Comparison

ChessLink App vs ChessBase Mobile Chess

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

Head to head
About

ChessLink App

Connect your electronic chessboard to play chess games on Lichess or against a local partner or engine. LEDs on the board display opponent moves, providing an authentic over-the-board experience. Setup is quick and easy.

Highlights
  • Play on your physical chessboard
  • Connects to electronic boards
  • LEDs indicate opponent moves
  • Play on Lichess
  • Local playing partner option
  • Chess engine integration
Features
Read full description

Online chess that feels like real chess. Connect your electronic chessboard to the app and play games on Lichess, your local playing partner or chess engine—but on your real board. LEDs show you your opponent's moves directly on the board, so you stay fully focused and enjoy an authentic “over-the-board” experience. Set up in minutes. Pair your board, launch the app, and start playing. Compatible boards: Supreme Boards, Exclusive Boards, Performance Boards, and the eONE Board. More info and links to the boards: • Supreme T2 – computerchess.com/Supreme-T2/M880 • eONE – computerchess.com/eone/M841 • ChessClassics Exclusive – computerchess.com/Supreme-T2/M880 • The King Performance – computerchess.com/the-king-performance/M830 Follow us on social media: • YouTube - youtube.com/@millenniumchess • Facebook - facebook.com/MILLENNIUM.Digital.Chess • Instagram - instagram.com/millenniumchess • TikTok - tiktok.com/@millenniumchess

About

ChessBase Mobile Chess

Access a vast chess game database, save and analyze your own games, and practice openings. This app offers advanced notation and sharing features, with a free tier and optional premium upgrades for more extensive cloud storage and search capabilities.

Highlights
  • Access 13+ million chess games
  • Save and sync personal game databases
  • Analyze games with built-in engine
  • Live opening book statistics
  • Create and practice opening repertoires
  • Advanced game notation and sharing
  • PGN file compatibility
Features
Read full description

ChessBase Mobile is the training, playing, and analysis platform for chess players who track their progress by the numbers. ChessBase Mobile is built by ChessBase, the company behind the standard desktop software used by world champions and club players alike for over 30 years. Solve tactics puzzles rated by difficulty and watch your Elo rise or fall with every attempt. No participation trophies, your rating reflects exactly where you stand. The tactics database draws from positions in real games, not synthetic exercises, so the patterns you train are the patterns you encounter at the board. Puzzle Fight puts you head-to-head against another player in a timed series of 24 tactical positions. Both players solve the same puzzles simultaneously. The one who solves more, faster, wins - and gains Elo. Structured competition, not a casual minigame. Play live games in Blitz and Rapid formats against opponents worldwide. Premove support, clean interface, no clutter. The ChessBase Online Database contains over 14 million games. Search by player, position, or opening. Review grandmaster games, study endgame structures, track opening trends - the same database used by professionals, accessible from your phone. Cloud analysis with several engines, including Fritz and Lc0. Basic cloud analysis with Fritz is free. For deeper analysis, scalable cloud servers are available, from Large to Gargantuan, paid per minute in ducats. Lc0 brings neural network evaluation for positions where classical engines struggle. The engine panel shows evaluation, depth, and principal variation. Build and maintain your opening repertoire in the cloud. 300 opening overviews with repertoire suggestions help you get started with new systems. A live opening book provides up-to-date statistics for every position. Three practice modes let you drill your variations until they stick. Annotate your games with comments, symbols, variations, arrows, and markings. Save games and analyses in cloud databases that synchronise across all your devices. Share positions and games via link, image, GIF, FEN, QR code, or PGN. Upload and download PGN files for full compatibility with desktop software. AI Kibitzer provides live commentary during games and puzzles — with personality. Chess-legend anecdotes, opinions, the occasional bad joke. Like a friend with too much chess trivia sitting next to you. Audio output included. Available in 27 languages. Customisable board colours, piece sets, and notation display. Light and dark mode across all screens, or set to follow your device preference. No ads. No energy systems. No artificial gating. Open the app, train, close the app. Free to use, all functions are available at no cost. ChessBase Premium unlocks expanded cloud storage and unlimited database search results. Free: search the online database (max 50 games displayed), up to 10 cloud databases (10 MB total), cloud clipping for up to 10 games. Premium: unlimited database search, up to 200 cloud databases (500 MB total), cloud clipping for up to 400 games. Privacy policy: https://en.chessbase.com/pages/security Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ChessLink App4 screens
ChessBase Mobile Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ChessLink App at 4.4 against ChessBase Mobile Chess's 2.9. ChessLink App also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 6 months). ChessBase Mobile Chess's advantage is review sentiment (39% vs 0%). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. ChessBase Mobile Chess sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. ChessLink App asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ChessLink App holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 18 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of ChessLink App's written reviews are positive against 39% of ChessBase Mobile Chess's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChessLink App ships an update every 3 months, ChessBase Mobile Chess every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 4, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ChessLink App versus ChessBase Mobile Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessLink AppChessBase Mobile Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (8 ratings) — better2.9 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews38.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings818 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJuergen PrecourChessBase GmbH

Customer experience

ChessLink App

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative50.0%

ChessBase Mobile Chess

All ratings18 ratings
Positive44.4%
Neutral5.6%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive38.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative61.3%

In-app purchases

None

ChessLink App

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

ChessBase Mobile Chess

Subscriptions1
  • ChessBase Premium (Monthly)$3.991 Month

Questions

Is ChessLink App free?
ChessLink App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ChessBase Mobile Chess free?
ChessBase Mobile Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ChessLink App or ChessBase Mobile Chess?
ChessLink App is rated higher. ChessLink App averages 4.4 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while ChessBase Mobile Chess averages 2.9 from 18 ratings.
Do ChessLink App or ChessBase Mobile Chess have ads?
Neither ChessLink App nor ChessBase Mobile Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChessLink App or ChessBase Mobile Chess?
ChessLink App ships an update every 3 months, and ChessBase Mobile Chess every 6 months. Most recently, ChessLink App was updated on September 4, 2026 and ChessBase Mobile Chess on September 21, 2026.

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