Calvin Chess Trainer vs Checkmate Academy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Calvin Chess Trainer
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Calvin Chess Trainer drills the skills that puzzles take for granted: seeing the whole board, and reading and finding squares and moves without thinking. Daily warm-up Five quick timed drills, about five minutes: find the checks, spot the loose pieces, find the forks, name squares from Black's side, then a mate in one. Vision ⢠Find Checks: every check in a real game position ⢠Find Captures: every capture on the board ⢠Hanging Pieces: every undefended piece ⢠Forks & Skewers: the squares that hit two targets ⢠Knight Sight: every square a knight reaches ⢠Knight Flight: the fewest moves to the target ⢠Pawn Attack: slip past a wall of pawns ⢠Mate in 1: 400 positions, one move to mate Notation ⢠Squares: find the square, fast, from White's side or Black's ⢠Files & Ranks: name every file and rank ⢠Read Moves: read a move, then play it ⢠Piece Letters: K, Q, R, B and N at a glance ⢠Piece Values: which side comes out ahead? Opening Explorer Play through the openings with book moves, Stockfish hints and an evaluation bar. Practice your way ⢠Practice at your own pace, or race the clock in timed rounds ⢠Every drill remembers its setup, and Continue picks up where you left off ⢠Results show the answers you missed ⢠Personal bests, saved on your device ⢠Squares and pieces spoken aloud as you play ⢠Works offline No ads, no in-app purchases and no account. From Internut Education.
Checkmate Academy
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Checkmate Academy is your personal chess tutor ā learn chess from absolute zero to confident player with structured, interactive lessons. LEARN AT YOUR PACE - 20 guided lessons across 5 levels, from how pieces move to advanced tactics - 72 interactive challenges that test your understanding on a real board - Progressive difficulty that adapts to your skill level SHARPEN YOUR TACTICS - Tactical puzzles to build pattern recognition - Opening drills covering 20 popular openings - Endgame training with 10 essential positions PLAY & IMPROVE - Play against AI at multiple difficulty levels - Study famous master games move by move - Board builder to set up and analyze any position AI COACH (iOS 26+) - Get personalized move explanations powered by Apple Intelligence - On-device AI analysis ā private and fast, no internet required Built for chess lovers of all levels. No account needed. No ads. Just chess.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Calvin Chess Trainer at every 5 days against Checkmate Academy's every 2 months. Calvin Chess Trainer also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Calvin Chess Trainer ships an update every 5 days, Checkmate Academy every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 9, 2026.
| Parameter | Calvin Chess Trainer | Checkmate Academy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days ā better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod ā better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 ā better | 17.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 170 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | DAVID MARKLE | Anupam Chugh |
In-app purchases
Calvin Chess Trainer
No in-app purchases
Checkmate Academy
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Calvin Chess Trainer free?
Is Checkmate Academy free?
Do Calvin Chess Trainer or Checkmate Academy have ads?
Which is updated more often, Calvin Chess Trainer or Checkmate Academy?
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