OpenChess vs Check’d
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OpenChess
Master chess openings by playing against a specialized AI. Explore specific defenses or move sequences, and gain insights into positional advantages and piece values. Improve your game from the very first moves.
- Learn specific chess openings
- Play against AI focused on opening lines
- Analyze positional advantages
- Evaluate piece values and mobility
- Understand pawn structure
- Track defended and attacked pieces
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Learn chess openings with OpenChess: An Opening Explorer. Play against the computer, or play as both sides, and be shown the lines that are within any opening that you are interested in learning. Want to learn the Sicilian Defense or the Queen’s Gambit? Choose that category and play against that a computer that only follows lines within that opening category. Wany to focus on learning all of the openings that start with a specific move, such as pawn to “e4”? This category can also be selected, and you can play against a computer that only plays lines that start with “e4”. The chess engine in this app is not Stockfish, and it does not look very far ahead. It is meant to provide a decent base evaluation and allow the majority of the reason behind the evaluation of the current position to be shown to the user. The following information can be shown to the user: • Positional advantages for each piece type (pawn, knight, bishop, rook, queen and king) • Piece value advantages for each color • Mobility scores for each piece where mobility plays a big role (bishop, rook, queen, king) • Pawn advantages and disadvantages (passed pawns, isolated pawns, backwards pawns, doubled pawns) • Total value of pieces attacked by each color as well as total value of pieces defended by each color A lot of chess games are won and lost within the opening moves, this app was designed to help players learn solid openings that either help them gain a winning advantage out of the opening, or at the very least help them not lose due to the opening moves played. Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Check’d
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Your move, in every message. Check'd brings real chess to iMessage. Start a match inside any conversation, send moves as interactive messages, and keep playing at your own pace. No accounts, no servers, no spam—just pure chess that lives in your chat history. WHAT'S NEW & FUN • Daily Puzzles — 4,462 unique puzzles, daily rotation, UTC‑based streaks, and fastest‑time leaderboards. • Tactical Alerts — Smart on‑board warnings for hanging pieces, forks, pins, and mate threats (consistent in iMessage + companion app). • Big UI refresh — Modern redesigns for Play vs Computer, iMessage, Tutorials, Opening Guide, and FEN export/import. • Seasonal magic — Halloween, Valentine, Easter, and Winter overlays with animated effects. • Name onboarding — A fun, animated “Chess Oracle” name reveal for new and existing players. • Promotion knows the script — Auto‑promotion follows the puzzle’s expected move (Q/R/B/N) when you’re on the correct line. WHY YOU'LL LOVE CHECK'D • Seamless iMessage play — Moves send as messages and update instantly for both players. • Play vs Computer — Practice anytime with smart difficulty and helpful hints. • Interactive tutorials — Learn castling, en passant, and checkmates with mini‑games. • Full chess rules — Castling, en passant, promotions, 50‑move rule, and threefold repetition. • Replay & history — Browse finished games, replay moves, and jump to key moments. • Shareable recap — Create a beautiful recap card with opening, result, rating change, and mini‑board. • Privacy‑first by design — All game state stays on‑device and in the message thread. • Seasonal flair — Snow, hearts, pumpkins, and Easter effects (toggleable). • Fully localized — Available in 12 languages. GET STARTED 1. Install Check'd from the iMessage App Store. 2. Open any conversation and tap the Check'd icon. 3. Make your first move and send. That’s it. PLAY YOUR WAY Enjoy quick casual games or long, thoughtful matches. Check'd is built for real‑life schedules—play when you can, keep the thread alive, and finish the game in days if you want. COMPANION APP Check'd also includes a companion app with extra info, guides, stats, analysis tools, and settings outside iMessage. ACCESSIBILITY Check'd is designed to be usable by everyone: • Full VoiceOver support — Every menu button, chess square, and piece is labeled for screen readers. • Dynamic Type — Text scales with your system font size preferences. • Haptic feedback — Feel confirmation on moves and alerts for invalid actions. • High contrast pieces — Clear distinction between white and black pieces on all board themes. PRO UPGRADE Unlock advanced insights and power features with Check'd Pro: • Takeback requests with smooth slide‑back animation. • Full analytics dashboard: win/loss/draw breakdown, activity heatmap (games & moves), Elo rating + peak + trend, win streaks, shortest/longest game, and piece‑balance records. • Performance insights: white/black performance split and favorite opponents. • Opening insights: full openings list and win‑rate breakdowns. • Critical moments + Journey replay: best move, blunder, and missed‑chance markers with quick playback. • Move assistance toggles: move hints, capture targets, move dots, last‑move highlight, and tactical alerts. • Board control: rotate board to your side. • Extra customization: additional board and piece themes. • FEN export and PGN tools for analysis in other chess apps. • Best Move requests — Ask the engine for help (3 per game) with visual arrows. • Live engine verdicts — See move strength (Best, Good, Blunder) and checkmate status. • Opening Trainer — Train openings right from the analysis list. Made with care in The Netherlands.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: OpenChess at 12.0 against Check’d's 18.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. OpenChess sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Check’d sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
OpenChess ships an update fortnightly, Check’d every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OpenChess | Check’d |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 57 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | David Bryant | Marco Janssen |
In-app purchases
OpenChess
- Tarrasch Defense Opening$0.99
- Trompowsky Attack Opening$0.99
- Scandinavian Defense Opening$0.99
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- Three Knights Opening$0.99
- Zukertort Opening$0.99
- Van't Kruijs Opening$0.99
- Vienna Game Opening$0.99
- Ware Opening$0.99
- Opening Explorer$4.99
- OpenChess Premium$19.99
Check’d
- Check'd Pro$4.99









