Comparison

Deep Green vs Chess Deluxe

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

Head to head
About

Deep Green

This app provides a classical chess experience with a clean, native interface and customizable piece designs. It supports open game formats, offers a unique chess engine with adjustable strength, and features a private, ad-free environment.

Highlights
  • Clean, native user interface
  • Customizable chess piece designs
  • Open game format (PGN/FEN)
  • Adjustable strength chess engine
  • Private and ad-free experience
  • System-level integration
Read full description

A no-nonsense classical chess app. - CLEAN UI: Deep Green offers a distraction-free experience in a clean, native user interface, with Liquid Glass on iOS 26 and later. - CUSTOM PIECE DESIGN: Beautiful chess set designed specifically for Deep Green and rendered at high resolution in both outline and 3D throughout the app. - MADE FOR IPAD: Dedicated menu bar, multiple windows, and refined trackpad, mouse, and Apple Pencil support. Squares highlight as you hover over the board. - MADE FOR IPHONE DUO: Adapts to both displays and every pose. The board centers on the fold like a folding chess board, and the game controls follow the system into the vertical bar. - TIGHT SYSTEM INTEGRATION: System-level sharing, drag and drop, AirDrop, undo/redo, contextual menus, Quick Look previews of chess files, Dark Mode, high contrast support and more. - OPEN GAME FORMAT: Games can be shared, saved, copied, pasted, imported, exported in the ubiquitous, open source PGN and FEN formats. Deep Green can open chess files straight from the Files app. - UNIQUE CHESS ENGINE: Enjoyable opponent with adjustable strength, praised for its humane gameplay, developed for Deep Green on the Apple Newton more than 25 years ago. - TWEAKABLE APPEARANCE: Engage the knights in the game by having them turn towards the center of the board, apply a humane, slightly random placement of the pieces. - IN YOUR LANGUAGE: Available in English, German, and Danish. - MODERN ARCHITECTURE: Written in Swift as a fully native app – modern, maintainable, and prepared for the future. - PRIVATE, AD-FREE: No ads, no tracking, no analytics, no nonsense. If you like Deep Green, please rate it favorably on the App Store.

About

Chess Deluxe

Enjoy a classic chess experience with a beautiful interface and adaptive AI. Play against smart opponents, challenge friends locally or online, and track your progress with detailed game history. This app offers a distraction-free environment for pure chess enjoyment across multiple devices.

Highlights
  • Smart AI opponents (Easy, Medium, Hard)
  • Local multiplayer (same device)
  • Online matches via Game Center
  • Unlimited undo/redo
  • Move history in Standard Algebraic Notation
  • Light and dark themes
  • iCloud settings sync
Features
Read full description

Experience the timeless game of chess with beautiful design and intelligent gameplay. Chess Deluxe brings the classic strategy game to life with a modern, elegant interface and responsive AI that adapts to your skill level. Whether you're learning your first moves or honing your tactics, enjoy chess exactly how you want to play it - with no ads, no distractions, just pure chess. Play Your Way: - Smart AI opponents with Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulties that provide quick, challenging gameplay - Local multiplayer for face-to-face games on the same device - Game Center integration for online matches with friends anywhere - Flexible move controls with unlimited undo/redo and move highlighting - Complete game tracking with move history in Standard Algebraic Notation Beautiful & Intuitive: - Clean, distraction-free interface designed for pure chess enjoyment - Smooth animations and satisfying piece movement - Board rotation for comfortable two-player games - Captured pieces display and game timer with customisable durations - Light and dark themes to match your preference - Crisp sounds that enhance gameplay without interruption Seamlessly Connected: - Settings sync across all your devices with iCloud - Navigate through your game history by selecting any completed move - No advertisements to interrupt your focus - Universal purchase includes iOS, iPadOS, and macOS versions Chess Deluxe is crafted for chess lovers who appreciate thoughtful design and straightforward gameplay. From quick casual games to focused strategy sessions, experience chess the way it should be - simple, beautiful, and always ready when you are.

Screenshots

Deep Green4 screens
Chess Deluxe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Deep Green at Free against Chess Deluxe's $2.99. Deep Green also leads on review sentiment (66% vs 33%). Chess Deluxe's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.9) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Deep Green is free to download; Chess Deluxe costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Deluxe holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 77 and 190 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 66% of Deep Green's written reviews are positive against 33% of Chess Deluxe's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Deep Green ships an update every 4 months, Chess Deluxe every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Deep Green versus Chess Deluxe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDeep GreenChess Deluxe
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating3.9 (77 ratings)4.6 (190 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.0% of reviews — better32.7% of reviews
Number of ratings77190 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.4 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCocoa StuffNicholas Cooke

Customer experience

Deep Green

All ratings76 ratings
Positive71.1%
Neutral5.3%
Negative23.7%
Written reviews212 reviews
Positive66.0%
Neutral9.9%
Negative24.1%

Chess Deluxe

All ratings190 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral5.3%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive32.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative60.0%

User reviews

Deep Green

From 77 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Elegant and polished design
  • 🤖 Strong chess engine
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and animations
  • 🕹️ Smooth gameplay and controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • ⚠️ Lack of features (e.g. game saving, online play)
  • 🔍 Difficulty settings too challenging for some users
  • 🔕 Missing audio/sound effects
  • 📏 Board/pieces not optimized for larger screens

Chess Deluxe

From 190 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and clean interface
  • 👍 Nice and simple to use
  • 👍 Great Chess program
  • 👍 Fun Chess app
  • 👍 Good basic version of a chess app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Computer difficulty inconsistent
  • 🐛 Computer too easy or too hard
  • 🐛 App crashes or doesn't work
  • 🐛 Poor computer competition
  • 🐛 Game rules not implemented correctly

Bugs and requests

Deep Green

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when promoting pawns
  • Board orientation issues when rotating device
  • Unresponsive UI elements
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Game saving and loading functionality
  • Online/multiplayer mode
  • Customizable board/piece themes
  • Difficulty settings for beginners
  • Indicators for check, checkmate, and draw

Chess Deluxe

Reported bugs

28 issues
  • Computer won't let you win
  • Computer moves king to white king
  • Game says won when losing
  • All pieces are black
  • Cannot castle king and rook
Show 23 more
  • Hard version is easy to beat
  • Movements don't feel good
  • Sound isn't good
  • Cannot play online without crashing
  • No way to start a game
  • No play button
  • Unable to use program
  • Doesn't work on iPad
  • Doesn't seem to work on IOS 9
  • Unable to go past add player name screen
  • Game ends with incorrect checkmate
  • Rook unable to move to corner piece
  • Check counted as checkmate
  • Stalemate called incorrectly
  • Computer castles illegally
  • Computer throws pieces away
  • Internet mode doesn't work
  • Cannot find users online
  • King turns into opponent's queen
  • Valid moves blocked
  • Cannot play online without redoing moves
  • Castling doesn't work
  • Cannot resign or remove game

Requested features

8 requests
  • How to record a game
  • Intermediate difficulty level
  • Option to turn off timer
  • See board labels (g column cut off)
  • Board labels visible with pieces
Show 3 more
  • Cross-platform compatibility (iPhone/Mac)
  • Sound effects for piece movements
  • Online play beyond Wi-Fi proximity

In-app purchases

None

Deep Green

No in-app purchases

None

Chess Deluxe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Deep Green free?
Deep Green is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Deluxe free?
Chess Deluxe costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Deep Green or Chess Deluxe?
Chess Deluxe is rated higher. Deep Green averages 3.9 out of 5 from 77 ratings, while Chess Deluxe averages 4.6 from 190 ratings.
Do Deep Green or Chess Deluxe have ads?
Neither Deep Green nor Chess Deluxe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Deep Green or Chess Deluxe?
Deep Green ships an update every 4 months, and Chess Deluxe every 2 months. Most recently, Deep Green was updated on October 31, 2026 and Chess Deluxe on November 4, 2026.

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