Comparison

Losing chess vs Chess Widget

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

Head to head
About

Losing chess

Experience a unique chess variant where the goal is to lose all your pieces or be stalemated. Play against AI, solve puzzles, or challenge a friend locally with special rules like compulsory captures and a capturable king.

Highlights
  • Play losing chess against AI
  • Solve 100 unique puzzles
  • Local multiplayer mode
  • Compulsory captures
  • Capturable king
  • Pawn promotion to king
Features
Read full description

Play losing chess against the AI, solve one of the 100 puzzles, or play against a friend on the same device. Losing chess is one of the most popular chess variants. The overall goal of each player is to lose all of their pieces or be stalemated. The rules are the same as those for standard chess, except for the following special rules: - capturing is compulsory. - The king has no royal power and it may be captured as any other piece. - There is no check or checkmate and no castling. - A pawn can be promoted to a king. A player wins by being unable to make a move. This can be because he has no pieces left or his pieces are stalemated.

About

Chess Widget

This app brings chess puzzles and games directly to your Home Screen. Solve daily puzzles, play against AI, analyze historical games, or even play multiplayer with friends nearby, all without an internet connection.

Highlights
  • Home screen chess puzzles
  • Play against AI
  • Analyze historical games
  • Board editor mode
  • Offline multiplayer
  • Daily new puzzles
Features
Read full description

Chess is always close by when you feel like playing, learning something new, or taking a break with a good puzzle. Add Chess Widget to the Home Screen of your iPhone or iPad. Solve puzzles, learn openings, play with friends, and review your games — all at your own pace. MAKE A LITTLE TIME FOR CHESS More than 11,000 puzzles help you practice calculation and spot beautiful combinations. Start with a position in the widget, then open the app to find the solution. Need a hand? Take a hint, then try the puzzle again on your own. UNDERSTAND THE OPENINGS YOU PLAY The Learning section offers 15 opening courses, from the Italian Game and Ruy Lopez to the Sicilian Defense and King's Gambit. Read the explanations, try moves on the board, and discover the ideas behind them. Step-by-step practice, move reviews, and key-position challenges help the lessons stick. Your progress is saved, so you can pick up where you left off whenever you like. PLAY YOUR WAY • Against the computer — choose your side and difficulty, try out ideas, and use hints while you practice. • Online through Lichess — find opponents, play rated or casual games, and choose your time control. • With friends — send challenges, share invitation links, and arrange a rematch. • Side by side — connect two devices and enjoy local multiplayer without an internet connection. Online mode also includes chat, your Lichess profile, ratings, and recent games. LEARN FROM YOUR OWN GAMES Coach mode helps you understand where a game turned and what you could have done better. Open a completed Lichess game, see how your moves were assessed, and find inaccuracies, mistakes, and missed opportunities. Return to a key moment and try to find the best move yourself. Take a hint if you need one, explore a continuation, or keep playing from that position. Evaluation and time-spent charts help you see the whole game. DISCOVER THE MASTERS' GAMES Explore more than 100,000 games by outstanding chess players, from historic classics to games by today's grandmasters. Choose a favorite player, find games by year and opening, and go through them move by move or turn on automatic playback. CREATE YOUR OWN POSITIONS Use the board editor to explore an idea or a position from a book. Arrange the pieces, import and copy positions in FEN format, then play from the position against the computer. MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME Choose a board color theme and turn sounds on or off. Switch to Zen Mode for a quiet game with fewer distractions. Keep a puzzle or a position from your selected mode close at hand in the widget. A puzzle over coffee, a new opening in the evening, or a game with a friend — find your own reason to come back to chess. Questions or feedback? Write to me at oleg.v.soloviev@gmail.com Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Losing chess3 screens
Chess Widget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess Widget at none against Losing chess's shown. Chess Widget also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 12 months) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). Losing chess's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, 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. Losing chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chess Widget sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Widget holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Losing chess's written reviews are positive against 67% of Chess Widget's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Losing chess ships an update every 12 months, Chess Widget fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Losing chess versus Chess Widget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLosing chessChess Widget
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (6 ratings)4.5 (14 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings614 — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJan MaesOleg Soloviev

Customer experience

Losing chess

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Chess Widget

All ratings14 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Losing chess

One-time1
  • Unlock all features$1.99
4 purchases

Chess Widget

One-time4
  • 1 coffee$4.99
  • 2 coffees$9.99
  • 5 coffees$24.99
Show 1 more
  • 10 coffees$49.99

Questions

Is Losing chess free?
Losing chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Widget free?
Chess Widget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Losing chess or Chess Widget?
Chess Widget is rated higher. Losing chess averages 4.2 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Chess Widget averages 4.5 from 14 ratings.
Do Losing chess or Chess Widget have ads?
Losing chess shows ads; Chess Widget does not.
Which is updated more often, Losing chess or Chess Widget?
Losing chess ships an update every 12 months, and Chess Widget fortnightly. Most recently, Losing chess was updated on November 3, 2026 and Chess Widget on November 12, 2026.

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