Comparison

Shredder Chess Lite vs Real Chess 3D

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

Head to head
About

Shredder Chess Lite

Play chess against a world champion program that mimics human play and makes mistakes at lower levels. Solve puzzles, track your progress, and get advice to improve your game. Features adjustable difficulty and a built-in coach.

Highlights
  • Adjustable playing strength
  • 100 built-in chess puzzles
  • Coach warns of mistakes
  • Elo rating calculation
  • Opening book with over 1 million moves
  • Two player mode
Features
Read full description

Shredder, the most successful chess program ever, is now also available for the iPhone. You can play against Shredder and solve chess puzzles. It offers the usual Shredder standard for your pocket. The 12 times computer chess world champion Shredder is able to mimic the play of a human chess player with any playing strength. He even deliberately makes typical human mistakes in those levels. Solve 100 built in chess puzzles. Shredder keeps track of your performance and offers advice if needed. You can adjust Shredder’s playing strength and, if you like, Shredder automatically adjusts his strength to yours. He even calculates an Elo rating for you. This is how the playing strength of chess players is typically measured. During the game a coach is watching your moves and warns you if you are about to make a mistake. See how you are getting better and better the more games you play and the more chess puzzles you solve. Shredder Chess Lite features: * Adjustable playing strength * Intuitive and very easy to operate * 100 built in chess puzzles * See your rating in a diagram * Coach shows your mistakes * Great variety: opening book with more than one million moves * Load and save games (incl. names, date, etc.) * Different chess boards and pieces * two player mode / enter moves * Learn the name of the opening you are playing * Accessibility / VoiceOver support * Improve your play whenever and wherever you like 'Shredder Chess Lite' is a fully-functional version of 'Shredder Chess' for casual chess players. If you are an active player, need more features or simply want the best you should take a look at our pro version 'Shredder Chess'. Here is what you will additionally get in our pro version: * The strongest chess engine for the iPhone * Can be set to outstanding playing strength * 1000 built in chess puzzles * Send games via email * Different playing styles from passive to aggressive * Enter and analyze any position you like * Analyse your games with Shredder, find your mistakes and improve your play * 10 USD discount coupon for Shredder 13 Mac/Win on shredderchess.com

About

Real Chess 3D

Experience chess in stunning 3D graphics. Play against friends or the CPU with adjustable difficulty. Learn new strategies with interactive tutorials and customize your game's appearance. Save your progress and undo moves for a seamless experience.

Highlights
  • 3D graphics
  • Single player vs CPU
  • Pass n Play with friends
  • 4 difficulty levels
  • Customizable board and pieces
  • Interactive tutorials
  • Undo last move
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Play Chess in immersive 3D graphics. Challenge your friends in Pass n Play mode or play against the CPU. Learn Chess with interactive tutorials that teach you various moves and strategies. Customize the look and feel of your game by choosing the chessboard, pieces, checkers, and table. Tap on a piece to select it, then tap on the desired target square to make your move. FEATURES: • Single Player vs CPU • Pass n Play with friends • 4 difficulty levels • Customizable board and pieces • Relaxing music • Learn Chess section • Undo last move • 3 save slots Simple to play, hard to master, challenge your skills and have endless fun! So what are you waiting for? Download now for Free! Find out more about EivaaGames: https://www.eivaagames.com A big THANK YOU to everyone who’s played Real Chess 3D!

Screenshots

Shredder Chess Lite4 screens
Real Chess 3D4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Real Chess 3D at 4.7 against Shredder Chess Lite's 4.0. Real Chess 3D also leads on ratings volume (163K vs 20) and chart position (#125 vs unranked). Shredder Chess Lite's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Real Chess 3D sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shredder Chess Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Real Chess 3D holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Real Chess 3D has 163K ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Shredder Chess Lite's written reviews are positive against 74% of Real Chess 3D's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shredder Chess Lite ships an update every 7 months, Real Chess 3D every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Shredder Chess Lite versus Real Chess 3D: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShredder Chess LiteReal Chess 3D
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (20 ratings)4.7 (163K ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.9% of reviews — better73.8% of reviews
Number of ratings20163K — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 months — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#125 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB104 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEiko Bleicher, Skizzix.comSailendu Behera

Customer experience

Shredder Chess Lite

All ratings20 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews166 reviews
Positive78.9%
Neutral5.4%
Negative15.7%

Real Chess 3D

All ratings159,465 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral4.6%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews1,684 reviews
Positive73.8%
Neutral8.7%
Negative17.6%

User reviews

Shredder Chess Lite

From 20 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Clean, simple, and intuitive user interface
  • 🎮 Excellent adaptive difficulty that adjusts to player skill level
  • 🧠 Strong chess engine with intelligent gameplay
  • 📚 Comprehensive puzzle collection for learning
  • 💰 Free version with substantial features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Illegal chess moves by computer player
  • 📱 Not optimized for newer iPhone screen sizes
  • 🎮 Inconsistent endgame performance
  • ❌ App crashes and freezing issues
  • 🔧 Compatibility problems with iOS updates

Real Chess 3D

From 163K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Excellent graphics and visuals
  • 🎢 Smooth and responsive gameplay
  • 🎮 Customizable board and pieces
  • 🧠 Challenging AI opponents
  • 🕹️ Offline play against CPU

Room to improve

  • 🎢 Huge difficulty spike between Easy and Normal modes
  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
  • 💰 Excessive ads in free version
  • 🔄 Repetitive CPU moves in some situations
  • 🔒 Inability to choose color (play as Black)

Bugs and requests

Shredder Chess Lite

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Pawns moving sideways or diagonally without capturing
  • Pawns captured by opponent pawns when not adjacent
  • Illegal moves allowed by computer player
  • App crashes on iOS 8 and later versions
  • App won't open or load on startup
Show 6 more
  • Freezing after puzzle completion
  • Crashes when accessing advanced settings
  • Game crashes every second or third game on OS4
  • Incompatibility with iPhone 3GS and older devices
  • Checkmate detection errors
  • Puzzle mode incorrectly marking valid moves as invalid

Requested features

10 requests
  • Full screen optimization for modern iPhones
  • Time delay option before computer moves
  • Multiplayer mode for human vs human play
  • HD/universal app for iPad compatibility
  • Detailed explanations for puzzle solutions
Show 5 more
  • Higher difficulty levels in free version
  • Alternative board colors (red pieces option)
  • Dynamic hints like Fritz offers
  • Better endgame analysis
  • Improved board and piece design for clarity

Real Chess 3D

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Pieces not moving as per chess rules
  • Game freezes or crashes unexpectedly
  • Incorrect stalemate/draw conditions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Online multiplayer mode
  • More gradual difficulty curve
  • Customizable time controls
  • Ability to save and review past games
  • Wider selection of board/piece themes

In-app purchases

None

Shredder Chess Lite

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Real Chess 3D

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$3.99

Questions

Is Shredder Chess Lite free?
Shredder Chess Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Real Chess 3D free?
Real Chess 3D is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shredder Chess Lite or Real Chess 3D?
Real Chess 3D is rated higher. Shredder Chess Lite averages 4.0 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Real Chess 3D averages 4.7 from 163K ratings.
Do Shredder Chess Lite or Real Chess 3D have ads?
Real Chess 3D shows ads; Shredder Chess Lite does not.
Which is updated more often, Shredder Chess Lite or Real Chess 3D?
Shredder Chess Lite ships an update every 7 months, and Real Chess 3D every 8 months. Most recently, Shredder Chess Lite was updated on November 1, 2026 and Real Chess 3D on November 10, 2026.

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