ChessFirst vs TacticTorch Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ChessFirst
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ChessFirst helps to learn playing chess
TacticTorch Chess
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TacticTorch Chess helps you build practical chess skills through guided lessons, daily tactics, offline AI practice, friend matches, and focused review. LEARN STEP BY STEP Follow interactive lessons covering rules, tactics, openings, and endgames. Save useful lessons and revisit completed material. SOLVE CHESS TACTICS Work through daily and recommended puzzles, review mistakes, and maintain your training streak. PLAY OFFLINE AGAINST STOCKFISH Practice on iPhone or iPad with the on-device Stockfish engine. Choose a level, request hints, import FEN positions, and continue without depending on a server connection. PLAY WITH FRIENDS Create live rooms or asynchronous correspondence games, invite friends with a room code, and keep track of recent games. REVIEW YOUR GAMES Inspect key moments, export SAN/PGN records, identify tactical themes, and find lessons related to your mistakes. TacticTorch Chess is designed for beginners and improving players who want structured practice in a clean, focused app. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.chesswise.app/privacy INTERFACE LANGUAGES Choose English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German or Spanish. Unsupported interface languages fall back to English. Saved games, chess notation and player names keep their original values.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ChessFirst at none against TacticTorch Chess's 2. ChessFirst also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 2 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
Both are free to download. TacticTorch Chess sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. ChessFirst asks for nothing beyond the download.
ChessFirst ships an update monthly, TacticTorch Chess every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ChessFirst | TacticTorch Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 133 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Oleg Borkin | Beijing XingheBit Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd. |
In-app purchases
ChessFirst
No in-app purchases
TacticTorch Chess
- Monthly Premium$7.991 Month
- Annual Premium$39.991 Year
Questions
Is ChessFirst free?
Is TacticTorch Chess free?
Do ChessFirst or TacticTorch Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, ChessFirst or TacticTorch Chess?
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