# Chess ∙ vs SmartGo One

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess ∙ at none against SmartGo One's 46. Chess ∙ also leads on ratings volume (205K vs 1.9K) and chart position (#86 vs unranked). SmartGo One's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SmartGo One sells 46 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Chess ∙ asks for nothing beyond the download.

SmartGo One holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 205K ratings behind it against 1.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Chess ∙'s written reviews are positive against 77% of SmartGo One's.

Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, SmartGo One every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chess ∙ | SmartGo One |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (205K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess/id311395856/reviews) | **[4.8 (1.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **205K** | 1.9K |
| Positive reviews | 56.9% of reviews | **76.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#86** | — |
| Size | 84 MB | 140 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Optime Software LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/289278460) | [Smart Go, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/290948289) |

## What reviewers say

### Chess ∙

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess/id311395856)

**Currently charting:** #86 Top Free · Strategy, #119 Top Free · Board (US App Store)

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.

**Highlights:** 1 and 2 player gameplay, Challenging computer opponent, Great graphics and sound, Configurable difficulty, Undo function, Automatic save

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fun to play everyday
- 👍 Good free game
- 👍 Nice little game
- 👍 Very good practice
- 👍 Addictive

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 AD crazy
- 🐛 Major glitches make the game impossible
- 🐛 Force draw
- 🐛 Issues, needs fixing but has potential
- 🐛 Disappearing Pieces

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


### SmartGo One

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992)

Learn, play, and improve at the ancient game of Go. This app offers adjustable board sizes, a strong AI opponent, and tools to study professional games and solve Go problems. It's designed for players of all skill levels, from beginners to masters.

**Highlights:** Adjustable board sizes (9x9 to 19x19), Strong KataGo game engine, Study professional game records, Solve Go problems and tutorials, Pattern matching for move suggestions, Territory estimator, Game recording and annotation

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (46)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SmartGo One Pro – Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Pro Games and Features | $29.99 | per year |
| Just Enough Japanese 1 | Free | one-time |
| Key Concepts in Life and Death | $2.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Master Collection | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 2: Medium | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 1: Easy | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 3: Hard | $3.99 | one-time |
| Counting Liberties | $4.99 | one-time |
| The Monkey Jump | $4.99 | one-time |
| Double Digit Kyu Games | $5.99 | one-time |
| Go: A Complete Introduction | $5.99 | one-time |
| How Not to Play Go | $5.99 | one-time |
| Encyclopedia of Go Principles | $5.99 | one-time |
| Want to Play Go? Level 1 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Black to Play 30-25 Kyu | $5.99 | one-time |
| The Workshop Lectures 1 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Rethinking Opening Strategy | $6.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 1 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 2 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 3 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Correct Joseki | $7.99 | one-time |
| “The Theory of Go” | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 4 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Buddhist Philosophy Game of Go | $8.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 1 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Want to Play Go? Level 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Basic Techniques of Go | $9.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 3 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Get Strong at Life and Death | $9.99 | one-time |
| Mastering Mini Go by Mark Tomlinson | $11.99 | one-time |
| Fuseki Revolution | $11.99 | one-time |
| Fundamental Principles of Go | $11.99 | one-time |
| The Basics of Life and Death | $11.99 | one-time |
| Joseki Revolution | $11.99 | one-time |
| Life and Death | $11.99 | one-time |
| A Survey of the Basic Tesujis | $11.99 | one-time |
| Tesuji | $11.99 | one-time |
| AlphaGo to Zero, vol. 4 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Trouble Master, volume 2 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Trouble Master, volume 1 | $14.99 | one-time |
| AlphaGo to Zero, Vol. 2 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Invincible | $24.99 | one-time |
| Essential Go Proverbs | $24.99 | one-time |
| Pro – Lifetime Unlock | $99.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome app
- 👍 Great for playing and learning Go
- 📚 Excellent integration with Go books
- 🔍 Powerful analysis and review features
- 💻 Seamless experience across devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
- 🤔 Unintuitive user interface for beginners
- 💰 Paywall for full 19x19 board and some features
- 🤖 AI too strong for novice players

**Reported bugs**

- Illegal move detection issues on certain board positions
- Problems with missing variations or incorrect answers
- Inconsistent behavior when passing moves

**Requested features**

- Add read-only mode
- Improve move suggestion explanations
- Introduce difficulty settings for AI
- Integrate online play functionality
- Provide more randomness in AI moves


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chess ∙ free?

Chess ∙ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is SmartGo One free?

SmartGo One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Chess ∙ or SmartGo One?

SmartGo One is rated higher. Chess ∙ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 205K ratings, while SmartGo One averages 4.8 from 1.9K ratings.

### Do Chess ∙ or SmartGo One have ads?

Chess ∙ shows ads; SmartGo One does not.

### Which is updated more often, Chess ∙ or SmartGo One?

Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, and SmartGo One every 2 weeks. Most recently, Chess ∙ was updated on September 25, 2026 and SmartGo One on September 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*