Comparison

Notation vs Chess

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

Head to head
About

Notation

This app provides in-depth chess coaching by explaining moves and patterns using advanced AI and established coaching theories. It offers detailed game reviews, player profiling, and opponent scouting, all processed on your device for privacy.

Highlights
  • On-device AI analysis
  • Multiple coaching frameworks
  • Detailed game reviews
  • Player style profiling
  • Opponent scouting
  • Physical board integration
  • Privacy-focused design
Features
Read full description

Notation is a chess coaching app that teaches you why — not just what. Every chess evaluation comes from Stockfish 18, running entirely on your device. Every pattern, weakness, and tactical motif is detected by hand-tuned on-device classifiers built on decades of coaching theory. The language model's only job is the last step: explaining what the analysis found, in plain English, like a coach sitting next to you. The chess is never generated. It's explained. THREE COACHING FRAMEWORKS Notation is the first chess app to operationalise multiple grandmaster-level coaching frameworks as deterministic measurement: • Dan Heisman's seven positional elements — Mobility, Vulnerability, Centre Control, Coordination, Speed, Time, Flexibility — measured per-position with super-GM baselines • Jeremy Silman's coaching emphasis frames — fifteen frames choosing what to teach at each moment • Jacob Aagaard's positional predicates — Where are the weaknesses? Which is the worst-placed piece? What's the opponent's plan? All computed on-device. All deterministic. The same principles human coaches have used for decades, encoded into classifiers that run before the language model ever sees the position. GAME REVIEW Every game gets a coherent on-device review — no API key needed, no internet, no cost. Template-driven narrative against the full coaching substrate. When you want depth, upgrade once with your own Anthropic or OpenAI API key, o ruse the On Device LLM with no additional costs and the richer review becomes the permanent artefact for that game. Nadia comments on at most six moments — only the ones worth learning from. PDF export of every review. PLAYER PROFILE Style axes — Aggression, Tactical Alertness, Positional Play, Endgame — derived from the substrate with confidence bands. The seven Heisman elements sit below as evidence. Full-screen iPad dashboard. PDF coaching report you could hand to a human coach. OPPONENT SCOUTING & MATCHUP REPORTS Scout reports surface the full eight-axis substrate on any opponent. How-to-play-against framing with concrete suggestions. Player-vs-opponent comparison across all axes with weakest-phase detection. SHADOW — YOUR CHESS TWIN Shadow learns how you play and saves checkpoints. Play yourself from six months ago. See how far you've come. Coming soon: calibrate Shadow to your real-life rivals by importing their games. PLAY ON YOUR PHYSICAL BOARD Pair with Chessnut Air, Pro, Go, Air+ and Move over Bluetooth. Notation tracks every move on real wood while Nadia coaches. PRIVACY BY DESIGN Stockfish on-device. All coaching classifiers on-device. Cohort baselines on-device. Optional cloud AI is bring-your-own-key — your Anthropic or OpenAI API key, your account, your data. We never see it. Leave the field blank and Notation works fully without it. IMPORT YOUR GAMES Connect Lichess or Chess.com. Import PGN files. Nadia analyses everything in the background. £2.99. One-off. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. Yours forever.

About

Chess

Features
Read full description

Tactics are one of the fastest ways to improve your chess. By solving tactical puzzles, you train pattern recognition, calculation, and board vision—essential skills for finding winning combinations, avoiding mistakes, and playing stronger games. Face players from around the world in exciting real-time puzzle battles. Both players solve tactical positions simultaneously, competing to find the best moves and earn more points. Test your speed, accuracy, and tactical vision as you climb the rankings and face increasingly stronger opponents. Want to fully understand each puzzle? Review completed positions with the integrated analysis engine, go through solutions move by move, and discover missed opportunities. Every puzzle becomes a learning experience that strengthens your understanding of key tactical themes. Whether you're a beginner developing your tactical vision or an experienced player aiming to stay competitive, this app offers a fun, challenging, and addictive way to improve your chess while competing in intense online duels. Key features: • Real-time tactical puzzle battles • Compete against players worldwide • Ranking and progression system • Integrated chess engine analysis • Train calculation, tactical patterns, and board vision • Improve while playing fast, competitive games

Screenshots

Notation4 screens
Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess at Free against Notation's $2.99. Notation's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 10 days). On in-app purchases, 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

Chess is free to download; Notation costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notation ships an update every 4 days, Chess every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and August 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Notation versus Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotationChess
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size427 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDarren CoxAlvaro Ribes

In-app purchases

None

Notation

No in-app purchases

None

Chess

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notation free?
Notation costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess free?
Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Notation or Chess have ads?
Chess shows ads; Notation does not.
Which is updated more often, Notation or Chess?
Notation ships an update every 4 days, and Chess every 10 days. Most recently, Notation was updated on September 12, 2026 and Chess on August 24, 2026.

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