Comparison

ChessView vs Chessapeake

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

Head to head
About

ChessView

Easily import chess positions from photos, PGN files, or online games. Replay, analyze, and explore variations on an interactive board. Offers offline functionality and optional AI-powered commentary.

Highlights
  • Scan chess positions from photos or screenshots
  • Import PGN files and FEN strings
  • Replay and analyze games with full move validation
  • Branch off from any position to explore variations
  • Import Chess.com games offline
  • Optional AI commentary for positions and games
Features
Read full description

See a chess position anywhere — in a book, on another screen, on the table in front of you — and have it on a board you can play with, in seconds. ChessView is a study tool, not another place to play. Scan a position with the camera or from a screenshot, open a PGN file, or pull in your Chess.com games — then replay them, branch off, and work out what actually happened. Free, offline, no account, no ads, no tracking. SCAN A POSITION FROM A PHOTO Point the camera at a real board, or choose a screenshot from Chess.com, Lichess or a chess book. ChessView reads the position and puts it on your board. Anything it misreads, you fix in the position editor — then start playing it out. PLAY IT OUT ON A REAL BOARD Full move validation: legal moves, en passant, castling, promotion. Drag the pieces, step back and forth through the whole game, flip the board, and branch off wherever you want to see what would have happened. OPEN PGN AND FEN FROM ANYWHERE PGN files from Files, Mail, Messages or any app that can share them. Paste a FEN string and it loads. Export any position or game as PGN, FEN or a PNG image, and share it in one tap. YOUR CHESS.COM GAMES, OFFLINE Type your username, pick a month, and your games are in the library — ready to replay any time, with or without a connection. STUDY THE CLASSICS Famous games come built in — Byrne–Fischer, Morphy, Short–Timman, Lasker–Thomas — so there is always a position worth looking at. SEE THE EVALUATION Evaluations and main lines come from the Lichess cloud database: free, fast, no account needed. For positions the database doesn't know, ChessView offers a sensible continuation of its own. OPTIONAL: COMMENTARY IN PLAIN WORDS Add your own OpenAI API key and ChessView will explain a position or a whole game in sentences — the plan, the key ideas, the moment it turned. Entirely optional: everything above works without it. Your key is stored in the iOS Keychain, used only from your device, and never sent to us. PRIVACY, ACTUALLY No account. No ads. No analytics. No tracking. Your games and your settings stay on your iPhone and iPad. WHY I BUILT IT Getting a chess position onto my phone used to be absurdly hard. A diagram in a book, a screenshot from a game, a FEN string someone sent me — none of it could just be opened and played through on an iPhone. PGN files were worse. So I built the app I wanted: open anything, put it on a real board, move the pieces. — Pavel, solo developer Designed for iPhone and iPad.

About

Chessapeake

Features
Read full description

Chessapeake is a chess app built for people who want to get better without turning chess into a grind. Play against a human-feeling opponent, review your games with a patient coach, and practice the exact skills that help you improve: tactics, openings, endgames, calculation, board vision, and practical decision-making. Whether you are learning the rules, returning after years away, or trying to sharpen your club-level game, Chessapeake gives you a calmer, more useful way to train. What you can do: • Play adjustable chess opponents with different styles • Learn with a coach that explains ideas clearly • Practice 50 focused chess skills • Review games and understand key moments • Build confidence with guided drills and mini lessons • Train openings, tactics, endgames, and calculation • Track progress through skill mastery and learning journeys • Use localized app language support across major chess markets Chessapeake is designed to feel less like a cold engine and more like a thoughtful chess partner. The goal is not just to show you the best move. It is to help you understand why a move works, what changed in the position, and what skill to practice next. A better chess routine starts here: play, learn, review, and come back stronger. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://arcofdescent1.github.io/chessapeake/privacy.html

Screenshots

ChessView4 screens
Chessapeake4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ChessView at none against Chessapeake's 3. Chessapeake's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Chessapeake sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. ChessView asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChessView ships an update fortnightly, Chessapeake every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
ChessView versus Chessapeake: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessViewChessapeake
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB117 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPavel GnatyukDavid Seppi

In-app purchases

None

ChessView

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Chessapeake

Subscriptions2
  • Chessapeake Plus Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Chessapeake Plus Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Founder Lifetime$69.99

Questions

Is ChessView free?
ChessView is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chessapeake free?
Chessapeake is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ChessView or Chessapeake have ads?
Neither ChessView nor Chessapeake shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChessView or Chessapeake?
ChessView ships an update fortnightly, and Chessapeake every 11 days. Most recently, ChessView was updated on November 5, 2026 and Chessapeake on October 31, 2026.

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