Comparison

Chess without ads vs Play Chess For Fun

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

Head to head
About

Chess without ads

Learn and play chess without distractions. This app offers guided lessons for beginners and advanced analysis for experts, helping you improve your game with intelligent suggestions and post-game reviews. Play offline and enjoy a seamless, ad-free experience.

Highlights
  • Ad-free learning and play
  • Introductory lessons for beginners
  • Grandmaster move suggestions
  • Game analysis with good/bad moves
  • Supports USCF and FIDE rating scales
  • Strong mobile chess engine
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

Beginner or advanced, become a chess master, without ever being disturbed by ads. Do you want to master the most prestigious, the classiest game ever, while having fun? It's EASY! For starters, there are no ads to distract you. There's no account to create, and you don't even need to be connected to the Internet. So, how does it work? If you are a beginner, let yourself be guided by the introductory lessons included. The lessons are SHORT and EASY. Right from the start, you begin playing by moving pieces, and you learn the rules of the game while having fun. The first 40 lessons are free. Once you know the rules, you start playing real games! The coach shows you the moves a Grandmaster would pick. Not just one move, but THE 4 BEST MOVES. Sounds too simple? But think about it... How did you learn to speak as a child? Did you take grammar and spelling lessons? Of course not. You listened to the adults talk and then you went for it! Because that's how you learn! This app allows you to do just that, AND IT WORKS! From the very first games, you start learning effortlessly. You immediately enjoy playing, and after a while you notice that the right moves come to mind naturally, as if they were obvious. Gradually, you deactivate the suggestions and play by yourself. At the end of each game, the coach shows you the good and bad moves you've made. You can better understand what happened, and you can even try out other moves to improve. If this sounds unbelievable, you should read the user reviews for our app. It has one of the highest satisfaction ratings on the App Store, in all countries. FOR BEGINNERS, THIS APP... • contains introductory chess lessons that are suitable even for children. The first 40 are free. • shows you all the possible moves of a piece when you touch it. • explains why certain moves are forbidden. • can suggest 4 to 6 excellent moves at any one time. The green button lets you show or hide these suggestions. • can tell you when you can mate your opponent, so you can look for the winning move by yourself. • can warn you when your opponent is about to play a dangerous move. • provides many trainer levels of increasing difficulty. • knows and applies perfectly all the official rules of chess. • is a very competent teacher of a very high level. • analyzes your games and shows you how to improve. FOR EXPERTS: • Both USCF and FIDE rating scales are supported. • This app has one of the strongest chess engines for mobile devices (3040 USCF Elo). • On current devices, as incredible as it sounds, it plays at the world champion level. • The chess engine displays its thinking, up to 20 moves ahead. • You can analyze a game by replaying it. The app indicates bad moves by coloring them red. The 4 best moves in each position are shown in green. • This app supports variations: you can test other moves and then return to your original game. OTHER FEATURES INCLUDE: • The coach can comment on the game as you play (optional). • When the game is over, the coach can analyze it and show you how to improve. • Several beautiful visual themes are included, which you can customize. • 4 playing styles are included, from «cautious» to «suicidal», which you can combine with all available levels. • Includes an opening book of more than one million moves. • Many customization options are available (graphics, sounds, engine output…). • ...and much more... privacy policy: http://www.chesstiger.com/iphone/About_privacy_en.html terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Play Chess For Fun

Engage in classic chess matches with friends. Enjoy a straightforward and accessible way to play the timeless strategy game.

Highlights
  • Play with friends
  • Classic chess gameplay
  • Ad-free experience
  • Free to play
Features
Read full description

Play with your friends using Play Chess For Fun.

Screenshots

Chess without ads4 screens
Play Chess For Fun2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Play Chess For Fun at none against Chess without ads's 7. Play Chess For Fun also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly) and review sentiment (100% vs 91%). Chess without ads's advantage is ratings volume (39K vs 13). 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. Chess without ads sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per 7 days. Play Chess For Fun asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Play Chess For Fun holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess without ads has 39K ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Chess without ads's written reviews are positive against 100% of Play Chess For Fun's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess without ads ships an update fortnightly, Play Chess For Fun weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Chess without ads versus Play Chess For Fun: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess without adsPlay Chess For Fun
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (39K ratings)4.9 (13 ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings39K — better13
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristophe ThéronAlan Feng

Customer experience

Chess without ads

All ratings38,324 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews487 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral2.5%
Negative6.8%

Play Chess For Fun

All ratings13 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Chess without ads

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing on the login screen
  • Incompatibility with older devices
  • Inconsistent behavior when running out of free credits

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more chess variants (3-check, king of the hill, etc.)
  • Provide more detailed game analysis and feedback
  • Improve the en passant move functionality
  • Add online/multiplayer capabilities

Play Chess For Fun

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Chess without ads

Subscriptions3
  • PRO, 1 week$0.497 Days
  • PRO, 1 month$0.991 Month
  • PRO, 3 months$1.993 Months
One-time4
  • Learn chess$4.99
  • PRO, for life (SALE!)$9.99
  • PRO, for life (regular price)$12.99
Show 1 more
  • PRO FOR LIFE - TODAY ONLY$14.99
None

Play Chess For Fun

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess without ads free?
Chess without ads is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Play Chess For Fun free?
Play Chess For Fun is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess without ads or Play Chess For Fun?
Play Chess For Fun is rated higher. Chess without ads averages 4.7 out of 5 from 39K ratings, while Play Chess For Fun averages 4.9 from 13 ratings.
Do Chess without ads or Play Chess For Fun have ads?
Neither Chess without ads nor Play Chess For Fun shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess without ads or Play Chess For Fun?
Chess without ads ships an update fortnightly, and Play Chess For Fun weekly. Most recently, Chess without ads was updated on October 28, 2026 and Play Chess For Fun on October 25, 2026.

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