# Go Books vs Learn with Forward Chess

The clearest difference is update cadence: Learn with Forward Chess at fortnightly against Go Books's every 2 months. Learn with Forward Chess also leads on ratings volume (340 vs 35). Go Books's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Go Books sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Learn with Forward Chess sells 70 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Go Books against 4.8 for Learn with Forward Chess. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Learn with Forward Chess has 340 ratings behind it against 35, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Go Books's written reviews are positive against 75% of Learn with Forward Chess's.

Go Books ships an update every 2 months, Learn with Forward Chess fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 21, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Go Books | Learn with Forward Chess |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (35 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/go-books/id428149193/reviews)** | [4.8 (340 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-with-forward-chess/id543005909/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 35 | **340** |
| Positive reviews | **80.6% of reviews** | 74.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 19 MB | 188 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 12.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Smart Go, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/290948289) | [Forward Chess, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/543005912) |

## What reviewers say

### Go Books

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/go-books/id428149193)

Access a vast library of high-quality digital books on the game of Go. Enhance your learning with interactive diagrams, note-taking, and adjustable layouts. Enjoy a superior reading experience compared to print, at a fraction of the cost.

**Highlights:** Interactive diagrams for move replay, Solve problems within diagrams, Inline diagrams in text, Add personal notes, Adjustable font and layout, Free chapter for each book

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "Double Digit Kyu Games" by Neil Moffatt | $5.99 | one-time |
| "Go: A Complete Introduction to the Game" by Cho Chikun | $5.99 | one-time |
| "How Not to Play Go" by Yuan Zhou | $5.99 | one-time |
| "So You Want to Play Go? - Level 1" by Jonathan Hop | $5.99 | one-time |
| "Learn to Play Go: A Step-By-Step Guide to the Game" by Janice Kim | $7.99 | one-time |
| "Learn to Play Go II: The Way of the Moving Horse" by Janice Kim | $7.99 | one-time |
| "Learn to Play Go III: The Dragon Style" by Janice Kim | $7.99 | one-time |
| "Basic Techniques of Go" by Haruyama & Nagahara | $9.99 | one-time |
| "Graded Go Problems for Beginners 1" by Kano Yoshinori | $9.99 | one-time |
| "Graded Go Problems 2" by Kano Yoshinori | $9.99 | one-time |
| "Fundamental Principles of Go" by Yilun Yang 7 dan | $11.99 | one-time |
| "Tesuji" by James Davies | $11.99 | one-time |


### Learn with Forward Chess

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-with-forward-chess/id543005909)

This app is an interactive reader for chess books, allowing users to play through chess lines directly within the book. It offers a vast in-app store with over 100 chess eBooks and a growing collection of opening theory periodicals via subscription.

**Highlights:** Interactive chess book reader, Play through chess lines, In-app chess eBook store, Subscription for opening theory, Tactics training

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (70)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| True Lies in Chess | Free | one-time |
| CHESS INSIGHT 01/2026 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Simple Attacking Plans | $9.99 | one-time |
| Simple Chess | $10.99 | one-time |
| The Power of Pawns | $12.99 | one-time |
| My System: FastTrack Edition | $12.99 | one-time |
| Play the Mackenzie! | $12.99 | one-time |
| 1001 Ways to Checkmate | $12.99 | one-time |
| My System | $13.99 | one-time |
| The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book | $14.99 | one-time |
| Openings for Amateurs | $14.99 | one-time |
| Modern Chess Strategy | $14.99 | one-time |
| Techniques of Positional Play: 45 Practical Methods | $15.99 | one-time |
| American Dream | $16.99 | one-time |
| Zurich Chess Tournament, 1953 | $16.99 | one-time |
| Chess Endgame Calculation 1 | $16.99 | one-time |
| Chess Strategy for Club Players | $16.99 | one-time |
| 100 Endgames You Must Know | $17.99 | one-time |
| Capablanca the Great Minimalist 1 | $17.99 | one-time |
| Attacking Chess for Club Players | $17.99 | one-time |
| Openings for Amateurs - Vol. 3 | $17.99 | one-time |
| Capablancas Best Chess Endings | $17.99 | one-time |
| The Most Instructive Games | $17.99 | one-time |
| Improve Your Chess Pattern Recognition | $17.99 | one-time |
| Steps to Giant Improvement | $19.99 | one-time |
| Perpetual Chess Improvement | $19.99 | one-time |
| Playing 1.e4 e5 - A Classical Repertoire | $19.99 | one-time |
| Amateur to IM | $19.99 | one-time |
| The Complete Manual of Positional Chess | $19.99 | one-time |
| Chess Tactics from Scratch | $19.99 | one-time |
| COR: The London System | $19.99 | one-time |
| Attacking the English/Reti | $19.99 | one-time |
| COR: Accelerated Dragon | $19.99 | one-time |
| Mastering Chess Exchanges | $19.99 | one-time |
| Study on Your Own Workbook 3 | $19.99 | one-time |
| OR: Strategic Play with 1 e4 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Playing 1.d4 d5 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Reimagining 1.e4 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Beating the QG – Indian Style! | $19.99 | one-time |
| Endgame Studies You Must Know | $19.99 | one-time |
| Pawn Endgames | $19.99 | one-time |
| 100 Tactical Patterns | $19.99 | one-time |
| 100 Tactical Patterns Workbook | $19.99 | one-time |
| Drill Your Chess Strategy! | $19.99 | one-time |
| Thinking Inside the Box - Grandmaster Preparation | $19.99 | one-time |
| Chess Imbalances - a GM Guide | $21.99 | one-time |
| The Modernized Colle-Zukertort | $21.99 | one-time |
| Ding Liren's Best Games | $22.99 | one-time |
| Winning Chess Middlegames 2 | $22.99 | one-time |
| Dream Moves | $22.99 | one-time |
| Rock Solid Chess: Volume 3 | $22.99 | one-time |
| Positional Decision Making in Chess | $23.99 | one-time |
| Pump Up Your Rating | $23.99 | one-time |
| Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide | $23.99 | one-time |
| The Woodpecker Method | $23.99 | one-time |
| Mastering Chess Defence | $23.99 | one-time |
| Associative Thinking | $23.99 | one-time |
| The Philosopher&the Housewife | $23.99 | one-time |
| The Real Paul Morphy | $23.99 | one-time |
| 50 Mistakes You Should Know | $23.99 | one-time |
| The Woodpecker Method 2 | $23.99 | one-time |
| Chess Informant 158 | $24.99 | one-time |
| A Killer Guide to Attacking Chess | $25.99 | one-time |
| School of Future Champions 1 | $25.99 | one-time |
| Chess Informant 161 | $26.99 | one-time |
| Vasily Smyslov: Volume II | $27.99 | one-time |
| Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual | $27.99 | one-time |
| Akiba Rubinstein (UCC Series) | $29.99 | one-time |
| Pushing Horizons | $29.99 | one-time |
| OR for Black after 1...e6 | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app for chess-book lovers
- 🚀 Easy to follow or analyze moves with the implemented chessboard
- 👍 Simple and effective interface
- 👍 Great to use on mobile device
- 👍 Larger board and text than Chessable

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Books are a little expensive for digital purchases
- 🐛 App crashes or freezes occasionally
- 🐛 Loses user's place when reopening the app
- 🐛 Buggy when navigating between libraries and books
- 🐛 Analysis engine sometimes doesn't recognize castling possibilities

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues when changing devices
- Books not properly filing into libraries
- App crashing when trying to add books to libraries
- Losing current position when switching between full screen and normal view
- Inconsistent behavior when navigating through a book

**Requested features**

- Allow users to upload their own book PDFs
- Implement spaced repetition learning program within books
- Improve search and filtering options in the book store
- Add more language support beyond English books
- Provide better syncing of purchases across devices


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Go Books free?

Go Books is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Learn with Forward Chess free?

Learn with Forward Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Go Books or Learn with Forward Chess?

Go Books is rated higher. Go Books averages 4.9 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while Learn with Forward Chess averages 4.8 from 340 ratings.

### Do Go Books or Learn with Forward Chess have ads?

Neither Go Books nor Learn with Forward Chess shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Go Books or Learn with Forward Chess?

Go Books ships an update every 2 months, and Learn with Forward Chess fortnightly. Most recently, Go Books was updated on October 21, 2026 and Learn with Forward Chess on October 21, 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.*