Shredder Chess vs Next Chess Move
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shredder Chess
Engage in chess matches against a world champion AI, analyze your games, and solve numerous chess puzzles. This app offers adjustable difficulty and human-like play, helping you improve your skills anytime, anywhere.
- Play against adjustable AI strength
- Analyze games and identify mistakes
- Solve 1000 built-in chess puzzles
- Mimics human playing styles
- Automatic strength adjustment
- In-game coach for mistakes
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Play better chess with Shredder Chess - the classic chess opponent, trainer and analysis partner for iPhone. Shredder gives you a chess opponent that adapts to your level, from casual beginner to strong club player. Play a quick game, solve tactics, get warned before mistakes and analyze your games to understand where you can improve. Whether you want to learn chess, sharpen your tactics or simply enjoy a good game, Shredder helps you make every move count. Why chess players choose Shredder: • Adaptive playing strength from beginner to master level • Optional auto-adjusting opponent that matches your play • Built-in coach that warns you before mistakes • 1,000 chess puzzles for tactics training • Game analysis to find mistakes and improve your play • Estimated Elo rating with progress diagram • Human-like playing styles, from passive to aggressive • Opening book with more than one million moves • Set up and analyze any position • Save games, share them by email and review later • Multiple boards and pieces • VoiceOver and accessibility support The Shredder chess programs have won 19 World Computer Chess Champion titles, making Shredder one of the most successful names in computer chess. Play a game. Solve a puzzle. Analyze your moves. Get stronger with Shredder Chess.
Next Chess Move
This application provides a powerful chess move calculator utilizing advanced engines like Stockfish 17.1 directly on your device. It also offers free access to numerous other engines running on remote hardware, with an optional upgrade for enhanced calculation strength and access to powerful servers and GPUs.
- On-device Stockfish 17.1
- Free remote engine access
- Large selection of chess engines
- Optional Pro upgrade
- Access to powerful cloud hardware
- GPU acceleration for LcZero
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NCM is a powerful chess calculator that runs Stockfish 19 directly on your device. The app also includes free access to a growing list of engines running on NCM's remote single core CPU hardware: • Stockfish latest official releases and development builds • Lc0 (all official networks and several contrib networks) • Akimbo • Alexandria • Altair • Arasan • Astra • asmFish • Avalanche • Berserk • Black Marlin • Booot • Caissa • Cinder • Cfish • Clover • Coda • Combusken • CorChess • Counter • Defenchess • Demolito • Devre • Ethereal • Fire • Frozenight • GNU Chess • Halogen • Hobbes • Horsie • Igel • Integral • Koivisto • Laser • Lc0 • Mantissa • Marvin • Minic • Motor • Nalwald • Nemorino • Obsidian • OpenTal • Patricia • Pawn • Pawnocchio • Peacekeeper • PlentyChess • Quanticade • Raphael • Reckless • Rice • RubiChess • Seer • ShashChess • Smallbrain • Starzix • Stash • Stockfish • Stormphrax • Sunfish • Tarnished • Titan • Triumviratus • Tucano • Vajolet2 • Velvet • Viridithas • Wasp • Weiss • Winter • Xiphos • Zahak The optional NCM Pro in-app purchase provides one year access to powerful hardware and features that significantly enhance the strength of calculations: • Ryzen 7950X 16 CPU-core servers • RTX 2080 GPUs for LcZero • 6-man syzygy tablebases on SSD drives
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shredder Chess at none against Next Chess Move's 1. Next Chess Move's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $8.99) and update cadence (monthly vs every 7 months). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and chart position 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
Shredder Chess costs $8.99 and Next Chess Move $2.99 up front. Next Chess Move sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shredder Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.
Next Chess Move holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 97 and 129 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Shredder Chess's written reviews are positive against 76% of Next Chess Move's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Shredder Chess ships an update every 7 months, Next Chess Move monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shredder Chess | Next Chess Move |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (97 ratings) | 4.5 (129 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.8% of reviews — better | 76.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 97 | 129 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #106 | #93 — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 143 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Eiko Bleicher, Skizzix.com | Next Chess Move LLC |
Customer experience
Shredder Chess
Next Chess Move
User reviews
Shredder Chess
From 97 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent chess engine
- 👍 Adjustable difficulty level
- 🎨 Great graphics and interface
- 💡 Helpful puzzles and analysis
- ⚖️ Accurate ELO rating system
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Lack of online play and multiplayer
- 🔍 Limited opening book and game database
- 📏 Issues with screen size and layout on larger devices
Next Chess Move
From 129 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great tool for analysis
- 👍 Helpful for learning chess
- 👍 Strongest engines available
- 👍 Improves game understanding
- 👍 Convenient mobile access
Room to improve
- 🐛 Neglected and buggy mess
- 🐛 Critical bugs break game
- 🐛 Outdated and poorly maintained UI
- 🐛 Feels abandoned while charging
- 🐛 Waste of money
Bugs and requests
Shredder Chess
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when loading new games
- Incorrect move evaluation and scoring
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Add online/multiplayer functionality
- Expand game database and opening library
- Improve interface for larger screens
- Provide more detailed analysis and coaching
Next Chess Move
Reported bugs
18 issues- Critical bugs that break the game (e.g., same color pieces moving consecutively)
- App doesn't turn on
- Update has challenges
- Cannot play anything
- LC0 version 0.30 with Networks Family T81 causes 'engine disconnected' error
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- App is pretty buggy
- App decides to delete a piece randomly
- Subscription is gone after payment
- No option to restore purchase
- Every move suggested is a blunder
- Error response most of the time
- App crushes when copying or pasting PGN
- Illegal move issues with PGN/FEN
- Castling not handled correctly in PGN
- Algorithm inconsistency (doesn't play the same move for the exact same play)
- Login doesn't work for extra servers
- UI could be better
- Cannot find an option to delete saved games
Requested features
34 requests- Fix critical bugs
- Update UI
- Release a proper update
- Maintain the app properly
- Update to current stockfish 17
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- Add self-play mode with different engines
- Add Komodo latest version
- Fix LC0 issues with T81 network family
- Show a few candidate options
- Add feature to use screenshot/photo of board
- Add arrow or directional lines for best move
- Make it more didactic
- Add premium features for paid users
- Add option to play engine vs engine
- Add some themes
- Add analysis arrows
- Copy full PGN when playing engine vs engine
- Add database for openings for free
- Add iPad version
- Allow landscape format on iPad
- Increase analysis time beyond 30 seconds
- Add option to switch turns after calculating a move
- Improve ergonomics
- Name boards and show names
- Add instructions on how to use
- Option to delete saved games
- Improve UI
- Handle illegal moves and castling correctly in PGN/FEN
- Allow castling
- Add feedback and suggestions
- Cut and paste FEN
- Automatic play of calculated move
- Print positions after moves or games
- Flip board only for current board
In-app purchases
Shredder Chess
No in-app purchases
Next Chess Move
- NCM Pro$18.99
Questions
Is Shredder Chess free?
Is Next Chess Move free?
Which has better reviews, Shredder Chess or Next Chess Move?
Do Shredder Chess or Next Chess Move have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shredder Chess or Next Chess Move?
Which is more popular, Shredder Chess or Next Chess Move?
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