Comparison

Chess vs Chess Score Pad

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 Score Pad

This app provides a modern, distraction-free electronic scoresheet for over-the-board chess tournament play. Record moves effortlessly, review positions, and export games in PGN or PDF formats for post-game analysis. Designed by a tournament player, it streamlines the scoring process so you can focus on the game.

Highlights
  • Effortless move recording (tap or drag)
  • Automatic game saving
  • Easy move correction
  • Step-through and slider game review
  • PGN export for analysis
  • PDF scoresheet export with diagram
  • Optional legal-move and time tracking
Features
Read full description

Chess Score Pad A modern electronic scoresheet designed for over-the-board tournament play. Record moves effortlessly and export PGN for post-game analysis. Chess Score Pad replaces paper scoresheets with a clean, distraction-free way to record your games move by move — so you can focus on playing, not writing. Designed by a tournament player with hundreds of USCF-rated games, Chess Score Pad is built for over-the-board chess and post-game review. Record games naturally • Enter moves by tapping or dragging pieces • No coordinates to write, no notation to translate • All moves are saved automatically — no “Save” button required • Easy move correction if a mistake happens Review positions and games • Step through moves one at a time • Scrub through the game with a live position slider • On iPad, view the board and notation side by side • Quickly return to critical positions after the game Export and share • Export games as PGN for analysis in your chess database • Share via AirDrop, Mail, Messages, Files, Notes, Clipboard, and compatible chess apps • Export a professional PDF scoresheet with a position diagram Built for tournament play • Start recording immediately — game details are optional • “Next Game of Event” copies event info and increments the round • Automatically place your pieces at the bottom of the board • Optional legal-move and position checking • Optional move-time tracking Flexible notation • Long or short algebraic notation • Figurine or standard notation Important note Chess Score Pad is an electronic scoresheet and does not provide analysis or engine assistance. Chess Score Pad is not currently certified for tournament use. It may be permitted at the discretion of the tournament director. More screenshots and documentation are available at the Support URL.

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
Chess Score Pad3 screens

Verdict

The call

Chess and Chess Score Pad both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 89% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 65% of Chess Score Pad's. Chess also leads on price ($7.99 vs $9.99). Chess Score Pad's advantage is iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). On rating, 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 Chess Score Pad $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Chess against 4.6 for Chess Score Pad. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 250 and 179 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 65% of Chess Score Pad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update every 4 months, Chess Score Pad every 5 months. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Chess versus Chess Score Pad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessChess Score Pad
Price$7.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.7 (250 ratings) — better4.6 (179 ratings)
Positive reviews88.7% of reviews — better64.9% of reviews
Number of ratings250 — better179
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTom KerriganCalcFxC, LLC

Customer experience

Chess

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

Chess Score Pad

All ratings178 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral5.1%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive64.9%
Neutral13.5%
Negative21.6%

User reviews

Chess

From 250 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

Chess Score Pad

From 179 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use for recording games
  • 👍 Great for over-the-board chess
  • 👍 Converts games to PGN format
  • 👍 Intuitive design
  • 👍 Useful for correspondence chess

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Clunky and not intuitive
  • 🐛 Screen controls are flaky
  • 🐛 Missing many features for the price
  • 🐛 Shows own pieces checking own King
  • 🐛 Does not show check to opponent

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 Score Pad

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Board not accessible to voiceover users
  • Contact option on website is broken
  • Screen controls are flaky, requiring repeated attempts
  • Cost me a tournament game due to flaky controls
  • Cannot use 'Save to Files' in iPad if the result is draw (1/2)
Show 3 more
  • Shows own pieces checking own King
  • Does not show when checking opponent's King
  • App is 32bit and may not work in the future

Requested features

16 requests
  • Make board accessible to voiceover users or allow notation entry
  • Ability to enter ??, !!, !? and ?! notations
  • Cloud support (iCloud/Dropbox)
  • Option to load a game
  • Built-in player list
Show 11 more
  • Export multiple games at once
  • Different board colors or lighter dark green squares
  • Ability to save games in .pgn format automatically
  • Get app approved for USCF tournaments
  • iCloud capabilities for syncing games
  • Enhanced time controls for correspondence matches
  • Feature to make notes and annotate games
  • Review or journal mode for inputting variations and annotations
  • Standard algebraic notation
  • More tags for app store search (e.g., PGN)
  • Move notations with time

In-app purchases

None

Chess

No in-app purchases

None

Chess Score Pad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Score Pad free?
Chess Score Pad costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess or Chess Score Pad?
Chess is rated higher. Chess averages 4.7 out of 5 from 250 ratings, while Chess Score Pad averages 4.6 from 179 ratings.
Do Chess or Chess Score Pad have ads?
Neither Chess nor Chess Score Pad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess or Chess Score Pad?
Chess ships an update every 4 months, and Chess Score Pad every 5 months. Most recently, Chess was updated on October 23, 2026 and Chess Score Pad on October 23, 2026.

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