Comparison

Chess vs Chess Master

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

Head to head
About

Chess

This app offers a high-quality chess experience for players of all levels, from beginners to professionals. It features a strong engine, analysis tools, and learning resources to improve your game.

Highlights
  • Simulated human opponents for beginners
  • Top-tier chess engine for experts
  • Real-time game analysis
  • 1 or 2-player game support
  • Opening Library and PGN Database
  • Position Editor
  • Rated games and progress tracking
Features
Read full description

tChess Pro is the high-quality, critically acclaimed chess game with the richest features for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It's perfect for every player: Beginners: Not everybody is a chess master! Most chess games are too strong or just make random mistakes at easier levels. tChess Pro has unique algorithms to simulate human opponents. Experts: tChess Pro has a top-tier chess engine. (Over 380 ELO points stronger than Caissa Chess.) Enthusiasts: tChess Pro's Analysis Mode is like having a chess master in your pocket. You can get the engine's "expert opinion" about any game or position in real-time: which side is winning, and the best sequence of moves. Just like a professional desktop chess package. More key features: - Perfect for 1- or 2-player games - Strong computer opponent - Play against any ELO rating from 500 to 2500 - Integrated "Learn Chess" e-book app (Apple Staff Favorite!) - Opening Library feature lets you explore chess opening theory as you play - PGN Database feature lets you download and view PGN files - Support for 3-stage time controls with Fischer increments - Position Editor to enter positions from books, newspapers, etc. - Save and load games; export them in standard PGN format - Use the Profile feature to play rated games against the computer and track your progress tChess Pro is developed by Tom Kerrigan, author of the TSCP and Stobor chess engines.

About

Chess Master

Master chess strategy and tactics with a vast collection of over 4600 unique puzzles, problems, and studies. Perfect for players of all levels looking to improve their game through instructive positions from grandmaster matches.

Highlights
  • 4600+ unique chess problems
  • Train chess strategy
  • Improve theoretical positions
  • Study instructive gaming positions
  • Endgame practice
  • Grandmaster game analysis
Features
Read full description

«Chess is difficult, they require serious work» The first world champion - Wilhelm Steinitz. «You can become a good master only when you realize your mistakes and shortcomings. Absolutely like in life» The first Russian world champion - Alexander Alekhine Unique collection of chess puzzles from 4600 combinations, problems, studies to train chess strategy, theoretical positions and instructive gaming positions of the endgame from the real games of grandmasters. All this will help you improve your skills! The collection of chess problems is addressed to coaches, young chess players, teachers, parents and can be used to train personal skills. SPECIAL DEAL - Discount 60%! We have collected all chess problems in one universal app for true fans of chess puzzles. From mate to 1 to strategies and studies. Our apps: - Chess? OK! (Mate in 1, 2 and 3) - Chess Win (Strategy) - Chess Tactic (Tactics) - Chess Tricks (Endgame and Strategy) Enjoy ;)

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
Chess Master2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chess at 89% against Chess Master's 0%. Chess also leads on price ($7.99 vs $19.99) and rating (4.7 vs 1.0). Chess Master's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Chess costs $7.99 and Chess Master $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess has 251 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 0% of Chess Master's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update every 4 months, Chess Master every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Chess versus Chess Master: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessChess Master
Price$7.99 — better$19.99
Rating4.7 (251 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews88.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings251 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB43 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperTom KerriganSergiy Kurash

Customer experience

Chess

All ratings251 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.6%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews415 reviews
Positive88.7%
Neutral6.3%
Negative5.1%

Chess Master

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when creating annotations
  • Zoomed-in screen issue when returning to the app
  • Difficulty settings not accurately reflecting the AI's strength

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add chess puzzles
  • Provide more board and piece style options
  • Implement a resign feature and draw offer
  • Add a move evaluation bar
  • Improve the online multiplayer experience
Show 1 more
  • Provide a way to organize and navigate through game databases

Chess Master

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Chess

No in-app purchases

None

Chess Master

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Master free?
Chess Master costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess or Chess Master?
Chess is rated higher. Chess averages 4.7 out of 5 from 251 ratings, while Chess Master averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Chess or Chess Master have ads?
Neither Chess nor Chess Master shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess or Chess Master?
Chess ships an update every 4 months, and Chess Master every 11 months. Most recently, Chess was updated on October 18, 2026 and Chess Master on October 11, 2026.

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