Comparison

Chess ∙ vs Chess Opener Lite

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 1 and 2 player gameplay
  • Challenging computer opponent
  • Great graphics and sound
  • Configurable difficulty
  • Undo function
  • Automatic save
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Chess Opener Lite

Master chess openings with an interactive trainer and comprehensive database. Build and memorize your own repertoire, compare variations, and track your progress. Works offline and offers extensive opening exploration.

Highlights
  • Chess opening tree with game statistics
  • Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO)
  • Build and edit opening repertoire
  • Interactive opening trainer
  • Offline functionality
  • PGN export
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Features: - Chess opening tree with game statistics - The Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO) - Compare ECO and opening tree moves side by side in any position - Export chess openings in PGN format - Build your own opening repertoire - Add or edit comments on moves - Automatically classify any sequence of moves using the ECO system - Chess opening explorer highlights moves already in your repertoire - Chess database includes all transpositions - Interactive trainer to memorize your chess openings and variations - Train multiple variations at once against random opponent moves from your repertoire - Set up a starting position for training - Track your training progress - Customize chessboard colors and chess pieces - Supports dark mode - Works completely offline CHESS OPENING EXPLORER Search in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings or browse the chess opening tree. Swipe left or right to switch between the exploration features in any position. BUILD YOUR OPENING REPERTOIRE Add your favorite opening lines to your repertoire using the chess opening explorer. You can always edit the names of your openings and organize them in your repertoire. OPENING TRAINER A simple and efficient method to memorize variations of openings in your repertoire. You can train either white’s moves or black’s moves only or both. Optionally, you can train all variations at once. The trainer chooses the opponent’s moves randomly from your opening repertoire. Chess Opener tracks your progress and shows your stats. Upgrade to Chess Opener PRO to unlock more features: - Unlimited repertoire size - Unlimited depth of openings - 6x larger opening tree with game statistics - Database of top 100+ grandmasters’ repertoires - Powerful chess engine analysis - Import openings in PGN format

Screenshots

Chess ∙4 screens
Chess Opener Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess Opener Lite at none against Chess ∙'s shown. Chess Opener Lite also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Chess ∙'s advantage is rating (4.5 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (207K vs 17). On price, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess ∙ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 207K ratings behind it against 17, 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 43% of Chess Opener Lite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Chess Opener Lite every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Chess ∙ versus Chess Opener Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess ∙Chess Opener Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (207K ratings) — better4.1 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews56.3% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings207K — better17
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
Best chart rank#57 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOptime Software LLCStanislav Basovnik

Customer experience

Chess ∙

All ratings204,953 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral5.4%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews2,611 reviews
Positive56.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative36.7%

Chess Opener Lite

All ratings17 ratings
Positive76.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative23.5%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative57.1%

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
Show 5 more
  • 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
Show 1 more
  • Ability to turn off draw by stalemate rule

Chess Opener Lite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Chess ∙

No in-app purchases

None

Chess Opener Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess ∙ free?
Chess ∙ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Opener Lite free?
Chess Opener Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess ∙ or Chess Opener Lite?
Chess ∙ is rated higher. Chess ∙ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 207K ratings, while Chess Opener Lite averages 4.1 from 17 ratings.
Do Chess ∙ or Chess Opener Lite have ads?
Chess ∙ shows ads; Chess Opener Lite does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess ∙ or Chess Opener Lite?
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, and Chess Opener Lite every 5 weeks. Most recently, Chess ∙ was updated on October 31, 2026 and Chess Opener Lite on October 24, 2026.

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