Simple chess board vs check
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simple chess board
This app provides a digital chessboard with unrestricted piece movement and a configurable chess clock. Save and load board positions, undo/redo moves, and even use checker pieces. It's ideal for analyzing games or setting up custom scenarios.
- Free piece movement
- Undo/Redo functionality
- Board rotation
- Checker piece option
- Save/load positions
- Configurable chess clock
- Tweet current position
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A simple chess board and a chess clock without movement restrictions. Free movement as a real board. Current features are: • Move pieces freely, add or remove them. • Undo/Redo last movement. • Rotate board and/or pieces. • Use checkers game pieces. • Save/load positions for later use, or delete them when you don't need them anymore (swipe over them). Starting positions for chess and checkers are available. • Use a chess clock where you can configure initial time, move time increment, increment after a number of movement, hourglass time, ... • Set time independent for black and white if required. • Save/load time settings for later use. Already available some common times. • Tweet your current position.
check
A streamlined chess application for playing live games, practicing tactics, and reviewing matches. Offers customizable clocks and board themes for a focused experience.
- Live online games
- Computer challenges
- Local multiplayer
- Tactical puzzles
- Game review
- Customizable chess clock
- Board themes
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chess, without the clutter. check is a focused place to play, practice, and review chess. start a live game, challenge the computer, share one device, solve a quick tactic, or use the built-in clock at the board. PLAY YOUR WAY • Find players, send invites, and play live online games with real-time moves. • Take on Stockfish with four strength choices, from beginner to expert. • Play local chess with another person on the same device. • Leave a computer, local, or online game and resume it from the main screen. SHARPEN YOUR TACTICS • Solve 600 tactical positions across mate, best-move, material, and defense challenges. • Choose a difficulty from beginner through expert. • Ask for a hint when you need a nudge. REVIEW THE GAME • Turn on move ratings during computer games for immediate feedback. • Replay computer and local games move by move with concise notes. • Revisit the board position behind every move. BRING YOUR OWN CLOCK • Use a dedicated digital or analog chess clock for over-the-board games. • Start with bullet, blitz, and rapid presets, or create your own. • Choose sudden death, Fischer increment, Bronstein delay, or US delay. MAKE IT YOURS • Choose from monochrome and color board themes. • Use light or dark mode while keeping the board front and center. No ads. No clutter. Just chess.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Simple chess board at Free against check's $2.99. Simple chess board also leads on ratings volume (68 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). check's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On 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
Simple chess board is free to download; check costs $2.99 up front. Simple chess board sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. check asks for nothing beyond the download.
check holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simple chess board has 68 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Simple chess board's written reviews are positive against 100% of check's.
Simple chess board ships an update every 10 months, check every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simple chess board | check |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (68 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 88.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 68 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 88 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Luis Lopez | Arjun Mahanti |
Customer experience
Simple chess board
check
Bugs and requests
Simple chess board
Reported bugs
7 issues- Keyboard not appearing to enter text/save
- Cannot figure out how to save position
- Pieces shift on their own
- Kings and queens on wrong squares initially
- Save position fails with 'You must insert text' error
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- App froze mid-game
- Write a review tab has trouble
Requested features
20 requests- Add scoresheet functionality
- Export game for analysis
- Move counter
- Portrait view on iPad
- Board expansion to fill screen
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- Ability to turn board around
- More board color options
- Option to hide timers
- PGN save and import facility
- PGN export
- Chess notation feature
- Larger board size (optional timers)
- Change chess set for better viewing
- Fix 'write a review' tab issue
- Delete saved games/setups easily
- Better graphics
- More realistic piece movement enforcement
- Improve piece dragging and selection
- Make piece representations larger
- Add variations
check
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Simple chess board
- Remove ads$0.99
check
No in-app purchases









