Comparison

Checkmate Master vs Stupid Hard Chess

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

Head to head
About

Checkmate Master

Features
Read full description

Experience the pinnacle of chess tactics! Checkmate Master is the ultimate chess companion for enthusiasts and players looking to sharpen their skills. Solve hundreds of sophisticated checkmate puzzles to improve your calculation, challenge a smart AI, and customize your game with beautiful themes. Key Features: Challenging Checkmate Puzzles: From "Mate in 2" warm-ups to complex "Mate in 6" brain teasers, test your tactical sharpness across various difficulty levels. Smart AI Opponent: Practice your strategy against a powerful chess engine. Choose to play as White or Black and refine your opening and endgame skills. Star Rating System: Solve puzzles in the optimal number of moves to earn 3 stars! Track your progress and strive for perfection in every game. Beautiful Customization: Boards: Choose from over 8 high-quality themes including Classic Wood, Modern Gray, Pink, and Brown Sand. Pieces: Select your favorite style from Classic, Midnight, Maestro, and more. User-Friendly Tools: Undo: Made a mistake? Step back and try a different line. AI Hints: Stuck on a puzzle? Let the AI guide you to the best move. Optimized Design: Enjoy a seamless experience on both iPhone and iPad with responsive layouts. The images of chess pieces and the chess board are from https://github.com/Kadagaden/chess-pieces and are used under the CC-BY-4.0 license (https://github.com/Kadagaden/chess-pieces?tab=CC-BY-4.0-1-ov-file#readme).

About

Stupid Hard Chess

Experience chess with a unique twist where some of your pieces are hidden, forcing you to rely on memory and visualization. Test your skills across various difficulty levels and blindfold modes, with stakes determined before each game.

Highlights
  • Hidden piece gameplay
  • Multiple blindfold modes
  • Real chess engine
  • Adjustable difficulty tiers
  • Stakes-based scoring
  • Daily streak challenges
  • Limited board reveals
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Chess, but stupid hard. You play real chess against a real engine. One catch: some of YOUR pieces are hidden — they render as identical dots, and it's on you to remember which dot is the rook. That's the whole game. Hold the board in your head while an engine tries to take it apart. HOW BLIND DO YOU WANT TO BE? - Full Blind — every one of your pieces is a dot. Good luck. - Minor Blind — knights and bishops vanish. A reasonable place to start. - Semi Blind — half your army, hidden. - Random Blind — the app decides. You find out when you sit down. Every game is real chess with full rules, powered by a genuine engine running entirely on your phone. Four difficulty tiers, from "warming up" to Expert. No internet required to play. STAKES YOU AGREE TO UP FRONT Before every game, you see exactly what a win, draw, or loss is worth — and the harder your setup, the bigger the swing. That number is your Stupid Score. It goes up when you earn it and down when you don't. There's no hiding from it, and honestly, that's the point. Play daily to build your Stupid Streak. Break it and start over. We won't judge (the number will). WHEN YOUR MEMORY FAILS It will. You get a limited number of Board Reveals per game — a scan sweeps the board, shows you the truth for ten seconds, then takes it back. Auto-Peek can flash the board periodically if you want the training wheels. Move hints exist too, but they cost you score. Everything has a price here. STUPID HARD PRO - Build your own nightmare: hide exactly the pieces you choose, yours or the engine's, with full per-piece control - Advanced stats: win rates by setup, score history, records - 4 board reveals every game, no ads, nothing between you and the board Pro is a subscription ($4.99/month or $39.99/year) with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Built for chess players who want to train visualization the honest way: by needing it. Privacy Policy: https://stupidhardchess.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://stupidhardchess.com/terms

Screenshots

Checkmate Master4 screens
Stupid Hard Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Checkmate Master at none against Stupid Hard Chess's 2. Checkmate Master also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, 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. Stupid Hard Chess sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Checkmate Master asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Checkmate Master ships an update fortnightly, Stupid Hard Chess every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Checkmate Master versus Stupid Hard Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCheckmate MasterStupid Hard Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 9 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB140 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTB SOFT(SK)Yazid Masri

In-app purchases

None

Checkmate Master

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Stupid Hard Chess

Subscriptions2
  • Stupid Hard Chess Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Stupid Hard Chess Pro - Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Checkmate Master free?
Checkmate Master is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stupid Hard Chess free?
Stupid Hard Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Checkmate Master or Stupid Hard Chess have ads?
Stupid Hard Chess shows ads; Checkmate Master does not.
Which is updated more often, Checkmate Master or Stupid Hard Chess?
Checkmate Master ships an update fortnightly, and Stupid Hard Chess every 9 days. Most recently, Checkmate Master was updated on October 10, 2026 and Stupid Hard Chess on October 12, 2026.

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