2026-03-27
Mr
I have always enjoyed playing and measuring my skills level. I welcome any further improvements.
Updating
+12
Description
tChess Lite is the popular chess game designed just for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. tChess is like a virtual chess board on your device. It's fun and easy to use--perfect for the casual player!
This game features a very clean UI design and beautiful graphics. tChess is a fast and stable program. Pick up a game in your free time... and there's no problem listening to your music while you play.
(tChess Lite is a fully-functional version of tChess for casual chess players. If you're an active player and want enthusiast-level features, take a look at tChess Pro, which is over 1000 ELO stronger and has received rave reviews from Grandmaster Susan Polgar, PE's Chess Cast, and iPhone app critics.)
tChess Lite Features:
- Perfect for 1- or 2-player games (on the same device, no network connection required)
- Tap-tap to move pieces
- Highlights legal moves
- View full game history in the Move List
- Go back or forward move by move and replay completed games
- Built-in chess clock
- "Get hint" feature to improve your game
- Easy to undo moves
- Saves your game automatically if you exit the program or take a call
- Play against any ELO rating from 500 to 1200
- Computer opponent is the most fun and realistic for beginners and casual players
- Use the Profile feature to play rated games and track your progress
- Over 15,000 openings for fresh, varied games
tChess Lite is developed by Tom Kerrigan, author of the TSCP and Stobor chess engines.
What's New in Version 2.0.1
- Updated for the latest version of iOS
- Fixed a bug where the animations would become jerky if the app was open for a long time
Seller
Name
Tom Kerrigan
Information
Developer
Categories
Version
2.0.1
Size
6.1 MB
Game Center
Yes
VPP Device Licensing
Yes
Rating
Rated: 4+
Compatibility
iOS 26.0 or later
Devices
iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2nd generation), iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone SE (3rd generation), iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16e, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPhone 17e, iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro, iPad Pro (Cellular), iPad Pro (9.7-inch), iPad Pro (9.7-inch) (Cellular), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (10.5-inch), iPad Pro (10.5-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (11-inch), iPad Pro (11-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air, iPad Air (Cellular), iPad Air 2, iPad Air 2 (Cellular), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad Air (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini Retina, iPad mini Retina (Cellular), iPad mini 3, iPad mini 3 (Cellular), iPad mini 4, iPad mini 4 (Cellular), iPad mini (5th Generation), iPad mini (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (7th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air (4th Generation) (Wi-Fi), iPad Air (4th Generation) (Wi-Fi + Cellular), iPad (8th generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (8th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th Generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (9th Generation), iPad (9th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini (6th Generation), iPad mini (6th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air (5th generation), iPad Air (5th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (10th generation), iPad (10th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air 11-inch (M2) Wi-Fi, iPad Air 13-inch (M2) Wi-Fi, iPad Air 13-inch (M2) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) Wi-Fi, iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) Wi-Fi, iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini (A17 Pro) Wi-Fi, iPad mini (A17 Pro) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (A16) Wi-Fi, iPad (A16) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air 11-inch (M3) Wi-Fi, iPad Air 11-inch (M3) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air 13-inch (M3) Wi-Fi, iPad Air 13-inch (M3) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (M5) Wi-Fi, iPad Pro 11-inch (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) Wi-Fi, iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air 11-inch (M4) Wi-Fi, iPad Air 11-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air 13-inch (M4) Wi-Fi, iPad Air 13-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPod touch (6th Generation), iPod touch (7th generation)
Languages
English, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean
App Store: Customer Ratings
Ratings & Reviews
4.0 of 5 (18 Ratings)
App Store: Customer Reviews
2023-08-03
Great. Best.
Perfect computer chessboard.
Simple. Interesting features.
Love it. Thank you
2018-11-17
Yay
Very enjoyable 😘
Thnx 🌹
💜🧡💛💚💙
2016-10-23
Nice but only for kids.
Too easy to defeat. Highest difficulty only about 1200 rating according to app. That is generous in my opinion.
2015-09-12
Love it, great app.
Really stable, good graphics, enjoy playing chess on this app when I'm bored!
2015-07-28
realy good
good game nice and simple and no ad prefect
2014-12-31
Best chess game
This chess game has very good graphics of the board with its 3D effect.
Some suggestions for improvement. Unless I overlooked it, it would be a good option if I could play an actual person rather than just the computer. Also the ability to play online - I would like to play my son who lives on the other side of the city.
The rating system used isn't in line with the international chess rating system. I am normally 500, but with your game, I am 850 and still going up!
2014-09-23
Great for the beginner
A great app for a chess dunce like me. I feel like I'm getting better every day.
2013-11-19
Cracker Chess
Quick response and take back moves make for fun learning. Combined with variable difficulty it makes this chess game a cracker!
2013-10-17
Good game for a freebie
I play this daily, it suits me well as an average but improving player, mainly because I can win sometimes!
the interface works well and it is easy to work with. minor problem when you rotate the board, it takes a bit of work to get it back in place, but 99.8% of the time this does not bother me
2013-10-08
Great game
Well put together.
Would be nice if the lite and pro were better integrated so you could play people on the other.
2012-06-09
Love it
Great app. No adds No forced updates no face book. Just a great game. Will look for more from this company. You taught me how to play chess!! Thanks 😃
2011-01-02
Get Shredder instead
Searched for reviews of chess apps all over the net - Shredder & tChess seemed to emerge as the top 2 contenders. Tried Shredder Lite - Great! Then tChess Lite - very disappointed that I had to fork out money to test drive a LITE version of tChess - that's just wrong.
For those interested in 3D boards (I was, and that attracted me to tChess - Shredder doesn't have 3D), if you have an iPad, that's fine (the 3D worked well), but note that AN IPHONE SCREEN IS JUST TOO SMALL TO TRY AND DO CHESS IN 3D! This is the case, regardless of how good the programming might be. That said, tChess doesn't allow landscaped mode, which would increase the amount you can zoom the board before you start losing stuff off the screen.
Shredder is more feature rich, has a world class engine (12-time world champion), with real ELO ratings (while tChess' engine is untested in the professional arena, and therefore unrated).
When it comes to actually playing chess (on a 2D board that I can clearly see the whole of, thank you very much), the actual game play of tChess Lite was perfectly acceptable.
30 minutes after opening tChess Lite, I returned to Shredder Lite (man I wish lite versions were all free - that quick test-run cost me money!), and have since upgraded to the full version of Shredder. (I didn't upgrade for weeks - you would have to be quite a good player to be limited by the free version.) I did my homework, tested them out, and (3D aside), Shredder CLEARLY won.
2010-11-21
Just awesome
I am a chess player not a beginner or a grandmaster though just a rating of 567 which is ok and I wanted a chess app that is cheap and is 3D and I downloaded war chess at first ok graphics but not a good engine so I bought this and its just stunned me
2010-07-01
Paul
This chess app is suitable for the beginner to medium skilled or social player. The board and pieces are clear, the skill level is adjustable, and chosen moves are executed quickly. I enjoy it and recommend it to all but the most experienced players.
2010-01-08
Excellent
Very happy with this game. I've had my doubts about some moves but the CPU has always ended up being right. E- mail support was prompt and very helpful.
2009-07-08
Good Value
t Chess Light does exactly what it says on the box. It has a neat interface and so far seems to be rock solid. As a casual player the difficulty is good and the price is reasonable - Especially considering the price of other apps these days.
I do wish it had the ability to setup a gameboard or be able to play a game minus a piece, ie: without a queen, but for $1 it's all good.
In fact, the author should consider changing the name from "lite" to "casual" or something because normally "lite" apps seem to be nothing more than essential feature missing adverts for an over priced "full" version.
Sure, this app is simple and its features are minimal but it allows me to play a game of chess and - critically - it does so without any real anoyances or reminders that I didn't fork out for the "full" version.
If you just want to play a casual game of chess every now and then, this app is great.
2009-01-10
I like it. Mostly.
I'm a very low level player so I hesitated about getting a chess game.
But I am enjoying this
I started out I. The default level three which killed me competely. So I set the difficulty to level one. That's very tolerant of mistakes and plays a game I can easily win. Nice but now I have my confidence up I'm getting into level 2. More challenging but soon time to move on.
Two thongs which stopped a higher rating
1 I'd really like to see pieces which have been captured.
2 the keyboard is a bit hard to hit in the right place. Something like the iPhone keyboard which shows an expanded view before you commit to a move would be really helpful.
2008-12-13
Perfect for the casual chess player
This chess game is the best lite version I have found and is just perfect for casual play while waiting for a train or anytime you have 15 minutes to pass.
2008-12-05
Current version unusable
Looks nice at first, but makes it impossible to play a normal game. Sometimes trivially legal moves are classified as illegal and blocked so that it becomes impossible to play a normal game. Avoid before update.
2008-11-29
Nice
Exactly what it says, a great sleek light chess game. Well worth it.