Chess Apps: The Best of 2025

Finding the right chess apps for you can be a literal game changer. But app stores are flooded with chess apps, and a lot of computer chess apps and sites are lack luster.

So here are some tried and true online chess apps that you can use to improve your game, follow chess matches, and connect with other chess players.

1. Chess.com

We can't have a list of popular chess apps without mentioning Chess.com. Chess.com is the #1 platform for online chess games, with over 200 million users. It first started in 2005, but has grown. Now, Chess.com is behind or affiliated with some of the most well-known apps, including Play Magnus and other apps you'll find on this list, including ChessKid and Chessable.

On Chess.com, you can play games online with friends or chess players from around the world in real time, or face computer chess opponents. You can also play chess variants like bughouse, crazyhouse, and chess960. There are also several options for puzzles, including Puzzle Rush and Puzzle Battles.

You can also watch chess broadcasts on ChessTV. This makes it easier to keep up with all the major FIDE tournaments and watch the biggest chess matches live. Plus, the app features lessons for every skill level. You can learn everything from the basics of how chess pieces move to chess tactics, strategy, and advanced endgames.

You can also read blog posts, and articles to keep up with chess news.

Pros: easy to use, common-sense interface, most widely known platform

Cons: free tier limits lessons per day, limits number of computer analyses per day, app feels too corporate

2. Lichess

If Chess.com is the golden child of chess apps, Lichess (pronounced lee-chess) is the rebellious sibling. Lichess is an open-source chess app that offers all its features completely free. It was first founded in 2010 by a French programmer.

Other computer chess sites use Lichess's source code, API, or database. Some sites that are powered using Lichess's source code are:

• Blitz Tactics
• Blunder Bomb
• lidraughts.org
• playstrategy.org
• lishogi.org

Chess players use Lichess to play over five million games a day. And there are no ads. You can join online tournaments and spectate live games from the highest-rated players on the platform. Plus, you can analyze your game alongside a database of masters. You can also share studies online, allowing players to create free mini course on literally any chess concept.

You can also find experienced coaches and make student accounts that allow you to monitor a chess player's progress. Like Chess.com, you can also find broadcasts and live streamers and follow live chess matches. There are also community blogs.

Admittedly, the Lichess app itself is pretty glitchy, and you can't access everything you can on the website from the app. Still, you can work around some of the app's shortcomings by saving the webpage to your home screen.

Pros: Unlimited free computer analyses, free lessons, no ads, you can use source code to make your own chess app

Cons: App is glitchy, doesn't have all the features of the website

3. Chessable

While learning chess can take practice and time, Chessable is an app that builds courses in a way that is intuitive for chess players to follow. It was developed into a publicly accessible tool in 2015.

Chessable's MoveTrainer uses science to help you recall more of what you learn in each course. 

It leverages space repetition theory to create a schedule for you to practice. It's also designed to gamify the experience and reward you with small achievements. In theory, this will provide you more dopamine than you would get from reading a book, effectively making it easier to learn. You can learn more about the science behind Chessable here.

Courses usually use a combination of a lecture and a step-by-step walkthrough using the MoveTrainer.

Here are some Chessable courses you can try completely free:

• Everything you Need to Know About Chess by IM Danny Rensch (the Chief Chess Officer of Chess.com!).
• Typical Tactical Tricks: 500 Ways to Win! by CM Adam Gaisinsky.
• Morphy's Opera House Game by IM John Bartholomew.

Pros: helpful tool in strengthening memory, improving chess openings, tons of free content to enjoy

Cons: many courses locked behind paywall, and buying individual courses can be pricey

4. Chessvision.ai

Do you ever struggle to follow chess books because you have to manually input positions into Chess.com or Lichess's analysis board?

Chessvision.ai is a tool that can save chess book lovers a ton of time. It allows you to take a photo of a chess position on a printed page or in a screenshot online. It then replicates the position on a board. The app then identifies which Chessable or YouTube courses the position is featured in, and allows you to export it to Lichess or Chess.com.

This tool can save you time setting up positions in Lichess when following along in a book, magazine, or online chess article. You can also download bots to analyze chess diagrams on Discord, Twitter, and Reddit.

You can also use the eBook reader to make any pdf of chess content interactive. Using the reader, you'll be able to double-tap any chess diagram to open it in Lichess or Chess.com for analysis.

The eBook reader won the Best Chess Startup 2020 award at the ChessTech2020 Conference.

Pros: makes following along in chess books simpler, makes reading chess content more engaging

Cons: free version limits the amount of positions you can analyze in a day

5. ChessKid

Kid's chess is its own beast. And when so much chess is played over the internet, parents might want to take extra steps to ensure their kids are safe from, for instance, harmful or abusive language. Alternatively, they may want to collaborate with chess coaches to track their kids' progress.

So ChessKid is a solid app that is made especially for kids. In fact, it is the #1 chess site for kids. Over 2000 schools use the ChessKid app as an interactive learning tool. Plus, there's even an online chess classroom.

Similarly to chess.com and Lichess, you can play games at a variety of different time controls and analyze games. But you can also complete quests in ChessKid adventure. This gives kid chess players the chance to collect gold or earn costume outfits for their online characters.

The app also does not have a chat feature, and it auto-generates usernames. You can also access child activity reports to keep a full track of how your child is using the app.

Chess teachers can also use the curriculum, teacher's guide, and printable posters to facilitate their lessons.

Pros: tailored specifically for kids, prioritizes online safety, designed with educators in mind

Cons: paid tiers can be pricey, especially for enterprise accounts

6. Really Bad Chess

If you love a creative chess variant, take Really Bad Chess for a spin!

This app was first released in 2016 by Zach Gage. While it diverts so strongly from chess, you probably can't improve traditional play from this variant, Really Bad Chess is still a lot of fun.

Essentially, you have a standard chess board with 16 white pieces and 16 black. But aside from the king, the rest of your pieces can be literally anything.

Take a look at an example board:

This game makes it possible to settle imbalances between two players, no matter how big the Elo difference.

Are you highly advanced but have a novice friend? Set a higher difficulty for yourself by playing with 15 bishops and a king, while your friend has multiple queens and rooks.

The Verge says that the app "makes chess fun, even if you're really bad."

Pros: creative and fun chess variant

Cons: may not be as helpful in improving chess performance

Final Thoughts: Chess Apps

There are so many other chess apps on the market that we couldn't cover every app that might be worth your time here. If an app looks interesting and isn't on this list, give it a shot. But don't forget about other resources for chess advancement.

If you have a USCF membership, you can access recent editions of Chess Life online through your account. YouTube is also a great resource for chess lectures, recaps of historic matches, and other fun chess content.

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