Comparison

Chess Notation Trainer Pro vs Blindfold Chess

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

Head to head
About

Chess Notation Trainer Pro

Features
Read full description

Serious about chess? But struggling to identify the squares, remembering sequences and following notations? Well, you just landed on the perfect app! This training app is designed to dramatically uplift your mastery over chess squares. There are 5 training sessions. A small dose of regular practice will make you: 1. Spot a square as soon as you hear/see its coordinate 2. Translate a sequence of moves into their notation at ease 3. Immediately identify the color of a square 4. Stay oriented regardless of you facing white or black 5. Follow along with chess tutorials, books or any discussion without a board 6. Massively speedup your thought process on any calculation 7. Finally, start playing blind chess! There are well thought out features everywhere, like different time controls for training, untimed practice mode, hints and tips during gameplay, achievements and milestones, global leaderboards and a complete visualization of your records. Don't be surprised if you see a sudden surge of rating simply increasing your strength on square reading. This is a beautiful and satisfyingly addictive way to your square mastery. Caution: If you are rated below 1500, this app is probably not gonna be as useful for you, and tactics training is something you should prioritize.

About

Blindfold Chess

Sharpen your chess visualization with progressive exercises and AI challenges. Track your progress with an XP system, achievements, and leaderboards. Play against an AI engine without seeing the board.

Highlights
  • Progressive visualization exercises
  • Blindfold chess puzzles
  • AI opponent without board view
  • XP system and achievements
  • Leaderboards and puzzle rating
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

Play a full game of chess out loud, without ever seeing the board. DarkSquares teaches you blindfold chess step by step, so you can hold a whole position in your mind and track every piece by voice or by memory. No pieces, no problem. Whether you are a beginner who can barely picture one square or a club player chasing sharper calculation, this is visualization training that actually sticks. A GUIDED JOURNEY - Start at your very first square and build up to full blindfold chess - Earn Bronze, Silver and Gold as your inner board gets stronger - Clear, bite-sized steps so you are never lost VISUALIZATION DRILLS - Square colors: instantly know light from dark - Coordinates and quadrants: lock the grid into memory - Knight movement: master the hardest piece to picture - Memory drills: hold entire positions in your head PLAY BLINDFOLD VS AI - Choose your difficulty: full board, faded disks, or a fully blank board - Type your moves, or speak them out loud - On-device speech recognition. Your voice stays private, always REPLAY FAMOUS GAMES - Walk through Morphy, Fischer, Kasparov and more, move by move - Rebuild the legends entirely in your mind DAILY PUZZLE - A fresh challenge every day - Build streaks and chase the fastest solve FREE AND OFFLINE - Free to start, no account required - Works fully offline, train anywhere Blindfold chess is the ultimate test of chess vision. Train it daily and your over-the-board calculation, memory and confidence climb with it. Train your mind to see the invisible board.

Screenshots

Chess Notation Trainer Pro4 screens
Blindfold Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Blindfold Chess at Free against Chess Notation Trainer Pro's $4.99. Blindfold Chess also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). Chess Notation Trainer Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads 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

Blindfold Chess is free to download; Chess Notation Trainer Pro costs $4.99 up front. Blindfold Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess Notation Trainer Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Notation Trainer Pro ships an update every 6 days, Blindfold Chess weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 7, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Chess Notation Trainer Pro versus Blindfold Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Notation Trainer ProBlindfold Chess
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating—4.9 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—16 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB99 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNishat MajidAntoine Tamano

In-app purchases

None

Chess Notation Trainer Pro

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Blindfold Chess

One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$49.00

Questions

Is Chess Notation Trainer Pro free?
Chess Notation Trainer Pro costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Blindfold Chess free?
Blindfold Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chess Notation Trainer Pro or Blindfold Chess have ads?
Neither Chess Notation Trainer Pro nor Blindfold Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Notation Trainer Pro or Blindfold Chess?
Chess Notation Trainer Pro ships an update every 6 days, and Blindfold Chess weekly. Most recently, Chess Notation Trainer Pro was updated on September 7, 2026 and Blindfold Chess on September 18, 2026.

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