Chess app guides
Opinionated guides, not listicles. Each one written by a 2250 Lichess player who has actually used the apps for months - not scraped App Store blurbs.
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The Best Chess Apps, Sorted by What You Actually Need
Offline, beginner, tactics, free: the best chess apps for each situation, every one installed and tested. One pick per need, with the honest runner-up.
Read the guideWhich Chess App for Which Kind of Training
Tactics, endgames, openings, game review: which chess app does each job best, a three-app stack that works, and what to pay from $0 to $40 a month.
- Chess Apps for Tactics Training
Which chess puzzle app actually builds pattern recognition and which one just farms your time? Tested picks from a directory run by a 2250 Lichess player.
- Chess Apps for Opening Preparation
Opening apps compared: what actually builds a repertoire vs. what just fills your subscription queue. Directory picks from a 2250 Lichess player.
- Chess Apps for Endgame Practice
Endgame training is where most club players underinvest and lose ELO. A tested shortlist of chess apps that actually drill the technique that wins close games.
Chess Apps for Beginners
Five chess apps for beginners, installed and tested, sorted by starting point: learning the moves, first games, first improvement. Free-tier limits checked, every paid upgrade labeled.
Chess Apps That Work Offline
Lichess, Stockfish, SCID vs PC and more: the offline chess apps that still play, analyze and drill with no Wi-Fi. Each claim checked against the app's own documentation.
- Offline Chess Apps for Android
Lichess, DroidFish, Chess King Learn, Shredder: the Android chess apps that play, analyze and drill with no internet, checked against their own listings. Plus the pre-flight checklist.
- Does Chess.com Work Offline?
The Chess.com app plays the computer and analyses games offline once signed in. Puzzles, lessons, Game Review and online play need a connection, and the website needs one for everything.
- Free Chess Apps With No Ads
Genuinely free chess apps with no ads: Lichess, Listudy, Stockfish, SCID vs PC, ChessKid's free tier. Plus what Chess.com's free tier actually limits, and which 'free' apps are trials.
Looking for structured coaching, not software? The academies and clubs directory reviews the online training programs - Chess Dojo, Bacrot Academy, ChessMood, BlitzStream - that serious adult improvers actually pay for.