Chess ∙ vs Next Chess Move
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.
Next Chess Move
This application provides a powerful chess move calculator utilizing advanced engines like Stockfish 17.1 directly on your device. It also offers free access to numerous other engines running on remote hardware, with an optional upgrade for enhanced calculation strength and access to powerful servers and GPUs.
- On-device Stockfish 17.1
- Free remote engine access
- Large selection of chess engines
- Optional Pro upgrade
- Access to powerful cloud hardware
- GPU acceleration for LcZero
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NCM is a powerful chess calculator that runs Stockfish 17.1 directly on your device. The app also includes free access to a growing list of engines running on NCM's remote single core CPU hardware: • Stockfish latest official releases and development builds • Lc0 (all official networks and several contrib networks) • Alexandria • Arasan • asmFish • Berserk • Black Marlin • Caissa • Cfish • Clover • Combusken • CorChess • Counter • Defenchess • Demolito • Devre • Ethereal • Fire • Frozenight • GNU Chess • Halogen • Horsie • Igel • Koivisto • Laser • Mantissa • Marvin • Minic • Nalwald • Nemorino • Obsidian • OpenTal • Patricia • Pawn • PlentyChess • Rice • RubiChess • Seer • ShashChess • Smallbrain • Starzix • Stash • Stormphrax • Sunfish • Tucano • Vajolet2 • Velvet • Viridithas • Wasp • Weiss • Winter • Xiphos • Zahak The optional NCM Pro in-app purchase provides one year access to powerful hardware and features that significantly enhance the strength of calculations: • Ryzen 7950X 16 CPU-core servers • RTX 2080 GPUs for LcZero • 6-man syzygy tablebases on SSD drives
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess ∙ at Free against Next Chess Move's $2.99. Chess ∙ also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (205K vs 124). Next Chess Move's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (76% vs 57%). On rating, 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; Next Chess Move costs $2.99 up front. Next Chess Move sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess ∙ asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Chess ∙ against 4.5 for Next Chess Move. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 205K ratings behind it against 124, 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 76% of Next Chess Move's.
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Next Chess Move monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess ∙ | Next Chess Move |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (205K ratings) | 4.5 (124 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.9% of reviews | 76.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 205K — better | 124 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #66 | #61 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 131 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Optime Software LLC | Next Chess Move LLC |
Customer experience
Chess ∙
Next Chess Move
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
Next Chess Move
From 124 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great tool for analysis
- 👍 Helpful for learning chess
- 👍 Strongest engines available
- 👍 Improves game understanding
- 👍 Convenient mobile access
Room to improve
- 🐛 Neglected and buggy mess
- 🐛 Critical bugs break game
- 🐛 Outdated and poorly maintained UI
- 🐛 Feels abandoned while charging
- 🐛 Waste of money
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
Next Chess Move
Reported bugs
18 issues- Critical bugs that break the game (e.g., same color pieces moving consecutively)
- App doesn't turn on
- Update has challenges
- Cannot play anything
- LC0 version 0.30 with Networks Family T81 causes 'engine disconnected' error
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- App is pretty buggy
- App decides to delete a piece randomly
- Subscription is gone after payment
- No option to restore purchase
- Every move suggested is a blunder
- Error response most of the time
- App crushes when copying or pasting PGN
- Illegal move issues with PGN/FEN
- Castling not handled correctly in PGN
- Algorithm inconsistency (doesn't play the same move for the exact same play)
- Login doesn't work for extra servers
- UI could be better
- Cannot find an option to delete saved games
Requested features
34 requests- Fix critical bugs
- Update UI
- Release a proper update
- Maintain the app properly
- Update to current stockfish 17
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- Add self-play mode with different engines
- Add Komodo latest version
- Fix LC0 issues with T81 network family
- Show a few candidate options
- Add feature to use screenshot/photo of board
- Add arrow or directional lines for best move
- Make it more didactic
- Add premium features for paid users
- Add option to play engine vs engine
- Add some themes
- Add analysis arrows
- Copy full PGN when playing engine vs engine
- Add database for openings for free
- Add iPad version
- Allow landscape format on iPad
- Increase analysis time beyond 30 seconds
- Add option to switch turns after calculating a move
- Improve ergonomics
- Name boards and show names
- Add instructions on how to use
- Option to delete saved games
- Improve UI
- Handle illegal moves and castling correctly in PGN/FEN
- Allow castling
- Add feedback and suggestions
- Cut and paste FEN
- Automatic play of calculated move
- Print positions after moves or games
- Flip board only for current board
In-app purchases
Chess ∙
No in-app purchases
Next Chess Move
- NCM Pro$18.99
Questions
Is Chess ∙ free?
Is Next Chess Move free?
Which has better reviews, Chess ∙ or Next Chess Move?
Do Chess ∙ or Next Chess Move have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess ∙ or Next Chess Move?
Which is more popular, Chess ∙ or Next Chess Move?
Other comparisons
