Comparison

Chess By Post vs Lazy Chess

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

Head to head
About

Chess By Post

Engage in correspondence chess with others worldwide. Challenge friends or compete in ranked matches against similarly skilled players. The app offers automatic notifications for pending moves and tracks your progress with an Elo rating system.

Highlights
  • Correspondence chess
  • Ranked matches
  • Skill-based matchmaking
  • Chess puzzles
  • End game analysis
  • Move history explorer
  • Local hand-off games
Features
Read full description

Play correspondence chess with real people! Challenge your friends to friendly games or play ranked matches against random opponents of similar skill levels. Play as many simultaneous games as your want! Automatic push notifications will let you know when you have moves waiting! Improve your ranking by playing ranked games against comparable opponents. Skill ranking updates using the classic Elo rating system to adjust your rank when you win or lose. A leader board view shows you how you compare to the top players. Chess By Post is perfect for players of all skill levels because your matched opponent's skill level will be adapted based on your own skill level. Create a local hand-off game and play your friend by passing the phone back and forth. Play against a computer opponent that adjusts difficulty to match your skill level. Improve your skills by playing rated chess puzzles. Features: --------- -Tracks your skill level over time -Matches you with similar skilled opponents -Practice chess puzzles to improve your game -End game analysis shows you the critical mistakes made by each player -Head to head stats -Move History Statistics - Explore the moves of every game you ever played with an interactive board explorer -Freely move pieces to plan strategies -Take notes on games to remember strategies -In-game chat message board -In-game move histories for easy review -Ratings leader board -Local hand-off games can be played offline -Play games against a computer opponent with varied skill levels -Alphanumeric grid display

About

Lazy Chess

This chess game offers a unique twist by presenting players with only two AI-selected moves to choose from each turn. It's designed for both casual players and enthusiasts, making chess more accessible and fun. Compete against AI or friends, unlock new themes, and improve your skills through unique scenarios.

Highlights
  • Choose from two AI-selected moves
  • Compete against AI or online friends
  • Unlock new themes and settings
  • Play unique chess scenarios
  • Leaderboard rankings
Features
Read full description

Lazy Chess is a free, non-profit game created for casual players and enthusiasts alike, where players, at worst, make the second best move available to them. On average, there are more than 30 legal chess moves available to a player in a turn, creating vigintillions of possibilities throughout a game. Lazy Chess compresses that by having you choose only two in a given turn selected by Stockfish, the most robust chess engine in the world. The catch? You won’t know which move is the best! Learn and have fun while you compete against a highly skilled AI or online friends and random opponents. Unlock new themes and settings that can change how many options you choose from or the difficulty of the AI. Hone your chess skills while you move up in the leaderboards and play unique scenarios of famous board states provided from some of the world's most active grandmasters. Lazy Chess is open source and available on GitHub. It was developed by Cinq-Mars Media, an educational non-profit with projects and games featured at E3, PAX and festivals worldwide.

Screenshots

Chess By Post4 screens
Lazy Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess By Post at none against Lazy Chess's 1. Chess By Post also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 56%) and ratings volume (254 vs 73). Lazy Chess's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.6). On price, rating, ads 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. Lazy Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess By Post asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lazy Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 254 and 73 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of Chess By Post's written reviews are positive against 56% of Lazy Chess's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess By Post ships an update every 6 months, Lazy Chess every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Chess By Post versus Lazy Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess By PostLazy Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (254 ratings)4.4 (73 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.4% of reviews — better55.6% of reviews
Number of ratings254 — better73
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGames By Post LLCCinq-Mars Media

Customer experience

Chess By Post

All ratings255 ratings
Positive81.2%
Neutral3.9%
Negative14.9%
Written reviews224 reviews
Positive80.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative14.7%

Lazy Chess

All ratings73 ratings
Positive83.6%
Neutral5.5%
Negative11.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral16.7%
Negative27.8%

Bugs and requests

Chess By Post

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Moves not registering correctly
  • Game freezes/crashes
  • Notification issues
  • Rating/scoring problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Shorter move time limits
  • Friends/social features
  • Ability to report/block abusive players
  • Board orientation/view options
  • Customizable game settings

Lazy Chess

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Chess By Post

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Lazy Chess

One-time1
  • Ad Free + Full Game$2.99

Questions

Is Chess By Post free?
Chess By Post is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lazy Chess free?
Lazy Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess By Post or Lazy Chess?
Lazy Chess is rated higher. Chess By Post averages 4.3 out of 5 from 254 ratings, while Lazy Chess averages 4.4 from 73 ratings.
Do Chess By Post or Lazy Chess have ads?
Both Chess By Post and Lazy Chess show ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess By Post or Lazy Chess?
Chess By Post ships an update every 6 months, and Lazy Chess every 3 weeks. Most recently, Chess By Post was updated on October 23, 2026 and Lazy Chess on October 24, 2026.

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