Comparison

ChessBase Mobile Chess vs Trap Chess™

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

Head to head
About

ChessBase Mobile Chess

Access a vast chess game database, save and analyze your own games, and practice openings. This app offers advanced notation and sharing features, with a free tier and optional premium upgrades for more extensive cloud storage and search capabilities.

Highlights
  • Access 13+ million chess games
  • Save and sync personal game databases
  • Analyze games with built-in engine
  • Live opening book statistics
  • Create and practice opening repertoires
  • Advanced game notation and sharing
  • PGN file compatibility
Features
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ChessBase Mobile is the training, playing, and analysis platform for chess players who track their progress by the numbers. ChessBase Mobile is built by ChessBase, the company behind the standard desktop software used by world champions and club players alike for over 30 years. Solve tactics puzzles rated by difficulty and watch your Elo rise or fall with every attempt. No participation trophies, your rating reflects exactly where you stand. The tactics database draws from positions in real games, not synthetic exercises, so the patterns you train are the patterns you encounter at the board. Puzzle Fight puts you head-to-head against another player in a timed series of 24 tactical positions. Both players solve the same puzzles simultaneously. The one who solves more, faster, wins - and gains Elo. Structured competition, not a casual minigame. Play live games in Blitz and Rapid formats against opponents worldwide. Premove support, clean interface, no clutter. The ChessBase Online Database contains over 14 million games. Search by player, position, or opening. Review grandmaster games, study endgame structures, track opening trends - the same database used by professionals, accessible from your phone. Cloud analysis with several engines, including Fritz and Lc0. Basic cloud analysis with Fritz is free. For deeper analysis, scalable cloud servers are available, from Large to Gargantuan, paid per minute in ducats. Lc0 brings neural network evaluation for positions where classical engines struggle. The engine panel shows evaluation, depth, and principal variation. Build and maintain your opening repertoire in the cloud. 300 opening overviews with repertoire suggestions help you get started with new systems. A live opening book provides up-to-date statistics for every position. Three practice modes let you drill your variations until they stick. Annotate your games with comments, symbols, variations, arrows, and markings. Save games and analyses in cloud databases that synchronise across all your devices. Share positions and games via link, image, GIF, FEN, QR code, or PGN. Upload and download PGN files for full compatibility with desktop software. AI Kibitzer provides live commentary during games and puzzles — with personality. Chess-legend anecdotes, opinions, the occasional bad joke. Like a friend with too much chess trivia sitting next to you. Audio output included. Available in 27 languages. Customisable board colours, piece sets, and notation display. Light and dark mode across all screens, or set to follow your device preference. No ads. No energy systems. No artificial gating. Open the app, train, close the app. Free to use, all functions are available at no cost. ChessBase Premium unlocks expanded cloud storage and unlimited database search results. Free: search the online database (max 50 games displayed), up to 10 cloud databases (10 MB total), cloud clipping for up to 10 games. Premium: unlimited database search, up to 200 cloud databases (500 MB total), cloud clipping for up to 400 games. Privacy policy: https://en.chessbase.com/pages/security Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Trap Chess™

Features
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Challenge friends instantly with a 6-character play code. Trap Chess™ blends quick mobile matches with the tension of hidden landmines, so every game feels fresh whether you play White, Black, or spectate. • Start matches in seconds with shareable play codes. • Adjust how many hidden landmines each side starts with; opponent mine locations stay secret during play and only reveal when the game ends. • Get turn and game-end push notifications so you never miss a decisive move. • Save and resume locally so your match survives interruptions. • Review finished games to analyze moves, traps, and outcomes and sharpen your strategy.

Screenshots

ChessBase Mobile Chess4 screens
Trap Chess™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Trap Chess™ at none against ChessBase Mobile Chess's 1. Trap Chess™ also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. ChessBase Mobile Chess sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. Trap Chess™ asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChessBase Mobile Chess ships an update every 6 months, Trap Chess™ monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
ChessBase Mobile Chess versus Trap Chess™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessBase Mobile ChessTrap Chess™
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (18 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews40.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings18 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB36 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperChessBase GmbHXPlayce, LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ChessBase Mobile Chess

Subscriptions1
  • ChessBase Premium (Monthly)$3.991 Month
None

Trap Chess™

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ChessBase Mobile Chess free?
ChessBase Mobile Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Trap Chess™ free?
Trap Chess™ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ChessBase Mobile Chess or Trap Chess™ have ads?
Neither ChessBase Mobile Chess nor Trap Chess™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChessBase Mobile Chess or Trap Chess™?
ChessBase Mobile Chess ships an update every 6 months, and Trap Chess™ monthly. Most recently, ChessBase Mobile Chess was updated on October 14, 2026 and Trap Chess™ on October 12, 2026.

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