Chess ∙ vs Chess By Post Premium
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.
Chess By Post Premium
Engage in correspondence chess with friends or random opponents. Improve your skills with rated matches, chess puzzles, and detailed game analysis. Enjoy features like push notifications, head-to-head stats, and an interactive move history explorer.
- Correspondence chess
- Rated matches
- Chess puzzles
- Skill-based matchmaking
- Game analysis
- Move history explorer
- Local hand-off games
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*** Note there is also a free version of Chess By Post that is ad-supported. This paid version has no advertisements *** Play correspondence chess with real people! Challenge your friends to friendly games or play ranked matches against random opponents of similar skill levels. Play as many simultaneous games as your want! Automatic push notifications will let you know when you have moves waiting! Improve your ranking by playing ranked games against comparable opponents. Skill ranking updates using the classic Elo rating system to adjust your rank when you win or lose. A leader board view shows you how you compare to the top players. Chess By Post is perfect for players of all skill levels because your matched opponent's skill level will be adapted based on your own skill level. Create a local hand-off game and play your friend by passing the phone back and forth. Play against a computer opponent that adjusts difficulty to match your skill level. Improve your skills by playing a practically endless set of rated chess puzzles. Features: --------- -Tracks your skill level over time -Matches you with similar skilled opponents -Practice chess puzzles to improve your game -End game analysis shows you the critical mistakes made by each player -Head to head stats -Move History Statistics - Explore the moves of every game you ever played with an interactive board explorer -Freely move pieces to plan strategies -Take notes on games to remember strategies -In-game chat message board -In-game move histories for easy review -Ratings leader board -Local hand-off games can be played offline -Play games against a computer opponent with varied skill levels
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess ∙ at Free against Chess By Post Premium's $2.99. Chess ∙ also leads on ratings volume (205K vs 41). Chess By Post Premium's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (83% vs 57%). On update cadence, in-app purchases, chart position 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
Chess ∙ is free to download; Chess By Post Premium costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Chess By Post Premium holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 205K ratings behind it against 41, 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 83% of Chess By Post Premium's.
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Chess By Post Premium every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess ∙ | Chess By Post Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (205K ratings) | 4.7 (41 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.9% of reviews | 82.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 205K — better | 41 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #83 — better | #187 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 12.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Optime Software LLC | Games By Post LLC |
Customer experience
Chess ∙
Chess By Post Premium
User reviews
Chess ∙
From 205K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fun to play everyday
- 👍 Good free game
- 👍 Nice little game
- 👍 Very good practice
- 👍 Addictive
Room to improve
- 🐛 AD crazy
- 🐛 Major glitches make the game impossible
- 🐛 Force draw
- 🐛 Issues, needs fixing but has potential
- 🐛 Disappearing Pieces
Chess By Post Premium
From 41 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and easy to navigate
- 👍 Clean, no-frills design
- 👍 Good for casual games
- 👍 Cross-platform compatibility
- 👍 User-friendly interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 Games don't update quickly
- 🐛 Inability to start rated games against friends
- 🐛 Chat deletes apostrophes
- 🐛 Rating system inflated compared to official ratings
- 🐛 Post-game analysis may miss obvious blunders
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
Chess By Post Premium
Reported bugs
16 issues- Can't log in after phone update
- Games don't update for days
- Chat deletes apostrophes
- Post-game analysis misses obvious blunders
- Windows version exports non-English PGN
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- Material advantage display is inconsistent
- Puzzle ratings don't sync between devices
- Accidental move commits due to button placement
- Notifications stopped coming (iPhone SE, iOS 13.6)
- No notification after opponent's move (banner, sticker, sound)
- No notification when it's opponent's turn
- App crashes since iOS 7
- Stalemate rule is automatic, not player's choice
- No way to report or block offensive players
- No way to leave feedback about other players
- Cheaters are increasing, no reporting option
Requested features
16 requests- Option to choose time controls (1-5 days per move)
- Display next position when it's my turn
- View opponent's completed games
- Search games by ECO
- Start rated games against friends
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- Swipe left to go to the next game
- Block function for offensive players
- Option to disable vibrate when another player makes a move on a different game
- Ability to view games of better players
- More customization for board and pieces
- Ability to swipe left and right between other open games
- Make app universal for iPad
- Add email functionality for PGN files
- Allow players to choose sides when rematching
- More board and piece customization options
- Ability to save lines tried on the demonstration board
In-app purchases
Chess ∙
No in-app purchases
Chess By Post Premium
No in-app purchases
