Chess Free

Perhaps the best chess app we've found so far.

Chess. Mental fencing, willpower warfare, the triumph of mind over matter, or those little wooden pieces on a board that the elderly carry every other morning to the park... No matter what you call it, it should be on your mobile. Of course, you probably already have a lot of fun little games that are perfect for wasting your time, but I bet none of them is chess.
We believe that this app has some interesting features that differentiate it from many others we've seen so far. First of all, the rules of the game are written out in and easy-to-understand manner, so this app's suitable for those who want to learn practically from scratch. En passant capture and castling will be no longer be distant concepts.

The first thing that grabs our attention about this app is that when it’s launched there's a small intro where we see the machine play against itself. This is a nice touch.

There are ten difficulty levels, three boards and three piece sets. There should be more, but it has to be said that the strangest sets do slow the game down too much. In the easier levels, the IA is weaker but certainly not stupid and does not make unintelligible mistakes (at least, not too often), so beginners should have a realistic experience. At the end of the game, the match can be reviewed in algebraic notation. This option is useful for learning how to write matches down, but it's a pity that transcripts can't be shared or saved. Of course, games can be saved and resumed later and all you the pros out there will be happy with the option that lets you see what action the machine is contemplating before moving.

There's a hot seat option for playing with a friend and if this was available online, then we’d give the game a fifth star. While you're playing, the game shows ads on the upper part of the screen, but apart from that, this really is a great free chess app.