Comparison

ChessFirst vs TacticTorch Chess

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

Head to head
About

ChessFirst

Features
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ChessFirst helps to learn playing chess

About

TacticTorch Chess

Features
Read full description

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

ChessFirst4 screens
TacticTorch Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChessFirst ships an update monthly, TacticTorch Chess every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
ChessFirst versus TacticTorch Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessFirstTacticTorch Chess
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB133 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOleg BorkinBeijing XingheBit Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd.

In-app purchases

None

ChessFirst

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

TacticTorch Chess

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$7.991 Month
  • Annual Premium$39.991 Year

Questions

Is ChessFirst free?
ChessFirst is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TacticTorch Chess free?
TacticTorch Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ChessFirst or TacticTorch Chess have ads?
Neither ChessFirst nor TacticTorch Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChessFirst or TacticTorch Chess?
ChessFirst ships an update monthly, and TacticTorch Chess every 2 months. Most recently, ChessFirst was updated on November 8, 2026 and TacticTorch Chess on November 7, 2026.

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