Comparison

Chess vs Chessbook

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

Head to head
About

Chess

Discover the world of chess with this interactive e-book. Learn the rules, terminology, and essential strategies through engaging content and practice moves with interactive diagrams. Improve your game, whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills.

Highlights
  • Interactive e-book format
  • Teaches rules and terminology
  • Covers essential strategies
  • Interactive diagram feature
  • Practice legal moves
Features
Read full description

Over 600 million people worldwide know how to play chess. Now you can learn how to play too, with Learn Chess! Learn Chess is a short, fun, interactive e-book that teaches you the rules, terminology, essential strategies, and more. Even if you already know the rules, it can help you improve your game. Features: - 118 pages of content - 91 chess diagrams - Interactive diagram feature lets you try out legal moves Learn Chess is made by the developer of tChess Lite and Pro, the popular and critically acclaimed iPhone chess games.

About

Chessbook

Build a personalized chess opening repertoire with spaced repetition training. Identify weaknesses, learn optimal moves based on master game data, and avoid obscure lines. Review your online games for mistakes and master middlegame plans.

Highlights
  • Custom opening repertoire creation
  • Spaced repetition training
  • Automatic gap identification
  • Avoid obscure moves
  • Handle transpositions
  • Review online game mistakes
  • Learn middlegame plans
Read full description

Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof opening repertoire. Key features: • Create a custom repertoire • Train with spaced repetition • Find gaps automatically • Avoid obscure moves • Handle transpositions • Find mistakes in your online games • Fast & modern interface “A fun and simple way to build an opening repertoire based on probabilities of most likely lines. You will actually learn the moves that will happen on the board!” —Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn FIND THE GAPS IN YOUR REPERTOIRE BEFORE YOUR OPPONENTS DO Chessbook calculates your coverage per opening so you always know what to work on. PICK THE BEST MOVES TO MAXIMIZE YOUR WIN-RATE Weigh up your options by looking at stats from master games, engine evaluation and results at your level. ONLY SPEND TIME ON THE MOVES YOU'LL ACTUALLY SEE Most books and courses are written by masters for masters. Chessbook lets you avoid obscure grandmaster lines and focus your effort on the moves that are common at your level. TARGETED PRACTICE MEANS YOU'LL NEVER FORGET A MOVE Chessbook uses spaced repetition, a scientifically proven technique to memorize openings quickly and thoroughly. COLLECT ALL YOUR OPENINGS IN ONE PLACE Nobody gets their whole repertoire from a single course or book. Chessbook lets you combine openings from multiple sources to create a custom repertoire just for you. REVIEW YOUR ONLINE GAMES FOR OPENING MISTAKES Get instant feedback on how well you're sticking to your repertoire. Chessbook supports both Lichess and Chess.com LEARN MIDDLEGAME PLANS FOR ANY OPENING See how top players handle the positions that result from the openings you play. CHESSBOOK PRO Chessbook Pro gives you the ability to add unlimited moves to your repertoire! Free users can add 400 moves. Terms of Use: https://chessbook.com/terms-and-conditions.html Privacy Policy: https://chessbook.com/privacy-policy.html

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
Chessbook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess at none against Chessbook's 2. Chess also leads on review sentiment (92% vs 83%). Chessbook's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (2.2K vs 202). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Chessbook sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Chess against 4.9 for Chessbook. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chessbook has 2.2K ratings behind it against 202, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 92% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 83% of Chessbook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update every 9 months, Chessbook every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Chess versus Chessbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessChessbook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (202 ratings)4.9 (2.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.4% of reviews — better82.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2022.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB121 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTom KerriganChessbook

Customer experience

Chess

All ratings200 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral0.5%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews540 reviews
Positive92.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative2.4%

Chessbook

All ratings2,158 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews190 reviews
Positive82.6%
Neutral5.8%
Negative11.6%

Bugs and requests

Chess

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Chessbook

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App not working on iPad
  • Login issues on iPhone
  • Inability to delete move sequences

Requested features

4 requests
  • Pause after completing move sequences
  • Clearer instructions for beginners
  • Customizable notification settings
  • Option to input and practice specific positions

In-app purchases

None

Chess

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Chessbook

Subscriptions2
  • Chessbook Pro - Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Chessbook Pro - Annual$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chessbook free?
Chessbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess or Chessbook?
Chessbook is rated higher. Chess averages 4.7 out of 5 from 202 ratings, while Chessbook averages 4.9 from 2.2K ratings.
Do Chess or Chessbook have ads?
Neither Chess nor Chessbook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess or Chessbook?
Chess ships an update every 9 months, and Chessbook every 3 days. Most recently, Chess was updated on November 1, 2026 and Chessbook on November 12, 2026.

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