Comparison

Chess Tactics and Lessons vs SmallFish Chess for Stockfish

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

SmallFish Chess for Stockfish

This app leverages the powerful Stockfish chess engine to help you analyze your games, study strategic thinking, and track your progress. It offers detailed game reviews, graphical evaluations, and access to opening books and endgame tablebases. Enjoy a clean interface with features like blunder checking and dark mode support.

Highlights
  • Stockfish chess engine integration
  • Game analysis with comments
  • Graphical game evaluation
  • Blunder checking
  • Opening books and endgame tablebases
  • Import from Chess.com and Lichess
  • Dark mode support
Features
Read full description

SmallFish is a project based on the Stockfish chess engine. It uses the latest Stockfish chess engine (Stockfish 19), rated about Elo 3600+ and is the strongest chess app on the App Store. SmallFish offers you three distinct ways to improve your game. You can review your game with comments, or study how Stockfish thinks, or track your progress. No in-app purchase, no ads, no data tracking. SmallFish is simply amazing. It's small but powerful, you'll be surprised. Features --------- - Blunder checking - Multiple line analysis - Graphical evaluation of your game - Game previews - Dark mode support - Endgame tablebase - Opening books - Import from Chess.com and Lichess Why not just download and try it yourself?

Screenshots

Chess Tactics and Lessons4 screens
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess Tactics and Lessons at Free against SmallFish Chess for Stockfish's $4.99. SmallFish Chess for Stockfish's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 weeks). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

Chess Tactics and Lessons is free to download; SmallFish Chess for Stockfish costs $4.99 up front. Chess Tactics and Lessons sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. SmallFish Chess for Stockfish asks for nothing beyond the download.

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 SmallFish Chess for Stockfish. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.1K and 4.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Chess Tactics and Lessons's written reviews are positive against 79% of SmallFish Chess for Stockfish's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Tactics and Lessons ships an update every 5 weeks, SmallFish Chess for Stockfish every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Chess Tactics and Lessons versus SmallFish Chess for Stockfish: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Tactics and LessonsSmallFish Chess for Stockfish
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.8 (5.1K ratings)4.8 (4.5K ratings)
Positive reviews85.4% of reviews — better79.1% of reviews
Number of ratings5.1K — better4.5K
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#17 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size114 MB195 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLockwood Productions, LLCTed Wong

Customer experience

Chess Tactics and Lessons

All ratings5,061 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.1%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews294 reviews
Positive85.4%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.9%

SmallFish Chess for Stockfish

All ratings4,549 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews608 reviews
Positive79.1%
Neutral7.1%
Negative13.8%

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

SmallFish Chess for Stockfish

From 4.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful chess engine
  • 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
  • 💡 Customizable board and piece styles
  • 🚀 Fast move calculations
  • 👍 Helpful analysis and suggestions

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Issues with board and coordinate display
  • 🐛 Inconsistencies in engine difficulty levels
  • 🐛 Problems with PGN file handling
  • 👎 Complicated user interface

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

SmallFish Chess for Stockfish

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when setting up positions
  • Incorrect move suggestions and engine evaluations
  • Freezing and unresponsiveness during gameplay
  • Issues with board and coordinate display alignment

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for variations and multiple analysis lines
  • Implement a two-player mode with piece flipping
  • Add PGN file sorting, searching, and folder support
  • Provide an option to hide the board and show captured pieces
  • Integrate with chess.com and other platforms

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
None

SmallFish Chess for Stockfish

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess Tactics and Lessons free?
Chess Tactics and Lessons is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SmallFish Chess for Stockfish free?
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess Tactics and Lessons or SmallFish Chess for Stockfish?
Chess Tactics and Lessons and SmallFish Chess for Stockfish are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5.1K and 4.5K ratings respectively.
Do Chess Tactics and Lessons or SmallFish Chess for Stockfish have ads?
Neither Chess Tactics and Lessons nor SmallFish Chess for Stockfish shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Tactics and Lessons or SmallFish Chess for Stockfish?
Chess Tactics and Lessons ships an update every 5 weeks, and SmallFish Chess for Stockfish every 2 days. Most recently, Chess Tactics and Lessons was updated on November 12, 2026 and SmallFish Chess for Stockfish on November 11, 2026.

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