Comparison

PVChess vs Chess Mastery

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

Head to head
About

PVChess

Master chess with an AI tutor that provides hints, lessons, and game analysis. Improve your openings, middlegames, and endgames by playing at your skill level and reviewing every move.

Highlights
  • AI chess tutor
  • Personalized hints and feedback
  • Lessons on openings, middlegames, endgames
  • Game review and analysis
  • Play at your skill level
Features
Read full description

Improve your chess with an AI tutor, strong computer opponents, interactive lessons, and detailed game reviews. Learn openings, tactics, middlegames, and endgames with smart hints and move-by-move feedback. Play at your own level, analyze mistakes, and build stronger chess skills through guided practice. The app also includes two interactive classic chess books: Chess Fundamentals and Modern Ideas in Chess. Study timeless strategies, annotated games, and essential chess concepts directly inside the app. Features: * AI tutor with hints and feedback * Strong computer opponents * Interactive lessons and practice * Opening and endgame training * Game review and analysis * Save and replay games anytime

About

Chess Mastery

Features
Read full description

Take your chess game to the next level with Chess Mastery — your all-in-one interactive training academy designed to help you think, strategize, and win like a Grandmaster. Whether you're just learning algebraic notation or looking to build a bulletproof opening repertoire and master complex endgame conversions, Chess Mastery guides you step-by-step through every phase of the royal game. ◆ INTERACTIVE CURRICULUM (13 COMPREHENSIVE MODULES) Learn chess systematically through structured, interactive lessons with real-time board demonstrations and move validation: • Chess Notation Mastery: Never guess what moves like "Nf6" or "Bxc6+" mean again. Master algebraic notation, coordinates, and disambiguation. • Opening Principles: The 5 golden rules of the opening, center control, piece harmony, and rapid development. • Complete Opening Repertoires: - White Weapons: Italian Game, Ruy Lopez, and the rock-solid London System. - Black Defenses: Caro-Kann, Slav Defense, and Queen’s Gambit Declined. - Advanced Openings: Sicilian Defense (Najdorf & Dragon), French Defense, and King’s Indian Defense. • Tactical Weaponry: Spot winning tactics instantly — forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks, deflections, overloading, and the deadly Zwischenzug. • Checkmate Patterns: Recognize finishing patterns from Back-Rank and Smothered mates to Anastasia's, Opera, and Arabian mates. • Middlegame Strategy: Learn pawn structures, outposts, open files, candidate move selection, and improving your worst piece. • Endgame Essentials: Master king activity, opposition, key squares, the rule of the square, and legendary setups like the Lucena and Philidor positions. ◆ THINK LIKE A GRANDMASTER Go beyond memorizing moves. Learn the actual mental checklist top players use during real games: • How to analyze your opponent’s intent after every move • Positional evaluation frameworks • Systematic candidate move calculation • Pre-move blunder checking to stop giving away pieces ◆ STUDY HISTORIC MASTERPIECES Walk in the footsteps of chess legends. Step through move-by-move analyses of iconic games: • Paul Morphy’s brilliant Opera Game (1858) • Garry Kasparov’s Immortal against Topalov (1999) • Mikhail Tal’s ferocious king hunts • José Raúl Capablanca’s effortless endgame precision • Magnus Carlsen’s positional squeezes • Bobby Fischer’s 13-year-old "Game of the Century" (1956) ◆ DESIGNED FOR FOCUSED LEARNING • Clean, modern, distraction-free board interface • Interactive exercises with instant feedback • Play and practice on your own schedule Download Chess Mastery today and make your next move your best move!

Screenshots

PVChess3 screens
Chess Mastery4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess Mastery at none against PVChess's shown. Chess Mastery also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). PVChess's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PVChess ships an update every 2 months, Chess Mastery every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PVChess versus Chess Mastery: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPVChessChess Mastery
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (23 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews70.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings23 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB3 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperJianfeng WuMuhammed Nihal C

In-app purchases

None

PVChess

No in-app purchases

None

Chess Mastery

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PVChess free?
PVChess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Mastery free?
Chess Mastery is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PVChess or Chess Mastery have ads?
PVChess shows ads; Chess Mastery does not.
Which is updated more often, PVChess or Chess Mastery?
PVChess ships an update every 2 months, and Chess Mastery every 3 days. Most recently, PVChess was updated on October 22, 2026 and Chess Mastery on October 20, 2026.

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