Chess vs Chess Tiger Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess
Enjoy a classic chess experience on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. This app offers a clean interface, beautiful graphics, and intuitive gameplay perfect for casual players. Play against a computer opponent, review game history, and track your progress.
- 1- or 2-player games on one device
- Tap-to-move piece selection
- Highlights legal moves
- Full game history and move list
- Built-in chess clock
- Get hint feature
- Undo moves
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tChess Lite is the popular chess game designed just for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. tChess is like a virtual chess board on your device. It's fun and easy to use--perfect for the casual player! This game features a very clean UI design and beautiful graphics. tChess is a fast and stable program. Pick up a game in your free time... and there's no problem listening to your music while you play. (tChess Lite is a fully-functional version of tChess for casual chess players. If you're an active player and want enthusiast-level features, take a look at tChess Pro, which is over 1000 ELO stronger and has received rave reviews from Grandmaster Susan Polgar, PE's Chess Cast, and iPhone app critics.) tChess Lite Features: - Perfect for 1- or 2-player games (on the same device, no network connection required) - Tap-tap to move pieces - Highlights legal moves - View full game history in the Move List - Go back or forward move by move and replay completed games - Built-in chess clock - "Get hint" feature to improve your game - Easy to undo moves - Saves your game automatically if you exit the program or take a call - Play against any ELO rating from 500 to 1200 - Computer opponent is the most fun and realistic for beginners and casual players - Use the Profile feature to play rated games and track your progress - Over 15,000 openings for fresh, varied games tChess Lite is developed by Tom Kerrigan, author of the TSCP and Stobor chess engines.
Chess Tiger Pro
Master chess with interactive lessons and Grandmaster-level move suggestions. Learn rules effortlessly, play real games, and analyze your performance with detailed feedback. Suitable for beginners and experts alike, this ad-free app helps you improve your game at your own pace.
- Ad-free learning experience
- Introductory chess lessons for beginners
- Grandmaster-level move suggestions
- Game analysis with move feedback
- Strong chess engine for experts
- Supports PGN import and game saving
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Beginner or advanced, become a chess master, without ever being disturbed by ads. Do you want to master the most prestigious, the classiest game ever, while having fun? It's EASY! For starters, there are no ads to distract you. There's no account to create, and you don't even need to be connected to the Internet. So, how does it work? If you are a beginner, let yourself be guided by the introductory lessons included. The lessons are SHORT and EASY. Right from the start, you begin playing by moving pieces, and you learn the rules of the game while having fun. The first 40 lessons are free. Once you know the rules, you start playing real games! The coach shows you the moves a Grandmaster would pick. Not just one move, but THE 4 BEST MOVES. Sounds too simple? But think about it... How did you learn to speak as a child? Did you take grammar and spelling lessons? Of course not. You listened to the adults talk and then you went for it! Because that's how you learn! This app allows you to do just that, AND IT WORKS! From the very first games, you start learning effortlessly. You immediately enjoy playing, and after a while you notice that the right moves come to mind naturally, as if they were obvious. Gradually, you deactivate the suggestions and play by yourself. At the end of each game, the coach shows you the good and bad moves you've made. You can better understand what happened, and you can even try out other moves to improve. If this sounds unbelievable, you should read the user reviews for our app. It has one of the highest satisfaction ratings on the App Store, in all countries. FOR BEGINNERS, THIS APP... • contains introductory chess lessons that are suitable even for children. The first 40 are free. • shows you all the possible moves of a piece when you touch it. • explains why certain moves are forbidden. • can suggest 4 to 6 excellent moves at any one time. The green button lets you show or hide these suggestions. • can tell you when you can mate your opponent, so you can look for the winning move by yourself. • can warn you when your opponent is about to play a dangerous move. • provides 50 trainer levels of increasing difficulty. • analyzes your games and shows you how to improve. FOR EXPERTS: • Both USCF and FIDE rating scales are supported. • Chess Tiger Pro has one of the strongest chess engines for mobile devices (3040 USCF Elo). • On current devices, as incredible as it sounds, it plays at the world champion level. • You can set up any position. • You can save your games and replay them later. • You can exchange games with your friends very easily by email. • You can import game collections in PGN format. • The chess engine displays its thinking, up to 20 moves ahead. • You can analyze a game by replaying it. Chess Tiger Pro indicates bad moves by coloring them red. The 4 best moves in each position are shown in green. • Chess Tiger Pro supports variations: you can test other moves and then return to your original game. OTHER FEATURES INCLUDE: • The coach can comment on the game as you play (optional). • When the game is over, the coach can analyze it and show you how to improve. • 19 beautiful visual themes are included, which you can customize. • 10 styles of chess pieces are available. • You can choose from 20 chessboard styles (marble, blue marble, wood, metal, stone, …). • A collection of over 10,000 famous games by the greatest players of all time is included. For example, the entire career of Magnus Carlsen, since 2001, is available. • 4 playing styles are included, from «cautious» to «suicidal», which you can combine with all available levels. • Includes an opening book of more than one million moves. • Many customization options are available (graphics, sounds, engine output…). • ...and much more... privacy policy: http://www.chesstiger.com/iphone/About_privacy_en.html terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess at $0.99 against Chess Tiger Pro's $9.99. Chess also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). Chess Tiger Pro's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (24K vs 78). On ads 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
Chess costs $0.99 and Chess Tiger Pro $9.99 up front. Chess Tiger Pro sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chess Tiger Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Tiger Pro has 24K ratings behind it against 78, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 94% of Chess Tiger Pro's.
Chess ships an update every 5 months, Chess Tiger Pro fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess | Chess Tiger Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (78 ratings) | 4.9 (24K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.1% of reviews | 94.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 78 | 24K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #162 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tom Kerrigan | Christophe Théron |
Customer experience
Chess
Chess Tiger Pro
User reviews
Chess
From 78 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great app
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 💡 Helpful hints and features
- 🎨 Excellent graphics and visuals
- 🧠 Challenging AI opponent
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔍 Limited difficulty levels
- 🤖 AI can be predictable at times
- 💤 Lack of online/multiplayer options
Chess Tiger Pro
From 24K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for learning and improving chess skills
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay and clear interface
- 💡 Customizable difficulty levels and game settings
- 🚀 Extensive library of grandmaster games
- 👍 Helpful coaching features and move suggestions
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional issues with game analysis and move suggestions
- 🐛 Crashes or freezes reported after some games
- 💡 Could use more advanced analysis and explanation of moves
- 💡 Desire for more openings and endgame training
- 💰 Some users feel the app is a bit expensive
Bugs and requests
Chess
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inconsistent pawn movement rules
- Stalemate issues and computer refusing to resign
- Connectivity problems with Game Center
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to set up custom board positions
- More difficulty levels and ELO ratings
- Online/multiplayer functionality
- Notification options for opponent moves
- Chess puzzle/training mode
Chess Tiger Pro
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inconsistencies in the 'Analyze My Game' feature
- Occasional crashes or freezes, especially on older devices
- Issues with the app not remembering purchased upgrades
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to export games in PGN format
- Improve the 'Analyze My Game' feature to provide more detailed explanations
- Incorporate more openings and endgame training
- Allow customizing the computer's playing style beyond just difficulty level
In-app purchases
Chess
No in-app purchases
Chess Tiger Pro
- Learn chess$4.99







