Simple Chess Trainer vs Zenmate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Simple Chess Trainer
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Simple Chess Trainer is a focused practice tool for chess players who want faster board recognition, sharper annotation skills (for beginners), and tighter opening repertoire memory (for all levels) โ all free, with no subscriptions or accounts. Square Recognition. Drill all 64 squares with timed sessions, custom filters (whole board, light/dark only, ranks 1โ4, etc.), and a focus list that biases toward squares you've missed in the last 90 days. Toggle coordinates off when you're ready to find squares from memory. Annotation Drill for Beginners. Step through any PGN game move-by-move, identify mistakes, and let the engine queue tough positions for review. The Review Queue surfaces moves you've gotten wrong three times running until you've beaten them three times in a row. Opening Repertoire & Move Trainer (All levels). Drag the right move (or type it) for both sides of any game or opening line in your library. The new Random Review mode picks games weighted by how much you've struggled โ your hardest lines surface first; mastered ones come up rarely so you don't drill what you already know. Library. Import any standard PGN file to build your own repertoire or review your own games. The app indexes thousands of games in seconds and ships with 20 verified historical classics on first launch โ Morphy's Opera Game, Anderssen's Immortal, the Game of the Century, Kasparov's Immortal, and more. Stats. 7-day / 30-day / 90-day / all-time views of accuracy, response time, square-error heatmap, piece-error breakdown, and per-game Move Trainer mastery. Export everything as JSON anytime. Works fully offline. Private by default. Every drill, import, and statistic stays on your device. No accounts, no servers, no chess-data analytics, no subscriptions โ ever. Ads are served by Google AdMob and gated by App Tracking Transparency; remove them permanently with a one-time in-app purchase. Designed for iPhone and iPad. Built for iOS 18.
Zenmate
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Zenmate is a calm, beautifully designed chess app built for focused play. Play a quiet game against the AI, start a match with friends through Game Center, or pass-and-play on one device. Zenmate keeps the interface simple and refined so the board stays central and every move has room to breathe. Features: - Play vs AI with multiple difficulty levels - Play with friends using Game Center - Local 2-player pass-and-play - Light and dark mode - Optional board coordinates - Flip board support - Clean timers and move-focused gameplay A quiet game of kings. Designed to slow you down, one move at a time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Zenmate at none against Simple Chess Trainer's 1. Zenmate also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Simple Chess Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Zenmate asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Simple Chess Trainer | Zenmate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | โ | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No โ better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No โ better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Oleksandr Ioffe | Timothy Nice |
In-app purchases
Simple Chess Trainer
- Remove All Adds (One-Time)$12.99
Zenmate
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Simple Chess Trainer free?
Is Zenmate free?
Do Simple Chess Trainer or Zenmate have ads?
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