Comparison

Chess without ads vs Chess Notation Trainer

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 Notation Trainer

Master chess squares and notation with this training app. Improve your ability to identify coordinates, translate moves, and visualize the board, even without one. Ideal for serious players looking to enhance calculation speed and chess understanding.

Highlights
  • Identify squares by coordinate
  • Translate move sequences to notation
  • Determine square color instantly
  • Stay oriented on the board
  • Follow chess tutorials without a board
  • Speed up calculation
  • Practice blind chess
Features
Read full description

Serious about chess? But struggling to identify the squares, remembering sequences and follow chess notations? Well, you just landed on the perfect app! This training app is designed to dramatically uplift your mastery over chess squares. There are 5 training sessions. A small dose of regular practice will make you: 1. Spot a square as soon as you hear or see its coordinate 2. Translate a sequence of moves into their notation at ease 3. Immediately identify the color of a square 4. Stay oriented regardless of you facing white or black 5. Follow along with chess tutorials, books or any discussion without a board 6. Massively speedup your thought process on any calculation 7. Finally, start playing blind chess! Don't be surprised if you see a sudden surge of rating simply increasing your strength on square reading. The free version is already good enough to cause a major spike in your chess career. However, a one time purchase will unlock the full version which includes: - Extended time controls - Untimed practice mode - Milestones and achievements - Board assistance during training - And a complete visualization of your records There will be no ads, neither in the full version nor in the free one. Just a beautiful and satisfyingly addictive way to your square mastery. Caution: If you are rated below 1500, this app is probably not gonna be as useful for you, and tactics training is something you should prioritize.

Screenshots

Chess without ads4 screens
Chess Notation Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Chess Notation Trainer at every 2 days against Chess without ads's fortnightly. Chess Notation Trainer also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 90%). Chess without ads's advantage is ratings volume (38K vs 16) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Notation Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess without ads holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess without ads has 38K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 90% of Chess without ads's written reviews are positive against 100% of Chess Notation Trainer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess without ads ships an update fortnightly, Chess Notation Trainer every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Chess without ads versus Chess Notation Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess without adsChess Notation Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (38K ratings) — better4.5 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews90.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings38K — better16
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristophe ThéronNishat Majid

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 Notation Trainer

All ratings15 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews6 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

Chess Notation Trainer

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
1 purchases

Chess Notation Trainer

One-time1
  • Full Version$4.99

Questions

Is Chess without ads free?
Chess without ads is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Notation Trainer free?
Chess Notation Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess without ads or Chess Notation Trainer?
Chess without ads is rated higher. Chess without ads averages 4.7 out of 5 from 38K ratings, while Chess Notation Trainer averages 4.5 from 16 ratings.
Do Chess without ads or Chess Notation Trainer have ads?
Neither Chess without ads nor Chess Notation Trainer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess without ads or Chess Notation Trainer?
Chess without ads ships an update fortnightly, and Chess Notation Trainer every 2 days. Most recently, Chess without ads was updated on September 25, 2026 and Chess Notation Trainer on September 7, 2026.

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