Comparison

Chess vs Shredder Chess

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

Shredder Chess

Engage in chess matches against a world champion AI, analyze your games, and solve numerous chess puzzles. This app offers adjustable difficulty and human-like play, helping you improve your skills anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • Play against adjustable AI strength
  • Analyze games and identify mistakes
  • Solve 1000 built-in chess puzzles
  • Mimics human playing styles
  • Automatic strength adjustment
  • In-game coach for mistakes
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Play better chess with Shredder Chess - the classic chess opponent, trainer and analysis partner for iPhone. Shredder gives you a chess opponent that adapts to your level, from casual beginner to strong club player. Play a quick game, solve tactics, get warned before mistakes and analyze your games to understand where you can improve. Whether you want to learn chess, sharpen your tactics or simply enjoy a good game, Shredder helps you make every move count. Why chess players choose Shredder: • Adaptive playing strength from beginner to master level • Optional auto-adjusting opponent that matches your play • Built-in coach that warns you before mistakes • 1,000 chess puzzles for tactics training • Game analysis to find mistakes and improve your play • Estimated Elo rating with progress diagram • Human-like playing styles, from passive to aggressive • Opening book with more than one million moves • Set up and analyze any position • Save games, share them by email and review later • Multiple boards and pieces • VoiceOver and accessibility support The Shredder chess programs have won 19 World Computer Chess Champion titles, making Shredder one of the most successful names in computer chess. Play a game. Solve a puzzle. Analyze your moves. Get stronger with Shredder Chess.

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
Shredder Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Chess at 4.7 against Shredder Chess's 4.3. Chess also leads on price ($7.99 vs $8.99). Shredder Chess's advantage is chart position (#109 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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 Shredder Chess $8.99 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 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 251 and 97 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 83% of Shredder Chess's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update every 4 months, Shredder Chess every 7 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Chess versus Shredder Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessShredder Chess
Price$7.99 — better$8.99
Rating4.7 (251 ratings) — better4.3 (97 ratings)
Positive reviews88.6% of reviews — better82.8% of reviews
Number of ratings251 — better97
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#109 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTom KerriganEiko Bleicher, Skizzix.com

Customer experience

Chess

All ratings251 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.6%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews414 reviews
Positive88.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative5.1%

Shredder Chess

All ratings97 ratings
Positive83.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative12.4%
Written reviews430 reviews
Positive82.8%
Neutral4.4%
Negative12.8%

User reviews

Chess

From 251 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Enjoyable and challenging
  • 🚀 Plays solid openings and variations
  • 👍 Thoroughly enjoyable for novice players
  • 👍 Great for beginners and seasoned players
  • 👍 Rated games help track progress

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes after updates
  • 🐛 Inaccurate rating system
  • 🐛 Bright screen background can be tiring
  • 🐛 Clunky online game menu

Shredder Chess

From 97 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent chess engine
  • 👍 Adjustable difficulty level
  • 🎨 Great graphics and interface
  • 💡 Helpful puzzles and analysis
  • ⚖️ Accurate ELO rating system

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Lack of online play and multiplayer
  • 🔍 Limited opening book and game database
  • 📏 Issues with screen size and layout on larger devices

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

Shredder Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when loading new games
  • Incorrect move evaluation and scoring
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add online/multiplayer functionality
  • Expand game database and opening library
  • Improve interface for larger screens
  • Provide more detailed analysis and coaching

In-app purchases

None

Chess

No in-app purchases

None

Shredder Chess

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shredder Chess free?
Shredder Chess costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess or Shredder Chess?
Chess is rated higher. Chess averages 4.7 out of 5 from 251 ratings, while Shredder Chess averages 4.3 from 97 ratings.
Do Chess or Shredder Chess have ads?
Neither Chess nor Shredder Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess or Shredder Chess?
Chess ships an update every 4 months, and Shredder Chess every 7 months. Most recently, Chess was updated on September 24, 2026 and Shredder Chess on September 24, 2026.

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