The Queen's Move, the latest cult series from Netflix, has rekindled interest in chess around the world. Even if you are a complete beginner, the collected applications will teach you the basics of the game and basic chess openings. If you know 64 cells like the back of your hand, then this is a great opportunity to improve your level and discover chess from a new side..
Whether you are impressed by the Queen's Move series or just love to play chess from your phone - this article will be of interest to you anyway! I have compiled a list of the best chess apps for both beginners and avid chess players (which I myself am).
AI Factory Limited
When it comes to chess on Android, the AI Factory Limited app is considered the “default choice”. It is very simple and easy to use, it has a bunch of interesting features that you just don't notice at first. This is one of the few apps that is always installed on my smartphone..
Chess uses the Treebeard chess engine, which many players consider to be human. There are 12 difficulty levels, from Beginner to Expert, and 2 game modes: Normal and Professional. And there is also a built-in tutorial, the ability to look into the thought process of your AI opponent, and the application itself maintains statistics, a list of achievements and leaders, as well as an Elo rating. All this is not a complete list, and my recommendation is simple: if you do not want to register somewhere, this is the best choice for playing chess on Android.
Available for Android ..
Chess.com
While AI Factory Limited's Chess is our favorite in today's rankings, Chess.com is by a very small margin in second place. With almost the same rich functionality, Chess.com has a lot to offer in terms of play, communication, and more.
You can play both against the computer and with live players, you can participate in tournaments, correspond during the game and add users as friends. On average, 11 million games are played on this platform per day around the world. Therefore, you can find an opponent at any time of the day or night just for a couple of seconds.
If you want to hone your skills, the app offers you a variety of chess puzzles, as well as instructional videos and tutorials for beginners. A listing of all the features of Chess.com will, alas, take up too much space, so if the previous app from AI Factory Limited didn't suit you in any way, I recommend giving Chess.com a try. I promise you can't go wrong - I've been playing on this site since 2012. During this time, I played a little over 8000 games, and my maximum rating was 1579.
To summarize, the Chess.com app is like a Swiss knife. It is packed to capacity with useful features and will suit players of any level.
Available for Android / iPhone / Online .
Lichess
Lichess, a free open-source application for Android and iOS phones, closes the top three. While it lacks the rich functionality of the first two apps, Lichess boasts austere simplicity and extremely useful functionality.
The application is intended for chess lovers who just want to play and improve, nothing more. The app has an audience of 150,000 players, so there won't be any problems finding an opponent.
There are several special game modes, here you can participate in tournaments, solve chess puzzles, analyze each game for errors, play offline, and much more. Plus, it has no embedded ads: just you, chess and your opponent. Unambiguous five!
Available for Android / iPhone / Online .
Chessplode
Let's step away from traditional chess for a change and talk about a couple of other games. Take Chessplode for example. This is a very fun game, it is not only about chess, but also about explosions. The evening is getting more interesting, isn't it?
It's simple. Eat a figure - explode the entire row or column adjacent to it with all adjacent figures. However, if the King is in a row or column, then instead of an explosion, you simply eat up an opponent's piece, as in ordinary chess. The game is based on standard chess mechanisms, and victory (as well as defeat) is always one step away from you.
Available for Android / iPhone .
Really Bad Chess
The Really Bad Chess application continues our list of non-standard chess. While there is still a grain of chess intelligence in Chessplode, this particular copy is completely derailed.
Instead of standard pieces, Really Bad Chess gives you an absolutely chaotic set of chess and kicks you towards fate. Imagine you have four bishops, three queens, or six knights. There is no balance, all chess strategies and mechanisms are sent into free flight: take what you give and go ahead to victory!
Forget about balance, skill, strategy and other nonsense: just pure, unrefined chaos! Really Bad Chess will give you a random set of pieces for a crazy but very interesting game!
Available for Android / iPhone .
Chess Tactics Pro
Chess Tactics Pro specializes in tactical puzzles to upgrade your strategic skills. The idea itself is simple, but there are many interesting points to improve your chess skills.
There are puzzles of various difficulty levels, and additional sets of tasks can be purchased for an additional fee. If you are an advanced player, the difficulty of the puzzles being solved can be up to 2000 Elo points. There are daily tasks, task history, analytics and several board styles. The app is free, there are in-app purchases for additional puzzle sets.
Chess Tactics Pro provides a whole kaleidoscope of chess puzzles that will improve your skills. There are several difficulty levels, daily chess puzzles and detailed analytics, so you can always analyze your mistakes so as not to repeat them in the future.
Available for Android / iPhone .
iChess
iChess is somewhat simpler than Chess Tactics Pro, but the idea is the same: chess puzzles, which are a great way to improve your game. The application is perfect for beginners who are taking their first steps in the chess field and who need an appropriate position without unnecessary tinsel.
IChess has three difficulty levels, the ability to upload pictures with problems in PNG format, as well as analysis of the games played for errors. The free version comes with ads that you can get rid of for a few dollars.
Available for Android / iPhone .
Chess Light
At the bottom of our list of chess puzzles is the Chess Light app. While Chess Tactics Pro and iChess are a set of chess problems that you solve to improve your chess skill, Chess Light is more of a stand-alone chess puzzle game. But I included her in this list because the game is very, very interesting.
You have over 180 puzzles and 6 difficulty levels. If you get stuck, the hint system will help you, but is that so interesting? Chess Light is completely free and without ads, sometimes you have to really strain your brains to win - I definitely recommend it!
Available for Android / iPhone .
Chess Openings Trainer
We conclude our today's list with tutorial apps that are geared towards serious players who want to identify all the weak points in their game. They study your moves and use the most effective strategies in response, thereby revealing all your weaknesses. You won't find puzzles here, only chess.
The first of these applications is the Chess Openings Trainer. If you want to work on your openings and late games, this is the place for you. Since this is a self-teaching app, your main goal will be to learn and memorize, because repetition is the mother of learning, especially in chess.
Chess Openings Trainer uses the Stockfish engine, with it you will learn and memorize all the major chess strategies. With it, you will master one of the most popular chess openings in a few minutes.
Available for Android only .
CT-ART
CT-ART is considered to be one of the best chess training apps. It has as many as 2,200 basic and 1,800 additional exercises on 50 different topics - the wealth of material is simply amazing.
Each exercise has its own purpose, so there is never a feeling of monotony. You will constantly learn new tactics as you progress, and the app will track your Elo rating, giving you an idea of your actual skill level. There are only a few trial lessons available in the free version, so I recommend purchasing the premium version.
The king of chess learning app, CT-ART is the definitive choice for those who are serious about improving their chess skills. The volume of materials is really amazing, so I recommend that you move through the application gradually.
Available for Android / iPhone / Online .