Comparison

Chess without ads vs Chess Tactics and Lessons

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

Chess Tactics and Lessons

Master chess strategy and openings with this app. Practice unlimited tactics, follow detailed lessons, and save your favorite openings. Create your own content and learn from a supportive community.

Highlights
  • Unlimited tactics practice
  • Detailed chess lessons
  • Opening practice and saving
  • Create custom tactics and lessons
  • Learn from mistakes with explanations
  • Community comments and discussion
  • Customizable board design
Features
Read full description

“Chess is 99% tactics” (R. Teichmann.) From beginner to expert, practicing tactics is hands-down the best way to master the game. Our app provides tactics, lessons, and openings and adjusts to your ability as you play. Join thousands of users who improve their game with tactics every day: "This app is a must have for any chess player - student or master." -Tom Taylor, USA "This is easily the best purchase I've made since owning a smartphone." -Miles C. Samuels, USA "This app has improved my game tremendously!" - anonymous fandom on the App Store FEATURES - Tactics: Play as many tactics as you want, for free. - Lessons: Get deeper into strategy with detailed lessons including positions from Netflix's 'The Queen Queen's Gambit' and the 2018 World Championship. - Openings: Practice makes perfect -- save and practice openings from the Grandmasters and more. - Create your own tactics, lessons, and openings for others to try. Compete with others to make the leaderboard for the toughest ones. - Learn from your mistakes. When you get something wrong, you can see the solution, see an explanation for the tactic, and talk to others in the comments. - Join the community: comment on tactics and learn from other users. - Customize your board design. New tactics are added every day, so you'll never run out. ------ Chess Tactics PRO subscriptions will be charged to your iTunes account upon purchase. Subscriptions will automatically renew unless canceled within 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime with your iTunes account settings. See Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for more information. Privacy Policy: https://chesstacticsapp.com/privacy.html Terms of Service: https://chesstacticsapp.com/terms.html Acknowledgements: Chess Pieces by jurgenwesterhof on WikiCommons (adapted from work of Cburnett) Icons by bezier master, Cutiecon, and Shawn Wong from the Noun Project.

Screenshots

Chess without ads4 screens
Chess Tactics and Lessons4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess without ads at none against Chess Tactics and Lessons's shown. Chess without ads also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks) and ratings volume (38K vs 5K). Chess Tactics and Lessons's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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 and Chess Tactics and Lessons sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Chess without ads against 4.8 for Chess Tactics and Lessons. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess without ads has 38K ratings behind it against 5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of Chess without ads's written reviews are positive against 85% of Chess Tactics and Lessons's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess without ads ships an update fortnightly, Chess Tactics and Lessons every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Chess without ads versus Chess Tactics and Lessons: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess without adsChess Tactics and Lessons
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (38K ratings)4.8 (5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.4% of reviews — better85.0% of reviews
Number of ratings38K — better5K
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristophe ThéronLockwood Productions, LLC

Customer experience

Chess without ads

All ratings38,324 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews481 reviews
Positive90.4%
Neutral2.5%
Negative7.1%

Chess Tactics and Lessons

All ratings4,981 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.0%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews280 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral4.6%
Negative10.4%

User reviews

Chess without ads

From 38K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent chess training tool
  • 🚀 Customizable difficulty levels
  • 💡 Helpful move suggestions
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
  • 🚀 No ads or distractions

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Limited free version with paid upgrade
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 💡 Desire for more chess variants and modes
  • 🔒 Aggressive prompts to upgrade to paid version

Chess Tactics and Lessons

From 5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 😃 Great for learning tactics
  • 👍 Enjoyable and addictive
  • 🚀 Excellent training tool
  • 🤗 Helpful for improving chess skills
  • 💯 Best tactics app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy after updates
  • 💰 Subscription model too expensive
  • 🤔 Some tactics are questionable
  • 🙄 Too many queen sacrifices
  • 😣 Difficult to navigate

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

Chess Tactics and Lessons

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Server connection issues
  • White screen after updates
  • Inability to delete account
  • Incorrect move explanations

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to save tactics
  • Offline mode
  • Difficulty filtering
  • Improved user interface
  • More comprehensive lessons

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
7 purchases

Chess Tactics and Lessons

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly PRO Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Annual Pro Subscription$29.991 Year
One-time5
  • Marble Chess Board$0.99
  • Orange Chess Board$0.99
  • Remove ads$0.99
Show 2 more
  • Green Chess Board$0.99
  • Enable Saved Puzzles$1.99

Questions

Is Chess without ads free?
Chess without ads is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Tactics and Lessons free?
Chess Tactics and Lessons is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess without ads or Chess Tactics and Lessons?
Chess Tactics and Lessons is rated higher. Chess without ads averages 4.7 out of 5 from 38K ratings, while Chess Tactics and Lessons averages 4.8 from 5K ratings.
Do Chess without ads or Chess Tactics and Lessons have ads?
Chess Tactics and Lessons shows ads; Chess without ads does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess without ads or Chess Tactics and Lessons?
Chess without ads ships an update fortnightly, and Chess Tactics and Lessons every 5 weeks. Most recently, Chess without ads was updated on October 1, 2026 and Chess Tactics and Lessons on September 30, 2026.

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