Chess ∙ vs Chess Notation Trainer
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 Notation Trainer
Master chess squares and notation with this training app. Improve your ability to identify coordinates, translate moves, and visualize the board, even without one. Ideal for serious players looking to enhance calculation speed and chess understanding.
- Identify squares by coordinate
- Translate move sequences to notation
- Determine square color instantly
- Stay oriented on the board
- Follow chess tutorials without a board
- Speed up calculation
- Practice blind chess
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Serious about chess? But struggling to identify the squares, remembering sequences and follow chess notations? Well, you just landed on the perfect app! This training app is designed to dramatically uplift your mastery over chess squares. There are 5 training sessions. A small dose of regular practice will make you: 1. Spot a square as soon as you hear or see its coordinate 2. Translate a sequence of moves into their notation at ease 3. Immediately identify the color of a square 4. Stay oriented regardless of you facing white or black 5. Follow along with chess tutorials, books or any discussion without a board 6. Massively speedup your thought process on any calculation 7. Finally, start playing blind chess! Don't be surprised if you see a sudden surge of rating simply increasing your strength on square reading. The free version is already good enough to cause a major spike in your chess career. However, a one time purchase will unlock the full version which includes: - Extended time controls - Untimed practice mode - Milestones and achievements - Board assistance during training - And a complete visualization of your records There will be no ads, neither in the full version nor in the free one. Just a beautiful and satisfyingly addictive way to your square mastery. Caution: If you are rated below 1500, this app is probably not gonna be as useful for you, and tactics training is something you should prioritize.
Screenshots
Verdict
Chess ∙ and Chess Notation Trainer both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Chess Notation Trainer's written reviews are positive against 57% of Chess ∙'s. Chess Notation Trainer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 months). Chess ∙'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (205K vs 16). On price, rating 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
Both are free to download. Chess Notation Trainer 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 Chess Notation Trainer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 205K ratings behind it against 16, 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 100% of Chess Notation Trainer's.
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Chess Notation Trainer every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess ∙ | Chess Notation Trainer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (205K ratings) | 4.5 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 205K — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #81 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Optime Software LLC | Nishat Majid |
Customer experience
Chess ∙
Chess Notation Trainer
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 Notation Trainer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess ∙
No in-app purchases
Chess Notation Trainer
- Full Version$4.99
Questions
Is Chess ∙ free?
Is Chess Notation Trainer free?
Which has better reviews, Chess ∙ or Chess Notation Trainer?
Do Chess ∙ or Chess Notation Trainer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess ∙ or Chess Notation Trainer?
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