Chess Notation Lab Pro vs zenchess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Chess Notation Lab Pro
Master chess board coordinates and piece movement with interactive training modes. Improve your ability to visualize moves, read notation, and speed up calculations for a stronger game.
- Identify squares by coordinate
- Visualize piece movement
- Translate moves to notation
- Identify square color
- Two training modes
- Untimed practice mode
- Global leaderboards
Read full descriptionHide 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! 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 master over the chessboard. Caution: If you are rated below 1500, this app may be less useful for you, and tactics training should be prioritized.
zenchess
Enhance your chess skills with puzzles, visualization exercises, and tactical training. Practice blindfold chess, analyze your games, and track your progress with personalized coaching. Offers offline play and integration with online chess accounts.
- Blindfold puzzles and visualization
- Tactical puzzle modes (Classic, Blink, Glyph)
- Daily challenges with leaderboards
- Online chess account integration
- Targeted training games (Coordinates, Memory)
- Opening study and analysis
- Personalized coaching and analytics
Read full descriptionHide full description
House of all chess training. Train your mind to see the board. zenchess builds chess vision through blindfold puzzles, visualization exercises, and focused practice. PUZZLE MODES โข Classic โ Solve tactical puzzles from a highly curated list โข Blink โ See the position for a few seconds, then solve with the board hidden โข Glyph โ Position shown as notation only (PGN or piece list), solve without seeing the board Each mode has its own rating system. DAILY CHALLENGE One puzzle per day across all three modes. Global leaderboard and 14-day completion tracker. Streak tracking. PLATFORM INTEGRATION Link your favorite online chess account to track ratings directly inside zenchess. Monitor your blitz, rapid, and bullet ratings as they update. View recent games. Set improvement goals based on your real rating and track your progress over time. TRAINING GAMES โข Coordinates โ Identify squares quickly โข Memory โ Recall piece positions โข Knight vs Queen โ Endgame practice with optional blindfold mode โข Colors โ Square color recognition Leaderboards and statistics for each game. OPENING TRAINER Browse openings by ECO category. Filter by color. Interactive board for studying lines. COACHING Personalized training tasks based on your performance data. Identifies weaknesses and suggests what to work on. Goal tracking with progress visualization. ANALYTICS Rating history, tactical theme breakdown, activity tracking, and detailed performance insights. PROGRESSION Unlock new pieces by ranking higher, levels, achievements, and global leaderboards. ADDITIONAL FEATURES โข Offline mode โข No ads โข Free tier with daily limits โข Premium for unlimited access, coaching, and full analytics Terms of Use: https://zenchess.app/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: zenchess at Free against Chess Notation Lab Pro's $9.99. zenchess also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). Chess Notation Lab Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
zenchess is free to download; Chess Notation Lab Pro costs $9.99 up front. zenchess sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Chess Notation Lab Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chess Notation Lab Pro ships an update weekly, zenchess every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 7, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Notation Lab Pro | zenchess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free โ better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 5 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium โ better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod โ better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 15.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 106 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nishat Majid | ata kaan bulut |
Customer experience
Chess Notation Lab Pro
zenchess
In-app purchases
Chess Notation Lab Pro
No in-app purchases
zenchess
- Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
- Annual Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Annual Subscription1 Year trial2 variants$29.991 Year





