Comparison

Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) vs Chess Notation Trainer

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

Head to head
About

Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles)

Sharpen your chess skills with a vast library of puzzles for all levels. Practice daily, offline, or track your progress with adaptive challenges. Analyze your moves with a built-in engine and customize your experience with various themes.

Highlights
  • Daily puzzles
  • Offline puzzle packs
  • Progress mode with Elo rating
  • Puzzle analysis engine
  • Bookmark puzzles
  • Multiple board themes
Features
Read full description

Improve your chess tactics with this large collection of chess puzzles for all levels! This tactic trainer lets you practice in 3 different modes : - Solve daily puzzles - Solve offline puzzle packs - Use the "Progress" mode to get random problems of your level and know your Elo rating All puzzles are of a high quality and are guaranteed to have a unique solution. The difficulty ranges from beginner to advanced (2000+ Elo). Other features : - A free powerful engine to analyze the puzzles - Level history - Bookmark puzzles - Several board themes - Optimized for both phones and tablets - A simple and intuitive interface, with no useless stuff, and no weird problems

About

Chess Notation Trainer

Master chess squares and notation with this training app. Improve your ability to identify coordinates, translate moves, and visualize the board, even without one. Ideal for serious players looking to enhance calculation speed and chess understanding.

Highlights
  • Identify squares by coordinate
  • Translate move sequences to notation
  • Determine square color instantly
  • Stay oriented on the board
  • Follow chess tutorials without a board
  • Speed up calculation
  • Practice blind chess
Features
Read full description

Serious about chess? But struggling to identify the squares, remembering sequences and follow chess notations? Well, you just landed on the perfect app! This training app is designed to dramatically uplift your mastery over chess squares. There are 5 training sessions. A small dose of regular practice will make you: 1. Spot a square as soon as you hear or see its coordinate 2. Translate a sequence of moves into their notation at ease 3. Immediately identify the color of a square 4. Stay oriented regardless of you facing white or black 5. Follow along with chess tutorials, books or any discussion without a board 6. Massively speedup your thought process on any calculation 7. Finally, start playing blind chess! Don't be surprised if you see a sudden surge of rating simply increasing your strength on square reading. The free version is already good enough to cause a major spike in your chess career. However, a one time purchase will unlock the full version which includes: - Extended time controls - Untimed practice mode - Milestones and achievements - Board assistance during training - And a complete visualization of your records There will be no ads, neither in the full version nor in the free one. Just a beautiful and satisfyingly addictive way to your square mastery. Caution: If you are rated below 1500, this app is probably not gonna be as useful for you, and tactics training is something you should prioritize.

Screenshots

Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles)4 screens
Chess Notation Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess Notation Trainer at none against Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles)'s shown. Chess Notation Trainer also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 90%). Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles)'s advantage is ratings volume (3.7K vs 16) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Chess Notation Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) has 3.7K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 90% of Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles)'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Chess Notation Trainer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) ships an update every 2 months, Chess Notation Trainer every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) versus Chess Notation Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Tactics Pro (Puzzles)Chess Notation Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3.7K ratings) — better4.5 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.7K — better16
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEmmanuel MathisNishat Majid

Customer experience

Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles)

All ratings3,685 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews331 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral4.5%
Negative5.4%

Chess Notation Trainer

All ratings15 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles)

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional crashes or freezes
  • Incorrect move validation in some cases

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add option to see captured pieces
  • Provide more context and analysis for puzzles
  • Improve difficulty categorization of puzzles
  • Allow for user feedback on puzzle issues

Chess Notation Trainer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles)

One-time11
  • Easy mates$1.99
  • Intermediate mates$1.99
  • Hard mates$1.99
Show 8 more
  • Easy tactics$1.99
  • Intermediate tactics$1.99
  • Hard tactics$1.99
  • Mates in 2, 3 and 4 moves$1.99
  • Intermediate Tactics - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Hard Tactics - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Easy Tactics - Vol. 2$1.99
  • All-Access Pass$9.99
1 purchases

Chess Notation Trainer

One-time1
  • Full Version$4.99

Questions

Is Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) free?
Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Notation Trainer free?
Chess Notation Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) or Chess Notation Trainer?
Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) is rated higher. Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Chess Notation Trainer averages 4.5 from 16 ratings.
Do Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) or Chess Notation Trainer have ads?
Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) shows ads; Chess Notation Trainer does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) or Chess Notation Trainer?
Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) ships an update every 2 months, and Chess Notation Trainer every 2 days. Most recently, Chess Tactics Pro (Puzzles) was updated on September 25, 2026 and Chess Notation Trainer on September 7, 2026.

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