Chess vs Chess Score Pad
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
Chess ships an update every 4 months, Chess Score Pad every 5 months. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.
| Parameter | Chess | Chess Score Pad |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (250 ratings) — better | 4.6 (179 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 88.7% of reviews — better | 64.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 250 — better | 179 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 18.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tom Kerrigan | CalcFxC, LLC |
Customer experience
Chess
Chess Score Pad
User reviews
Chess
From 250 App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
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- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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
Chess
No in-app purchases
Chess Score Pad
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chess free?
Is Chess Score Pad free?
Which has better reviews, Chess or Chess Score Pad?
Do Chess or Chess Score Pad have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess or Chess Score Pad?
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