King averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while Chess Notation Trainer averages 4.5 from 16 ratings.
Do Chess King or Chess Notation Trainer have ads?
Chess King shows ads; Chess Notation Trainer does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess King or Chess Notation Trainer?
Chess King ships an update every 3 weeks, and Chess Notation Trainer every 2 days. Most recently, Chess King was updated on September 25, 2026 and Chess Notation Trainer on September 7, 2026.

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