Chesswise vs Chess Variants Studio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Chesswise
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AI Chess Coach is a focused chess app for learning while you play. Play against a Stockfish-powered opponent, choose your side, adjust engine strength, and get help from an AI chess mentor when you need it. The AI mentor can explain the current position, suggest plans, and highlight immediate threats using the board state, move history, and engine recommendation. Features: - Play as White or Black - Adjustable engine difficulty - Stockfish-powered move generation - AI mentor explanations
Chess Variants Studio
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Play any of nine variants of chess with 8 levels, 1200-2100, against the custom Pulsar engine. Review games with variant engine analysis. Styles supported are Chess960, Crazyhouse, Atomic, Losers, Giveaway, Three Checks, Advanced Pawns, Reversed Pawns and Random Pieces. The rules are included in-app. No signup. Ad Free. Works Offline. The playing program is one i've designed and tested at different levels on internet chess servers in order to come up with the ratings on the board. Ratings range from 1200 to 2100 or 2200 depending on variant. Try the app for free. There's 10 free plays of pure variants like atomic, crazyhouse and loser's and 10 free plays of chessic variants like chess960 and 30 free views of played games with analysis. A single one-time purchase unlocks unlimited play and variant engine analysis. Played games are logged and can also be viewed/analyzed. When reviewing the player's games, users can override the moves and start making their own moves. Back up to main line to undo. If the user goes looks at the Moves while reviewing, the game can be copied to the clipboard. The app comes with two skin themes, a reddish wood and a teal. Also here are multiple board and piece choices to choose from in settings.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chesswise at none against Chess Variants Studio's 1. Chess Variants Studio's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.1). On price, update cadence and ads 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. Chess Variants Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chesswise asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chesswise ships an update fortnightly, Chess Variants Studio every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chesswise | Chess Variants Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 9 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod โ better |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 15.6 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 93 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cuong Nguyen | Michael Adams |
In-app purchases
Chesswise
No in-app purchases
Chess Variants Studio
- Unlimited Plays and Views$3.99
Questions
Is Chesswise free?
Is Chess Variants Studio free?
Do Chesswise or Chess Variants Studio have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chesswise or Chess Variants Studio?
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