Comparison

dotChess vs Chess Grandmaster AI

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

Head to head
About

dotChess

Engage in classic chess matches with friends, AI opponents, or players globally. This modern application allows you to track your statistics, communicate during games, and resume play across multiple devices.

Highlights
  • Play live games with friends
  • Challenge AI bots
  • Global matchmaking
  • Account creation and stat tracking
  • In-game chat
  • Cross-device play
Features
Read full description

dotChess is a modern chess app built for playing with real people. Play live games with friends, challenge AI bots, or get matched with players worldwide. Create an account, track your stats, chat during games, and pick up where you left off on any device.

About

Chess Grandmaster AI

Features
Read full description

Play chess offline, watch chess engines compete, and review completed games—all without creating an account. Chess Grandmaster AI is an offline chess practice and study app for iPhone and iPad. Choose a side and play against the built-in chess engine, or use Watch and Learn to observe both sides playing automatically. PLAY AND WATCH OFFLINE • Play locally against the computer • Choose White or Black • Watch engine-versus-engine games • Select from six AI strength levels • Adjust search depth and game options • Review move history and captured pieces • Use undo, restart, resign, and board-flip controls • Play with clocks, increments, and AI move pauses • Practice without an account or server connection LEARN WITH GAME REVIEW Premium Game Review helps you study a completed local game: • Inspect moves on an interactive review board • Navigate with First, Previous, Next, and Last • See move-quality and analysis-confidence labels • Review important alternatives and bounded lines • Compare result categories for White and Black • View a complete post-game summary • Share or print the review summary • Export optional diagnostics for a specific game • Replay another game with the same setup Review analysis runs locally on your device. Completed reviews are cached locally for faster reopening. Because the analysis uses bounded local search, positions that cannot be evaluated confidently are clearly marked Insufficient depth. SIX AI STRENGTHS Free: • Beginner • Club Premium: • Tournament • Master • Grandmaster • Maximum The stronger levels search deeper tactical lines and include improved capture safety, trade handling, repetition avoidance, promotion choices, and king-and-major-piece endgame conversion. MAKE THE BOARD YOURS Customize board themes, chess-piece styles, player avatars, music, move sounds, alerts, timers, display zoom, and other local settings. ONE-TIME PREMIUM UNLOCK Premium Unlock includes Game Review and all four premium AI strengths. It is a one-time, non-consumable purchase—not a subscription. Restore Purchases is included. PRIVATE AND OFFLINE-FIRST • No account or sign-in required • No advertising • No analytics or tracking • No chat or online matchmaking • Games, settings, and review analysis remain on your device unless you choose to share or export them An internet connection is needed only for purchasing or restoring Premium Unlock and opening external support or store-update pages. Chess Grandmaster AI is designed for chess entertainment, practice, and study. Local analysis and suggested alternatives are study guidance and do not guarantee perfect play.

Screenshots

dotChess4 screens
Chess Grandmaster AI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: dotChess at every 5 days against Chess Grandmaster AI's every 2 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

dotChess ships an update every 5 days, Chess Grandmaster AI every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
dotChess versus Chess Grandmaster AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterdotChessChess Grandmaster AI
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size193 MB38 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperThomas BaricDhana Angdembey

In-app purchases

None

dotChess

No in-app purchases

None

Chess Grandmaster AI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is dotChess free?
dotChess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Grandmaster AI free?
Chess Grandmaster AI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do dotChess or Chess Grandmaster AI have ads?
Neither dotChess nor Chess Grandmaster AI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, dotChess or Chess Grandmaster AI?
dotChess ships an update every 5 days, and Chess Grandmaster AI every 2 weeks. Most recently, dotChess was updated on November 5, 2026 and Chess Grandmaster AI on November 5, 2026.

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