# Chess ∙ vs Chess Duel

The clearest difference is rating: Chess ∙ at 4.5 against Chess Duel's 3.3. Chess ∙ also leads on ratings volume (205K vs 7) and chart position (#73 vs unranked). Chess Duel's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Chess ∙ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 205K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 56% of Chess ∙'s written reviews are positive against 68% of Chess Duel's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Chess Duel every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chess ∙ | Chess Duel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (205K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess/id311395856/reviews)** | [3.3 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-duel/id905259249/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **205K** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | 56.5% of reviews | **67.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 months** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#73** | — |
| Size | 84 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | **9.3** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Optime Software LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/289278460) | [Lothar Heinrich](https://appshunter.io/developer/905259253) |

## What reviewers say

### Chess ∙

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess/id311395856)

**Currently charting:** #73 Top Free · Strategy, #100 Top Free · Board (US App Store)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fun to play everyday
- 👍 Good free game
- 👍 Nice little game
- 👍 Very good practice
- 👍 Addictive

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 AD crazy
- 🐛 Major glitches make the game impossible
- 🐛 Force draw
- 🐛 Issues, needs fixing but has potential
- 🐛 Disappearing Pieces

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


### Chess Duel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-duel/id905259249)

Engage in a classic game of chess with a friend using only a local WiFi connection. Each player views the board from their perspective on their own device. No internet or external servers are required for gameplay.

**Highlights:** Play chess with nearby friends, Direct peer-to-peer WiFi connection, Automatic WiFi connection, Automatic game resume, Legal move highlighting, Customizable chess clock, Request takebacks

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chess ∙ free?

Chess ∙ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Chess Duel free?

Chess Duel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Chess ∙ or Chess Duel?

Chess ∙ is rated higher. Chess ∙ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 205K ratings, while Chess Duel averages 3.3 from 7 ratings.

### Do Chess ∙ or Chess Duel have ads?

Chess ∙ shows ads; Chess Duel does not.

### Which is updated more often, Chess ∙ or Chess Duel?

Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, and Chess Duel every 5 months. Most recently, Chess ∙ was updated on October 19, 2026 and Chess Duel on October 13, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*