Comparison

Chess ∙ vs Glow Chess

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

Glow Chess

Engage in the classic strategy game with adjustable difficulty levels and helpful features. Practice tactics and strategy to become a Chess Master. Offers puzzles and a two-player mode for interactive play.

Highlights
  • 5 difficulty levels
  • Chess Puzzles
  • Game Assistant
  • Undo move
  • Hints
  • 2 player mode
Features
Read full description

Hi Players, As you know, Chess is one of the oldest strategy games in the world. Chess is an excellent board logic game that develops such skills as tactics, strategy and visual memory. I'm trying to create an application that allows a player of any level to enjoy the game. Play Chess, unlock levels and be Chess Master! Chess pieces: - The pawn moves to one field forward or two fields at the first move of this figure; beats diagonally to one field forward. - The king moves to one field in the vertical, horizontal or diagonal. - The queen moves to any distance vertically, horizontally or diagonally. - The rook moves to any distance vertically or horizontally. - The knight moves to the field two fields along the vertical and one horizontally or one field vertically and two horizontally. - The bishop moves to any distance diagonally. Important Chess situations: - Check - the situation in chess when a king is under immediate attack by opponent's pieces - Checkmate - the situation in chess when the player whose turn it is to move is in check and has no legal move to escape check. - Stalemate - the situation in chess when the player whose turn it is to move has no legal move and is not in check. (draw) The goal of the game is to checkmate the other king. Two special moves in Chess: - Castling is a double move, performed by the king and the rook that never moved. - En passant is a move in which a pawn can take an opponent's pawn if it jumps over a field under the pawn's blow. Features: - 5 levels of difficulty - Chess Puzzles - Game Assistant (Helper) - Ability to undo a move - Hints of moves - 2 player mode - Realistic graphics - Sound effects - Small size If you want to play good Chess, you can help me make the app better. Please write your feedback and suggestions here; I will read them and improve the quality of the application! Thank you.

Screenshots

Chess ∙4 screens
Glow Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess ∙ at none against Glow Chess's 1. Chess ∙ also leads on ratings volume (205K vs 39) and chart position (#92 vs unranked). Glow Chess's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, update cadence, 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. Glow Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess ∙ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Glow Chess 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 39, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Glow Chess every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Chess ∙ versus Glow Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess ∙Glow Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (205K ratings)4.8 (39 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings205K — better39
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#92 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOptime Software LLCPhuong Ta

Customer experience

Chess ∙

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

Glow Chess

All ratings24 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.3%

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

Glow Chess

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Chess ∙

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Glow Chess

One-time1
  • No Ads$3.99

Questions

Is Chess ∙ free?
Chess ∙ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Glow Chess free?
Glow Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess ∙ or Glow Chess?
Glow Chess is rated higher. Chess ∙ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 205K ratings, while Glow Chess averages 4.8 from 39 ratings.
Do Chess ∙ or Glow Chess have ads?
Both Chess ∙ and Glow Chess show ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess ∙ or Glow Chess?
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, and Glow Chess every 6 months. Most recently, Chess ∙ was updated on September 24, 2026 and Glow Chess on August 22, 2026.

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