Comparison

Chess Tactics and Lessons vs Magnus Trainer

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

Head to head
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. Play 30,000+ tactics, lessons, and openings while the app adjusts to your ability as you play. Join thousands of users who improve their game with daily tactics. Beginner-friendly, even if you don't know the rules of chess yet. "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's Gambit' and the 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. - Learn from your mistakes with solutions, explanations, and chess engine analysis. - Join the community: comment on tactics and learn from other users. 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.

About

Magnus Trainer

Master chess with engaging games and interactive lessons created by Grand Masters and the World Chess Champion. Learn fundamentals, openings, and endgames through bite-sized challenges and puzzles for all skill levels.

Highlights
  • 250+ unique lessons
  • Bite-sized chess games
  • Thousands of puzzles
  • Beginner to advanced levels
  • Expert-crafted courses
  • Interactive learning
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

A better, more fun way to learn and train chess! Master chess through engaging games and interactive lessons with Magnus Carlsen, the World Chess Champion! WHY MAGNUS TRAINER? Curated courses created by our learning experts and Grand Masters. 250+ unique lessons covering chess foundation to openings and endgames. Bite-sized games designed to reinforce your learning, each game has dozens of levels and thousands of puzzles. Caters to beginners and advanced players alike. Learn chess with the greatest player of all time! UNIQUE TRAINING BY CHESS EXPERTS Play unique, beautiful games crafted by chess experts and game design experts. Deepen your chess skills through premium lessons based on games by Magnus Carlsen and other world-leading chess players. All games and lessons are created by Magnus Carlsen and his team of experienced Grand Masters, all of whom have years of coaching experience. Magnus Trainer makes learning chess easy and engaging for players of all levels. New games are updated and added regularly to bring you the best possible experience, and we're adding new theory lessons every week. Each mini-game has dozens of levels, ranging from beginner to advanced, allowing all chess players, new and experienced, to find a challenging fit to improve their skills. Those who have never played chess before are able to learn the fundamentals in a series of introductory lessons, while more experienced players have access to advanced tactics and strategies, covering a range of endgame essentials. FROM AN AWARD WINNING TEAM The Magnus Trainer app has been featured in Fast Company, The Guardian and VG, and is the creation of the team behind the popular Play Magnus app, winner of several design awards. “I’ve always done things a little differently. That is what inspired me to create Magnus Trainer. Chess has always been fun, but this takes learning and training chess to a new level. Magnus Trainer is chess training for everyone!” — Magnus Carlsen “The Future of Chess!” — Rob, App Store Reviewer You can also check out our other free app, Play Magnus. Play against Magnus at any age from 5 years and up! REACH FURTHER WITH A MEMBERSHIP The app is free to use, with added benefits for paying members. Members enjoy instant access to all 250+ premium lessons, many exclusive only for members. As a member, you also get infinite lives so you can always keep playing, including exclusive bonus levels. In addition, members get detailed statistics with insights into their performance and game progress. For Magnus Trainer we offer the following subscriptions: 1 month 12 months Lifetime TERMS OF PAYMENT Payment will be charged to your iTunes account after you’ve confirmed a purchase. Subscription to a membership automatically renews, unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period, and the price for the renewal will be provided. You can change your subscription settings in Subscriptions in App Store, or in the More tab in Magnus Trainer when a subscription is active. It is not possible to cancel an active subscription to get a refund of the remaining time. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. TERMS OF USE https://company.playmagnus.com/terms PRIVACY POLICY https://company.playmagnus.com/privacy

Screenshots

Chess Tactics and Lessons4 screens
Magnus Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess Tactics and Lessons at none against Magnus Trainer's shown. Magnus Trainer's advantage is chart position (#180 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 Tactics and Lessons sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Magnus Trainer sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.49 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 — 4.8 for Chess Tactics and Lessons against 4.8 for Magnus Trainer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.1K and 13K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Chess Tactics and Lessons's written reviews are positive against 81% of Magnus Trainer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Chess Tactics and Lessons versus Magnus Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Tactics and LessonsMagnus Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5.1K ratings) — better4.8 (13K ratings)
Positive reviews85.2% of reviews — better80.8% of reviews
Number of ratings5.1K13K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 5 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#180 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size114 MB187 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLockwood Productions, LLCChess.com

Customer experience

Chess Tactics and Lessons

All ratings5,056 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.1%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews283 reviews
Positive85.2%
Neutral4.6%
Negative10.2%

Magnus Trainer

All ratings12,671 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews417 reviews
Positive80.8%
Neutral6.0%
Negative13.2%

User reviews

Chess Tactics and Lessons

From 5.1K 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

Magnus Trainer

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Well-structured lessons
  • 👍 Clear and informative
  • 👍 Helpful for beginners to masters
  • 🚀 Improves chess skills quickly
  • 👍 Engaging and entertaining

Room to improve

  • ⏱️ Strict time limits on exercises
  • 🐛 Puzzle engine only accepts one solution
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔀 Inability to skip lessons and progress at own pace
  • 🔀 Lack of option to practice without time pressure

Bugs and requests

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

Magnus Trainer

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Pieces disappearing during games
  • Moves not recognized by the engine
  • Crashes on loading lessons

Requested features

5 requests
  • Option to view solution when failing puzzles
  • Ability to customize chess board and piece design
  • More organized and structured content
  • Integrated chess game mode to apply learned skills
  • Progress sync across multiple devices

In-app purchases

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
10 purchases

Magnus Trainer

Subscriptions7
  • Monthly Premium Membership$4.491 Month
  • Monthly Premium Membership2 Months trial$6.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium Membership1 Month trial$6.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Monthly Premium Membership7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium Membership$37.991 Year
  • Yearly Premium Membership$55.991 Year
  • Yearly Premium Membership7 Days trial$74.991 Year
One-time3
  • Refill All Lives$1.99
  • Premium Membership$149.99
  • Lifetime Premium Membership$299.99

Questions

Is Chess Tactics and Lessons free?
Chess Tactics and Lessons is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Magnus Trainer free?
Magnus Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess Tactics and Lessons or Magnus Trainer?
Chess Tactics and Lessons is rated higher. Chess Tactics and Lessons averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5.1K ratings, while Magnus Trainer averages 4.8 from 13K ratings.
Do Chess Tactics and Lessons or Magnus Trainer have ads?
Magnus Trainer shows ads; Chess Tactics and Lessons does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess Tactics and Lessons or Magnus Trainer?
Chess Tactics and Lessons ships an update every 5 weeks, and Magnus Trainer every 5 weeks. Most recently, Chess Tactics and Lessons was updated on November 6, 2026 and Magnus Trainer on November 6, 2026.

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