Chess ∙ vs Thai Chess Duel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess ∙
Experience a visually appealing and engaging chess game on your iPhone and iPod Touch. Play against friends or a customizable AI opponent with features like undo and automatic saving. Enjoy a free, ad-supported experience.
- 1 and 2 player gameplay
- Challenging computer opponent
- Great graphics and sound
- Configurable difficulty
- Undo function
- Automatic save
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Are you tired of playing chess games that look like they were designed for a Commodore 64 instead of an iPhone? We've got the antidote for you. Chess Free is the best chess game for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and it's free! Chess Free supports both 1 player and 2 player gameplay, so you can play against friends or test your skills against a challenging computer opponent. Chess Free offers a host of exciting features, including: * Great graphics and exciting sound effects * Configurable player names and score tracking * Outstanding AI engine with configurable difficulty level * Board rotation for two player games * Undo function * Automatic save when you get a phone call or exit the application Chess Free is supported by unobtrusive banner advertising. Chess Premium is the same great app without the ads.
Thai Chess Duel
Learn, train, and play Makruk, the traditional Thai board game. Compete against friends or players worldwide with adjustable rules and customizable pieces. Offers online and local multiplayer options.
- Online and local multiplayer
- AI opponent
- Adjustable match time
- Customizable pieces and board
- In-game chat
- Friend invitations
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Makruk (หมากรุก) or Thai Chess, is a board game that descended from the 6th-century Indian game of chaturanga or a close relative thereof, and therefore related to chess. It is regarded as the most similar living game to this common ancestor of all chess variants. Makruk is similar to chess played in Cambodia's which called "Ok" or "Ouk Chatrang". Thai Chess Duel allow player to know how to play Makruk, training and playing with friend or people around the world. Game Features: Playing online or same phone or with AI. Counting rules system. Adjustable match time or play side. Changeable chess pieces and board. In game chat. Inviting friend to play with. Support English and Thai languages.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Chess ∙ at 4.5 against Thai Chess Duel's 4.0. Chess ∙ also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (208K vs 7). Thai Chess Duel's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Thai Chess Duel sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Chess ∙ asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chess ∙ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 208K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Chess ∙'s written reviews are positive against 33% of Thai Chess Duel's.
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Thai Chess Duel every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess ∙ | Thai Chess Duel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (208K ratings) — better | 4.0 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.3% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 208K — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #61 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 88 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Optime Software LLC | Suksan Chaiwattanapong |
Customer experience
Chess ∙
Thai Chess Duel
Bugs and requests
Chess ∙
Reported bugs
10 issues- Rook being able to move diagonally
- Stalemate glitch where it will preemptively call stalemate before it even happens
- Call stalemate when only the king can't move, and the other pieces can still move
- Pieces move too fast
- Doesn't allow en-passant moves by pawns
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- Refuses to allow legitimate win, claims draw instead
- Doesn't recognize stalemate
- Doesn't recognize checkmate
- Pieces disappearing
- Illegal moves by the AI
Requested features
6 requests- Undo from stalemate
- Highland opponents last move in green and my last move in blue
- Allow a third level of zoom to fill the screen
- Display a numeric value when difficulty slider is moved
- Ability to turn off safety where you can't move king to where it would get taken out
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- Ability to turn off draw by stalemate rule
Thai Chess Duel
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess ∙
No in-app purchases
Thai Chess Duel
- 7 Gems$1.99
- 40 Gems$9.99
