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Best Chess Apps for Android and iOS
1. Learn Chess
The best way to learn Chess is by playing it and even if you have no one else to play with, you have your Phone. Learn Chess is a tutorial app that teaches you the basic rules and positions of the pieces. This app would guide you through the basic elements of strategy, combinational moves, and methods of opening and closing. You get puzzles in this app that you have to solve, which are essentially a random part of the game and you have to solve it by making a legal move. The puzzles progress non-linearly to make it challenging. And if you ever get stuck while playing, the app offers you hints.
Learn Chess (Android)
2. Chess
When you gain a little confidence with Learn Chess and are ready to play with real players, Move to this app and play against people online with this app. Chess is a simple Chess app that lets you play against your Phone with a varying difficulty level. If you don’t wish to play against something written on set rules, you can go online and play with other users or even your friends and compete in tournaments. You can chat with other players while playing online other than that you can solve puzzles if you’re looking to improve your skills and it automatically adjusts the difficulty based on your performance. The best thing about going online is, the app matches you with people of your own ability by adjusting your skill rating. You can watch interactive tutorials from grandmasters and learn valuable lessons. Download Chess.com (Android | iOS)
3. WiFi Chess
Okay now you’ve played with random players and even your friends online but now you’re at home and you just wish to play against each other. You can play on the Phone with each other it becomes a hassle when you have to give your phone to your competitor after every move breaking your concentration. Wifi Chess allows you to play Chess against your friend over a local Wi-Fi (or mobile hotspot) network without the need for Internet. WiFi Chess for iOS
4. Chess Clock
Chess is a game of strategy and patience and some sessions last up to 6 hours in official tournaments. This can get boring when you’re not competing for a grandmaster title. Chess clock (another app from chess.com) is a Chess timer app that lets you run a timer for each player. You have to make a move quickly and press the button on the clock to stop your timer and start your opponent’s. This adds a challenge to the game and keeps you on your feet. However, you need to play the actual game on another Phone or a Chessboard. There are a few different modes 1m, 1m+ 1 seconds, 5m, 5m+ 5 seconds, etc. You can play in Blitz modus or Fischer Modus. Different Themes are available and you can create your own themes as well. Download Chess Clock (Android | iOS)
5. Lichess
If you like everything open source, Lichess is the Chess game for you. Lichess is an online Chess app with which you can against opponents online. The community is ever-growing with almost 150,000 users playing with each other. You can either play against AI or an internet opponent Also Read: Best Strategy games for Mac
There are a few variants of Chess available both online and offline: Chess 960, Classical, Crazyhouse, King of the Hill, etc. You can find, and challenge players online for a quick game. Your stats are built with every game and you can see your growth. It’s completely open-source and ad-free. Download Lichess (Android | iOS)
6. Really Bad Chess
Now, you have a decent idea on how to play Chess both against real people and computer, it’s time to tweak it a bit with Really Bad Chess. When you start the game, you are given a random board where you have the advantage over the other opponent. For example, you have 3 queens, extra Rooks, and bishops, etc. It might feel weird at first, but after a few moves, the board looks like any other regular chess game. The game becomes more difficult as your opponent has more key players than you. Like the computer may have 2 queens, while you have just one. Don’t worry you can still win, as the AI is not getting any smarter, it just has extra key players than you. Overall, what I like about the game is, it helps you to break the stigma of regular chess. In a regular chess game, if one memorize the opening and pattern, it’s quite easy to beat your opponent. Real bad chess, on the other hand, demands a far better understanding of the game. Download Really Bad Chess (Android | iOS)
7. DroidFish Chess
Wow, I guess you’ve mastered playing and winning a game of chess against the computer and feel like it’s based on a few set moves which once you figure it out becomes easy to defeat? DroidFish Chess is based on a Chess Engine which is still like playing against a computer but a more advanced AI-enabled with natural move-guessing algorithms. Droidfish is an interface for the Stockfish engine which is the king of all engines
The app has many features like clocks, analyze mode, Blindfold mode, support for third-party engines, etc. This app would give you a highly immersive and engaging experience playing against an AI. Download DroidFish Chess (Android) Stockfish Chess (iOS)
8. Play Magnus
Based on Magnus Carlsen, the World Champion in Chess, this app lets you challenge a digital version of Magnus Carlsen – chess world champion. You play against a Chess Engine that is specifically tuned to play like Carlsen. You can play and qualify to actually play against the World Champion himself. The game now features only one player option but you can expect multiplayer support in the future. Download Play Magnus (Android | iOS)
9. Real Chess
Probably the best looking Chess game in our list. Real Chess offers high-end 3d graphics and fantastic gameplay. You can play against players online and chat with them. There are over one million users registered with the app. The game offers beautiful graphics and you can choose between 2D and 3D Chess boards. You get the option to play against an AI with 2400 different levels of difficulty. Download Real Chess (Android )
10. Open Chaos Chess
If you’ve thought chess games are all about deciding the correct move, you might have to rethink. This chess games completely overthrows the way you play chess. Unlike traditional games where you pick the piece and make a move, you only have the option for the former here. The moves are completely random, therefore, there are no checkmates. You win by eliminating pieces of your opponent one by one.
If you want to share this chaos with friends and have more fun. The game has a multiplayer mode which can be easily hosted using Bluetooth. Open Chaos Chess for Android
Best Chess Apps for Android and iOS
I never learned to play Chess but Learn Chess helped me get started from scratch and even helped me learn a few tricks. Playing against people online is best on Chess and Lichess but Real Chess has the best graphics and gameplay. If you don’t find playing against the computer and its preprogrammed moves, go with DroiFish Chess and Play Magnus I’m sure you would have a great time playing against a Chess Engine that adapts to your moves. Tell us Which is your favorite Chess app. Let us know in the comments.
