Comparison

Grandmaster Chess vs Chess Notation Lab

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

Head to head
About

Grandmaster Chess

Challenge yourself with historical games played by chess legends. Study detailed commentary, guess the next move, and earn points to climb the leaderboard. Test your chess intuition against the moves of Grandmasters.

Highlights
  • Play historical games from chess legends
  • Over 20 classic games to explore
  • New Game of the Month added regularly
  • Detailed move-by-move commentary
  • Guess the next move to earn points
  • Compete for high scores
Features
Read full description

Master the Chessboard with Grandmasters: The Ultimate Chess Challenge Awaits! Are you ready to unravel the secrets of the world’s greatest chess minds? Dive into the world of Grandmaster Chess - Play as GM, where you can challenge yourself with legendary moves from Grandmasters like Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov. With over 20 historic games and a fresh Game of the Month delivered regularly, every match becomes a learning experience. Study detailed commentary, unlock strategic insights, and guess the next move to climb the leaderboard. But be careful – wrong guesses or using hints will cost you valuable points! Key Features: Play historic games from chess legends like Anand, Carlsen, Fischer, and Kasparov. Over 15 classic games to explore, with a new Game of the Month added regularly. Gain insights with detailed move-by-move commentary to enhance your strategic thinking. Earn points for correct guesses, and compete to achieve the ultimate high score! Test your chess intuition – are you as sharp as a Grandmaster? Download Grandmaster Chess - Play as GM today and see if you have what it takes to become the ultimate chess champion. Ready to sharpen your skills? Step into the shoes of the greatest chess players of all time and challenge yourself with their moves! Grandmaster Chess - Play as GM is the ultimate chess app that lets you test your skills against the moves of famous Grandmasters like Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov. With a collection of over 20 past games and a new "Game of the Month" each month, you'll have plenty of challenging puzzles to solve. Each game comes with detailed commentary to help you understand the thought process behind the moves. Earn points for each move you guess correctly, but beware! Every time you use a hint or make an incorrect guess, points will be deducted. Can you beat the high score and become the ultimate chess champion? Features: Play games from famous Grandmasters like Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov Over 20 past games and a new "Game of the Month" each month Detailed commentary to help you understand the thought process behind the moves Earn points for each move guessed correctly, but lose points for incorrect guesses or hints Compete with other chess enthusiasts to beat the high score and become the ultimate chess quiz champion. Download Grandmaster Chess - Play as GM now and become a chess master today! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Chess Notation Lab

Master chess board coordinates and piece movement with this training app. Improve your ability to visualize moves, read notation, and understand square colors. Designed to enhance your chess calculations and potentially boost your rating.

Highlights
  • Identify squares by coordinate
  • Fluid piece movement visualization
  • Translate moves to notation
  • Identify square color
  • Orient on the board
  • Speed up calculation
  • Blind chess practice
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Chess Notation Lab! Are you struggling to identify squares, remember sequences, and follow chess notations? Do you have trouble visualizing Bishop diagonals? Or Knight jumps? Or worse, mapping the available moves for the Queen to get/avoid a deadly fork? This training app is designed to end this misery. There are 2 training modes, each with 5 unique training sessions carefully designed to dramatically uplift your mastery over chess squares and fluid piece movement. A small dose of regular practice will empower you to: 1. Spot a square as soon as you hear or see its coordinate 2. Fluidly move any piece around the board, even without a board 3. Translate a sequence of moves into their notation with ease 4. Immediately identify the color of a square 5. Stay oriented regardless of whether you're white or black 6. Follow along with chess tutorials, books, or discussions at ease and comfort 7. Massively speed up your thought process on any calculation 8. Finally, start playing blind chess! Don't be surprised if you experience a sudden surge in rating simply by improving your square reading skills. The free version is already effective enough to significantly boost your chess career. However, if you want to support me and get the full version, first of all, thanks!! And then just a one-time purchase will unlock: - Longer time controls - Untimed practice mode - Milestones and Achievements and - Complete visualization of your records - Compete with friends over the complete leaderboards There will be no ads, neither in the full version nor in the free one. Just a beautiful and satisfyingly addictive path to mastering squares. The level of comfort you will feel about talking, reading or even thinking about chess is, believe me, just priceless. Caution: If you are rated below 1500, this app may be less useful for you, and tactics training should be prioritized.

Screenshots

Grandmaster Chess4 screens
Chess Notation Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chess Notation Lab at 100% against Grandmaster Chess's 50%. Chess Notation Lab also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 days). Grandmaster Chess's advantage is iOS requirement (16 vs 18.6). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Grandmaster Chess sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Chess Notation Lab sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grandmaster Chess ships an update every 6 days, Chess Notation Lab every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Grandmaster Chess versus Chess Notation Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrandmaster ChessChess Notation Lab
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—6 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNABENDU SINHANishat Majid

Customer experience

Grandmaster Chess

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Chess Notation Lab

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Grandmaster Chess

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro Subscription$19.991 Year
One-time2
  • Remove Ads$1.99
  • Magnus Pack$1.99
1 purchases

Chess Notation Lab

One-time1
  • Full Version$9.99

Questions

Is Grandmaster Chess free?
Grandmaster Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Notation Lab free?
Chess Notation Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Grandmaster Chess or Chess Notation Lab have ads?
Grandmaster Chess shows ads; Chess Notation Lab does not.
Which is updated more often, Grandmaster Chess or Chess Notation Lab?
Grandmaster Chess ships an update every 6 days, and Chess Notation Lab every 3 days. Most recently, Grandmaster Chess was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chess Notation Lab on October 14, 2026.

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