Comparison

HIARCS Chess vs Immortal Chess

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HIARCS Chess

This app offers a powerful chess engine for playing, analyzing, and learning chess. It provides adjustable difficulty levels and coaching features to help players of all abilities improve their game. Analyze professional games and track your progress with an Elo rating.

Highlights
  • World Championship winning chess engine
  • Adjustable playing strengths and styles
  • Advanced coaching features
  • Elo rating tracking
  • PGN database support
  • Large tournament book
  • Multiple playing modes
Features
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HIARCS is a multiple World Championship winning chess program and the only handheld chess program in the world which has won matches and tournaments with Grandmasters. It twice won the Mercusor Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina ahead of Grandmasters with a performance of 2900 Elo, the best chess performance rating for any handheld device in history. In 1997 the World's strongest ever human chess player, Garry Kasparov, said "HIARCS is much better positionally than Deep Blue" and even the current World champion, Vishy Anand, in a recent interview when asked what chess program he uses to analyse with said "generally I use HIARCS". This power enables your iPhone to play chess like a super Grandmaster, analyse games and chess problems with you, or play at whatever weakened chess strength you want from beginner to GM strength while offering numerous features to help you learn and improve as you play with HIARCS. An advanced set of coaching features helps players of all strengths improve their chess play. HIARCS Chess has a full range of realistic weaker opponent strengths and playing styles catering for players of all abilities from absolute beginners to Grandmasters. On the weaker playing levels HIARCS will make human-like mistakes appropriate to the level of play and this together with the integrated coach advice, assessments and alerts allow you to learn and improve quickly. HIARCS also monitors your chess performance and provides you with an Elo chess rating which tracks your chess ability in every game. It can continuously adjust its playing strength to give you challenging but beatable opponents as you improve. HIARCS Chess will save battery life by using much less energy on the weaker levels, allowing more playing time on long journeys etc. HIARCS Chess supports PGN chess game databases and has all the games between Fischer & Spassky and Kasparov & Karpov for you to play through and enjoy. HIARCS has a large tournament book which is up to date with chess theory with over 235,000 variations. The book moves are displayed on screen with chess symbols and the opening variations are named and ECO coded. Key features: + Strongest chess program on iPhone and iPod Touch, genuine strong GM-level performance + Suitable for all players from absolute beginners to strong Grandmasters with many handicap levels and opponents styles and advanced coaching + Intuitive and friendly user interface with multiple high quality pieces set, colour schemes and icons including high res support for iPhone 4 and 5 retina displays + Multiple playing modes: play white, black, both sides in two player mode, continuous analysis and interactive replay + Fully adjustable Elo strengths, adaptive levels and multiple playing levels and opponents + All levels below maximum are low energy to increase battery life + Rates your chess play and gives you an Elo rating which is updated after each game + Advanced coach can provide move options, give hints, indicate move safety and quality highlights and watch your play and warn about mistakes + Transfer PGN databases to/from HIARCS chess via iTunes file sharing, email games and PGN DBs from HIARCS + Launch HIARCS from PGN email attachments + Load, save or delete games to/from PGN databases + Set up or edit a position to analyse or play from + Advanced game navigation with game move slider and VCR buttons for rapid and precise game navigation + Many selectable preset blitz, incremental and average time clock settings for timed play + Large HIARCS tournament opening book as used by the professionals! + Permanent brain for enhanced playing strength + Numerous chess display functions for showing chess moves, analysis, book moves, coach advice, move quality even legal moves, offer draws or resign + 8 Piece sets and 9 colour schemes + Integrated Html manual and help screens A discount coupon is included with a $10 USD discount on other HIARCS products on Mac and PC from www.hiarcs.com.

About

Immortal Chess

Features
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CHESS WITH MAGIC Immortal Chess keeps the strategy and rules of classic chess, then expands every match with classes, Mana, spells, traps and unique abilities. Every chess move grants Mana, giving you the power to transform pieces, control the board, disrupt your opponent and create positions that could never exist in ordinary chess. CHOOSE YOUR CLASS Play as one of nine distinct classes: • Inquisitor • Champion • Sentinel • Disruptor • Cultist • Monarch • Strider • Necromancer • Mage Each class offers its own spells, passive ability, strengths and playstyle. Classes are alternatives, not upgrades—victory still depends on strategy, timing and how well you use the board. EVERY MATCH PLAYS DIFFERENTLY Spells expand chess rather than replace it. Familiar openings can evolve into entirely new positions, while every move forces you to balance traditional chess strategy against Mana, abilities and threats. PLAY YOUR WAY • Compete in ranked online matches • Play across supported PC and mobile platforms • Practice against AI opponents • Experiment with different classes and strategies • Climb the global leaderboard • Customize your game with cosmetic boards and pieces FAIR COMPETITION Immortal Chess is free to play. You start with one free class and enough Essence to unlock at least one more class of your choice, or two lower-cost classes. This means you can begin with multiple playstyles and find the ones that suit you best. Additional classes can be unlocked with Essence earned by playing or purchased in the shop. Classes are different playstyles, not upgrades, and purchases never increase spell strength or provide direct competitive advantages.

Screenshots

HIARCS Chess4 screens
Immortal Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Immortal Chess at Free against HIARCS Chess's $9.99. Immortal Chess also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 3 months). HIARCS Chess's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Immortal Chess is free to download; HIARCS Chess costs $9.99 up front. Immortal Chess sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. HIARCS Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HIARCS Chess ships an update every 3 months, Immortal Chess daily. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
HIARCS Chess versus Immortal Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHIARCS ChessImmortal Chess
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (205 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings205 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB350 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperApplied Computer Concepts Ltd.Arcane Square Games

Bugs and requests

HIARCS Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on certain iOS versions
  • Discount codes not working
  • Issues with hotspot mode

Requested features

5 requests
  • PGN import/export functionality
  • Advanced database navigation (next/previous game)
  • Endgame tablebase support
  • Improved UI/UX for modern devices
  • More customization options

Immortal Chess

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

HIARCS Chess

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Immortal Chess

One-time9
  • Essence Pack$0.99
  • Sigil Bundle$1.99
  • Essence Bundle$2.99
Show 6 more
  • Founder's Spark$4.99
  • Essence Nexus$6.99
  • Founder's Sigil$9.99
  • Founder's Crest$14.99
  • Essence Vault$19.99
  • Founder's Legacy$24.99

Questions

Is HIARCS Chess free?
HIARCS Chess costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Immortal Chess free?
Immortal Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do HIARCS Chess or Immortal Chess have ads?
Neither HIARCS Chess nor Immortal Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HIARCS Chess or Immortal Chess?
HIARCS Chess ships an update every 3 months, and Immortal Chess daily. Most recently, HIARCS Chess was updated on October 31, 2026 and Immortal Chess on October 25, 2026.

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