Comparison

Chess Notation Lab Pro vs Chess Openings Coach

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side โ€” 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

Chess Openings Coach

Features
Read full description

ChessOpenings is a quiet, well-written reference for the classical chess opening repertoire โ€” Ruy Lopez, Sicilian, Queen's Gambit, King's Indian, and 21 more โ€” with an AI coach for the specific positions you get stuck in. WHAT IT DOES โ€ข 25 classical openings grouped by structure (Open Games, Semi-Open, Closed, Indian Defences, Flank) โ€ข Each opening: ECO code, main line, key strategic ideas, main variations with explanations, common traps, suitability ("Players who like long strategic battles") โ€ข AI coach answers specific "what should I do if my opponent plays X?" questions in the Silman / Rowson / King tradition โ€ข Private practice log โ€” every session logged with opening, question, AI feedback, your note โ€ข 3 free coach asks per day; Pro is unlimited DESIGN Warm walnut-and-cream aesthetic โ€” board-brown and ink on cream, serif typography. Apple-native SwiftUI. No third-party UI frameworks. PRIVACY โ€ข Every study note stays on your iPhone with SwiftData โ€ข No login, no email, no analytics SDKs โ€ข "Data Not Collected" verified in App Privacy โ€ข AI coach calls send only the opening name and your question โ€” no identifiers, no logs FREE Browse all 25 openings, every variation + 3 AI coach asks per day + unlimited practice log. PRO ($4.99/month or $19.99/year) โ€ข Unlimited AI coach asks WHY CHESSOPENINGS Most chess apps are puzzle-grinders or engine-evaluation tools. ChessOpenings gives you a structured reference for the classical openings โ€” the actual ideas, the actual traps, who they suit โ€” plus a coach who'll explain the move you didn't understand. Built for club players who want to understand why a position works, not just how the engine evaluates it. Built in Australia. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Chess Notation Lab Pro4 screens
Chess Openings Coach4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess Openings Coach 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 2 months). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Chess Openings Coach is free to download; Chess Notation Lab Pro costs $9.99 up front. Chess Openings Coach sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Chess Notation Lab Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Notation Lab Pro ships an update weekly, Chess Openings Coach every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 5 level
Chess Notation Lab Pro versus Chess Openings Coach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Notation Lab ProChess Openings Coach
Price$9.99Free โ€” better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyWeekly โ€” betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
MonetizationPaidโ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPad โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.618.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size25 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNishat MajidMitaanshu Agarwal

In-app purchases

None

Chess Notation Lab Pro

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Chess Openings Coach

Subscriptions2
  • Chess Openings Coach Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Chess Openings Coach Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.901 Year

Questions

Is Chess Notation Lab Pro free?
Chess Notation Lab Pro costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Openings Coach free?
Chess Openings Coach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chess Notation Lab Pro or Chess Openings Coach have ads?
Neither Chess Notation Lab Pro nor Chess Openings Coach shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Notation Lab Pro or Chess Openings Coach?
Chess Notation Lab Pro ships an update weekly, and Chess Openings Coach every 2 months. Most recently, Chess Notation Lab Pro was updated on September 23, 2026 and Chess Openings Coach on October 1, 2026.

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