Chess Tactics and Lessons vs Chess King
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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“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.
Chess King
Master the game of chess with this comprehensive learning app. It offers interactive lessons, puzzles, and analysis for all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. Improve your tactics and strategy with a personal chess trainer, available online and offline.
- 100+ learning courses
- Interactive theoretical lessons
- High-quality, double-checked puzzles
- Personal chess trainer
- Computer analysis
- Offline support
- Chess tasks for kids
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Don't just play chess. Train like a master. Chess King teaches the game the way strong players are actually built — with a rigorous, structured curriculum, not a random feed of puzzles. 147 complete courses take you from your first move to advanced play, step by step. WHY CHESS KING IS DIFFERENT Most chess apps let you play. Chess King trains you. Every course is a real lesson built on classical training methods refined over 30 years — the same approach behind CT-ART, the tactics trainer used by serious players worldwide. You don't just solve a position and move on. Chess King gives you hints when you are stuck, explains the idea behind the right move, and shows you the striking refutation of the mistakes you might make. That is how understanding is built — not memorized. WHAT YOU GET - 147 structured courses covering tactics, strategy, openings, the middlegame, and endgames, organized by level from beginner to master. - Chess King University: 7 guided learning paths and 44 courses that give you a clear, ordered route to real improvement — no guessing what to study next. - Interactive theory: read the lesson, then play the moves on the board yourself. Learning by doing, not just reading. - Thousands of carefully selected exercises with graphic hints and full explanations. - Play against the computer to put what you have trained into practice. - A progress report for every lesson, so you always see how far you have come. TRAIN ON EVERY DEVICE Your subscription, purchases, progress, and rating sync automatically across web, iPhone, iPad, and Android. Train on your phone on the commute, continue on the web at home — your progress follows you. TRY IT FREE Preview courses before you commit. When you are ready, choose a monthly or yearly plan, or buy individual courses to keep forever. Chess King — train like a master. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Chess Tactics and Lessons at none against Chess King's shown. Chess King's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 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
Both are free to download. Chess Tactics and Lessons sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Chess King sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Chess Tactics and Lessons against 4.8 for Chess King. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.1K and 2.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Chess Tactics and Lessons's written reviews are positive against 78% of Chess King's.
Chess Tactics and Lessons ships an update every 5 weeks, Chess King every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Tactics and Lessons | Chess King |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5.1K ratings) — better | 4.8 (2.5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.4% of reviews — better | 78.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5.1K — better | 2.5K |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 114 MB | 109 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lockwood Productions, LLC | Chess King |
Customer experience
Chess Tactics and Lessons
Chess King
User reviews
Chess Tactics and Lessons
From 5.1K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Chess King
From 2.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐ Best game in the world
- 👍 Helpful for practice
- 💡 Excellent tutorial and training content
- 🎨 Well-chosen puzzles
- 🧠 Improves pattern recognition and tactics
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive
- 🐛 Crashes on iPhone and iPad
- 🐛 Buggy after recent update
- 🤔 Confusing interface and lack of instructions
- 🤔 Difficult for beginners
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
Chess King
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes on M1 Macs
- Doesnot work with iOS 13 dark mode
- Doesnot show board and pieces in exercises
- Cannot restore purchases
- Doesnot sync progress across devices
Requested features
7 requests- Add dark mode option
- Improve user interface and design
- Add more opening courses
- Provide better explanations for moves
- Allow resetting progress
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- Improve syncing across devices
- Add online chess mode
In-app purchases
Chess Tactics and Lessons
- Monthly PRO Subscription$3.991 Month
- Annual Pro Subscription$29.991 Year
- Marble Chess Board$0.99
- Orange Chess Board$0.99
- Remove ads$0.99
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- Green Chess Board$0.99
- Enable Saved Puzzles$1.99
Chess King
- CT-ART: The Best Tactics7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- Chess King University7 Days trial$11.991 Month
- Chess King Courses3 Days trial$11.991 Month
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- Chess King Maximum Pack1 Month trial$17.991 Month
- Chess King Courses3 Days trial$89.991 Year
- Chess King Maximum Pack1 Year trial$119.991 Year
- Chess: From Beginner to Club$12.99
- Chess Tactics for Beginners$12.99
- Chess Opening Blunders$12.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- CT-ART 4.0 (Chess Tactics)$17.99
Questions
Is Chess Tactics and Lessons free?
Is Chess King free?
Which has better reviews, Chess Tactics and Lessons or Chess King?
Do Chess Tactics and Lessons or Chess King have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess Tactics and Lessons or Chess King?
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