Comparison

Chess ∙ vs Chess Prep Pro Openings

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 Prep Pro Openings

Master chess openings by building custom repertoires and training your memory. Analyze opponent moves, discover blind spots, and utilize an advanced engine for in-depth preparation. Expand your knowledge with downloadable repertoires and import/export PGNs.

Highlights
  • Custom chess opening repertoires
  • Repertoire training and memory sharpening
  • Blind spot finder against player games
  • Chess openings player database
  • Advanced StockFish engine analysis
  • Downloadable and importable repertoires
Features
Read full description

Master chess openings: Build chess opening repertoires & memorise your openings.Chess Prep Pro is the ultimate chess openings app, designed to perfect your openings and elevate your game through custom chess opening repertoire creation and training. How does it work? Chess Prep Pro allows you to create your own custom chess openings repertoires, and prepare for any opponent move. A chess opening repertoire is an opening plan that contains player responses for opponent moves in the opening phase of the game. With a chess opening repertoire, you will not be left scrambling to find the best move during a real game, as you will already remember the best move from studying and practicing your repertoire. Discover Chess Prep Pro's Features: - Custom Chess Opening Repertoires: Build unlimited custom repertoires for any chess opening. Add as many moves and variations as you need to be prepared for every game. - Repertoire Training: Sharpen your memory with chess opening repertoire training. The app challenges your memory with random positions from your opening repertoire, tracking your progress and helping you master every move. - Blind Spot Finder: Stay ahead of your opponents with our blind spot finder feature that analyses your chess openings repertoire against billions of player games, identifying the most likely opponent moves that you did not prepare for. - Chess openings player database: You can use a player openings database that contains billions of moves to find out the most likely opponent move to prepare for. - Advanced Engine: Utilize the latest StockFish engine for in-depth analysis and uncover the best responses to any situation on the board. - Downloadable opening repertoires: Expand your opening knowledge with an ever-growing library of specially created and sourced opening repertoires, curated for your success. - Import / Export: Easily import and export PGNs to and from the app. You can even import liches studies. Master your chess openings now !

Screenshots

Chess ∙4 screens
Chess Prep Pro Openings4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess ∙ at none against Chess Prep Pro Openings's 3. Chess ∙ also leads on ratings volume (205K vs 20) and chart position (#84 vs unranked). Chess Prep Pro Openings's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (74% vs 57%). 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. Chess Prep Pro Openings sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 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 — 4.5 for Chess ∙ against 4.5 for Chess Prep Pro Openings. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 205K ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Chess ∙'s written reviews are positive against 74% of Chess Prep Pro Openings's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Chess Prep Pro Openings fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Chess ∙ versus Chess Prep Pro Openings: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess ∙Chess Prep Pro Openings
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (205K ratings)4.5 (20 ratings)
Positive reviews56.9% of reviews73.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings205K — better20
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#84 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB213 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOptime Software LLCTomasz Bogun

Customer experience

Chess ∙

All ratings204,953 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral5.4%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews2,579 reviews
Positive56.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative36.1%

Chess Prep Pro Openings

All ratings20 ratings
Positive85.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral4.3%
Negative21.7%

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 Prep Pro Openings

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Chess ∙

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Chess Prep Pro Openings

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly premium subscription$3.991 Month
  • Yearly premium$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$59.99

Questions

Is Chess ∙ free?
Chess ∙ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Prep Pro Openings free?
Chess Prep Pro Openings is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess ∙ or Chess Prep Pro Openings?
Chess ∙ and Chess Prep Pro Openings are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 205K and 20 ratings respectively.
Do Chess ∙ or Chess Prep Pro Openings have ads?
Both Chess ∙ and Chess Prep Pro Openings show ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess ∙ or Chess Prep Pro Openings?
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, and Chess Prep Pro Openings fortnightly. Most recently, Chess ∙ was updated on September 25, 2026 and Chess Prep Pro Openings on September 22, 2026.

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