Comparison

Simple Chess Trainer vs Marshal Chess

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

Head to head
About

Simple Chess Trainer

Features
Read full description

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) — all free, with no subscriptions or accounts. Square Recognition. Drill all 64 squares with timed sessions, custom filters (whole board, light/dark only, ranks 1–4, 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 — 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 — 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 — 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.

About

Marshal Chess

This app offers a focused Chinese Chess (Xiangqi) experience with multiple game modes including adaptive AI coaching, traditional AI matches, and unique puzzle challenges. It features local multiplayer options and tools for studying real-world games, all within a clean, ad-free interface.

Highlights
  • Adaptive AI coaching
  • AI matches with difficulty levels
  • Jieqi (Hidden Chess) mode
  • Endgame Puzzles
  • Nearby Duel (local multiplayer)
  • Game Study with board recognition
Features
Read full description

Marshal Chess is a clean, focused Chinese Chess (Xiangqi) app for iPhone and iPad. No social noise — open it and play. Six modes: · Adaptive Coaching — the AI silently reads your level and stays just one step ahead, easing off when you are far ahead and pushing harder when you are behind. On your turn it lifts the piece for the strongest move to show you. No difficulty picker, no tests, no prompts · AI Match — five difficulty levels (Beginner to Master), save and resume any game, take back moves · Jieqi (Hidden Chess) — every piece except the generals starts face-down in a shuffled position and is revealed after its first move; revealed advisors and elephants may leave the palace and cross the river. The computer never peeks at hidden pieces · Endgame Puzzles — 90 classical compositions from the Ming-dynasty collection "Shi Qing Ya Qu", each with its source and original number; all 1,416 moves of the reference lines verified for legality and checkmate. Search by name or number, filter to unfinished · Nearby Duel — play someone next to you over a direct device-to-device connection. No data usage, no server, no shared network needed; just turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both devices. Game clocks with a per-move countdown, take-backs, Jieqi and automatic reconnection; a player who leaves can return to the same game from the lobby, and an optional password keeps strangers out · Game Study — when you face a real opponent over a physical board, enter both sides' moves and get the strongest move on your turn. Start from the opening position or use the board editor. Live camera and photo recognition run on-device, with a review step to correct or complete the position; optional cloud enhancement is available Design notes: · Calm, modern Chinese look: warm paper background, clerical-script glyphs and nine board themes to choose from (Warm Ivory, Kaya Wood, Pale Celadon, Ebony and more), switchable even mid-game; a bundled Kai typeface works offline and dark mode is supported · Just the board: no title bar or status line during play — Menu at the top left, More at the bottom right, in Liquid Glass · Background music, a full sound set and Mandarin move announcements, adjustable in-game or silenced to let your own music play · Move and capture animations play in sequence for a clear rhythm · No ads, no in-app purchases, no account required. Recognition runs on-device by default. If you choose cloud enhancement and consent, the selected photo is sent through Cloudflare to Anthropic; see our privacy policy Xiangqi is interesting enough on its own. We just built a good board for it.

Screenshots

Simple Chess Trainer4 screens
Marshal Chess3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Marshal Chess at none against Simple Chess Trainer's 1. Marshal Chess also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, 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. Simple Chess Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Marshal Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Simple Chess Trainer versus Marshal Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple Chess TrainerMarshal Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Every 3 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOleksandr IoffeSANOINV INC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Simple Chess Trainer

One-time1
  • Remove All Adds (One-Time)$12.99
None

Marshal Chess

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple Chess Trainer free?
Simple Chess Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Marshal Chess free?
Marshal Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Simple Chess Trainer or Marshal Chess have ads?
Simple Chess Trainer shows ads; Marshal Chess does not.

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