Ranking updated
Apps to play chess online and learn from scratch
A chess app gives you an opponent any time, a person online, a friend or the computer. Chess.com covers everything from one minute games to daily correspondence, plus puzzles, lessons and bots. Lichess is free and open source, built by volunteers, with tournaments, puzzles and game analysis. ChessKid is the kids’ app from Chess.com, with step by step lessons in an ad free space. Chess.com and ChessKid have a Ukrainian interface on iPhone, and the lichess.org site opens in Ukrainian.
How we picked: chess apps from a seller shown as a trader in the App Store or published by the chess site itself, with features from each app’s own description. We do not quote prices or player numbers.
Chess.com: games, puzzles and lessons
Chess.com lets you play online in real time, from one minute games to thirty minutes or longer, or slow daily correspondence games, and join tournaments. It has variants such as chess960, blitz, bullet and blindfold, rated puzzles that adjust to your level, Puzzle Rush against the clock, lessons and videos by masters, and bot opponents for offline games.
Lichess: free and open source
Lichess is a free, open source chess app run by volunteers and donations. You can play real time or correspondence games, arena tournaments and online bots, solve themed puzzles online or offline, race the clock in Puzzle Storm and analyse your games with Stockfish. It also has a board editor, shared studies, a coordinates trainer, a chess clock for over the board games and live broadcasts of major tournaments, and it is translated into 55 languages.
ChessKid: chess for children
ChessKid teaches children chess step by step with interactive lessons and puzzles. Kids can play online or offline against friends, other kids or funny chess bots, choosing slow or fast games, in a space without ads made for children. For more games that work without a connection, see offline games for iPhone. Choosing between the two big ones, see Chess.com vs Lichess.
| App | Best for | Key features | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chess.comApp StoreGoogle Play | playing and learning in one place | online games, tournaments, puzzles, lessons, bots, offline games | iOS, Android |
| LichessApp StoreGoogle Play | free chess without limits | real time and correspondence games, arenas, puzzles, Stockfish analysis | iOS, Android |
| ChessKidApp StoreGoogle Play | children learning chess | interactive lessons, puzzles, games with bots and friends, no ads | iOS, Android |
Frequently asked questions
Where can I play chess online in Ukrainian?
Chess.com and ChessKid have a Ukrainian interface on iPhone, and the lichess.org site opens in Ukrainian.
Can I play chess against the computer?
Yes. Chess.com and ChessKid have bot opponents, and Lichess lets you play online bots and analyse games with Stockfish.
How can a child learn chess from scratch?
ChessKid teaches step by step with interactive lessons and puzzles, and Chess.com has lessons and videos by masters for older beginners.