Chess Move vs Chess Notation Lab
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess Move
This app helps chess players find the best moves using a powerful cloud-based engine. It allows users to set up board positions manually or via camera scan, and customize analysis depth and engine settings for in-depth game review.
- Best move calculation
- Cloud-based Stockfish engine
- Board setup via drag-and-drop
- Camera position scanning
- Customizable engine presets
- Multiple analysis lines
Read full descriptionHide full description
Introducing ChessMovePro, the all-new powerful move calculator that lets users find the best move in seconds! The app calculates the best lines using powerful dedicated servers running Stockfish 16 in the cloud. ChessMovePro offers a wide variety of customizations that allow users to find the best move quickly. Users can set up their board by dragging and dropping pieces onto the setup board to match the app to their current board position. Next head over to the analysis screen where you can see the best moves and lines at a glance. Customize the engine preset in order to increase depth, get more lines, change the elo target or increase think time. ChessMovePro allows users to use their camera to scan chess positions and find the best moves to play within seconds. The dedicated Stockfish servers ensure only the best moves are shown and that users can analzye games at the highest level. In the settings, users can customize the look of their app with various boards and app colors. Upgrade to ChessMovePro in order to unlock the full suite of customizations for the app and take your experience to the next level! How do I use Chess Move Pro? After opening the app users first have to setup their chess board. Take advantage of the apps scanning feature and pull out your camera to caputre the position or place the chess pieces in the correct squares. Next hit the analyze button and Chess Move Pro will analyze your current chess position using cloud Stockfish 15.1 servers that will find the best next chess move for you to play. If you don't like the next chess move that the app suggests hit the re-calculate button in order to calculate a new best move for the current position. Terms and Conditions: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Chess Notation Lab
Master chess board coordinates and piece movement with this training app. Improve your ability to visualize moves, read notation, and understand square colors. Designed to enhance your chess calculations and potentially boost your rating.
- Identify squares by coordinate
- Fluid piece movement visualization
- Translate moves to notation
- Identify square color
- Orient on the board
- Speed up calculation
- Blind chess practice
Read full descriptionHide full description
Welcome to Chess Notation Lab! Are you struggling to identify squares, remember sequences, and follow chess notations? Do you have trouble visualizing Bishop diagonals? Or Knight jumps? Or worse, mapping the available moves for the Queen to get/avoid a deadly fork? This training app is designed to end this misery. There are 2 training modes, each with 5 unique training sessions carefully designed to dramatically uplift your mastery over chess squares and fluid piece movement. A small dose of regular practice will empower you to: 1. Spot a square as soon as you hear or see its coordinate 2. Fluidly move any piece around the board, even without a board 3. Translate a sequence of moves into their notation with ease 4. Immediately identify the color of a square 5. Stay oriented regardless of whether you're white or black 6. Follow along with chess tutorials, books, or discussions at ease and comfort 7. Massively speed up your thought process on any calculation 8. Finally, start playing blind chess! Don't be surprised if you experience a sudden surge in rating simply by improving your square reading skills. The free version is already effective enough to significantly boost your chess career. However, if you want to support me and get the full version, first of all, thanks!! And then just a one-time purchase will unlock: - Longer time controls - Untimed practice mode - Milestones and Achievements and - Complete visualization of your records - Compete with friends over the complete leaderboards There will be no ads, neither in the full version nor in the free one. Just a beautiful and satisfyingly addictive path to mastering squares. The level of comfort you will feel about talking, reading or even thinking about chess is, believe me, just priceless. Caution: If you are rated below 1500, this app may be less useful for you, and tactics training should be prioritized.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chess Notation Lab at 100% against Chess Move's 28%. Chess Notation Lab also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). Chess Move's advantage is ratings volume (1.1K vs 6) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. Chess Move sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days and Chess Notation Lab sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Chess Notation Lab holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Move has 1.1K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of Chess Move's written reviews are positive against 100% of Chess Notation Lab's.
Chess Move ships an update every 3 weeks, Chess Notation Lab every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Move | Chess Notation Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (1.1K ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 27.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Setse LLC | Nishat Majid |
Customer experience
Chess Move
Chess Notation Lab
Bugs and requests
Chess Move
Reported bugs
3 issues- Pieces not detected correctly
- Moves suggested in wrong direction
- App crashes on launch or during use
Requested features
3 requests- Add ability to save board positions
- Improve piece detection and move suggestions
- Provide more free analysis options
Chess Notation Lab
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess Move
- ChessMovePro - Premium$3.997 Days
- ChessMovePro - Monthly$3.991 Month
- ChessMovePro - Premium$4.991 Month
Show 14 moreShow fewer
- ChessMovePro - Premium$7.991 Month
- ChessMovePro (Weekly)$7.997 Days
- ChessMovePro - Hidden Discount$9.991 Year
- ChessMovePro (Monthly)$9.991 Month
- ChessMovePro - Premium$14.991 Year
- ChessMovePro - Premium3 Days trial$14.991 Year
- ChessMovePro - Premium3 Days trial$19.991 Year
- ChessMovePro - Premium$19.991 Year
- ChessMovePro (Quarterly)$19.993 Months
- ChessMovePro7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- ChessMovePro (Yearly)$29.991 Year
- ChessMovePro (Yearly)3 Days trial$39.991 Year
- ChessMovePro (Yearly)3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- ChessMovePro7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Chess Notation Lab
- Full Version$9.99
Questions
Is Chess Move free?
Is Chess Notation Lab free?
Which has better reviews, Chess Move or Chess Notation Lab?
Do Chess Move or Chess Notation Lab have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess Move or Chess Notation Lab?
Other comparisons















