Comparison

Chess Notation Lab Pro vs MindChess

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Identify squares by coordinate
  • Visualize piece movement
  • Translate moves to notation
  • Identify square color
  • Two training modes
  • Untimed practice mode
  • Global leaderboards
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! 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.

About

MindChess

This app offers daily chess training designed to enhance mental visualization and blindfold play. It features mini-games that improve calculation, memory, and concentration, inspired by grandmaster training methods. Practice exercises focus on board elements without needing a physical board.

Highlights
  • Mental visualization training
  • Blindfold chess practice
  • Calculation and memory improvement
  • Concentration exercises
  • Mini-games inspired by grandmasters
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

MindChess is a daily chess training app focused on mental visualization and blindfold play. Improve your calculation, memory, and concentration through short mini-games inspired by how grandmasters train their minds. Practice exercises such as recognizing square colors, knight jumps, coordinates, or diagonals. Beat your records, track your progress, and train your mind without a board. Perfect for amateur players who want to sharpen their visualization and calculation skills. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://nsstudent.dev/MindChessLanding/privacypolicy/

Screenshots

Chess Notation Lab Pro4 screens
MindChess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MindChess at Free against Chess Notation Lab Pro's $9.99. Chess Notation Lab Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

MindChess is free to download; Chess Notation Lab Pro costs $9.99 up front. MindChess sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Chess Notation Lab Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Notation Lab Pro ships an update weekly, MindChess every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Chess Notation Lab Pro versus MindChess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Notation Lab ProMindChess
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.618.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB87 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNishat Majidomar megdadi

Customer experience

Chess Notation Lab Pro

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

MindChess

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Chess Notation Lab Pro

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

MindChess

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly subscription$0.991 Month
  • Yearly subscription$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Chess Notation Lab Pro free?
Chess Notation Lab Pro costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MindChess free?
MindChess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chess Notation Lab Pro or MindChess have ads?
Neither Chess Notation Lab Pro nor MindChess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Notation Lab Pro or MindChess?
Chess Notation Lab Pro ships an update weekly, and MindChess every 3 weeks. Most recently, Chess Notation Lab Pro was updated on September 23, 2026 and MindChess on October 10, 2026.

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