Chess Genius

My numerous requests for added features have been ignored. All things that competition already has... I won't mention them because I want u to believe this review is authentic. Great app, but don't expect any updates.... Ever.

which chess app is better chess genius or chess shredder

It keeps me entertained. Challanging.

Pros: Tells you the name of the opening that you're using, lots of play levels. Thats helpful.

Cons: Interface is clumsy. 12 Levels of Easy and no other playing levels? Why not 4 Easy, 4 Medium, and 4 Hard?

Suggestions: Please, developer, dont make me press 3 buttons to start a new game. Just let me click "New Game". Don't ask "Do you want to play with the white pieces?" when I hit "Game". Just start the game. Put the player color choice in the options menu. And please, go get a copy of Modern Chess Openings, and put more openings in the database. I KNOW its the Sicilian: now tell me which variation.

(Mar '09 update) Chessgenius is starting to "show its age.". With the arrival of Glaurung chess, which is free and has stronger engine, and now shredder chess, which cost the same but is both stronger, with more features (Elo rating and built-in 1000 puzzles...) and better interface, chessgenius need to provide some improvements quickly to keep up... If you want to pay $9.99 for iPhone chess today, I'd reccomend shredder. (prior review) First of all, everyone should recognize that this program is capable of playing at master level. For 99% of iphone users, there is no way to beat it at the higher level setting. This makes chess genius a better coaching tool than just another iPhone computer opponent. This is fine for me and it's why I bought it, as I was getting useless hints from other low cost chess program, and felt that I am learning nothing from winning or loosing those games. However, chess genius can still use some improvement: 1. The hint is better than other programs, but it's not using the full engine strength. If you just rely on hints you will lose a game pretty easily. At least in the analysis mode, the hint shall show the best possible move. Or, give us an another "coach" button other than "hint" to show the best move associated with the difficulty setting/ calculation depth. 2. The score is a bit confusing. Score also gives us a hint on how the game is progressing and (I believe) shows positive number when the program is leading, and negative one when CPU is behind. But when you play against another person, or set CPU VS. CPU in analysis mode, the sign of the score seems to switching all the time, and it's confusing. 3. Need more icons to reduce needed tap. I think the chess genius on Palm still has the better interface, with simple icons for all needed tasks all on screen, plus multiple board size settings. For iPhone, multiple taps are often needed for simple actions, like switch side, undo... Multiple taps just slow things down and feels a bit unnatural. 4. "Second best move" is a good feature and geart idea. It will be more useful if it works all the time, particularly at any step in analysis mode during review or replay. Don't take me wrong, this is a great program and I think it's well worth $10. I just think the developer shall take full advantage of the engine's strength and really differentiate the product. Make small interface improvements and this will be and can be marketed as the best portable chess tutor, make user happier, and brings more sales.

If this app could rate my play level it would be perfect. Otherwise, it is five stars only because they don't give 6 stars as an option. Best chess app on a mobile platform, period. Worth the money and I am very frugle.

Richard Lang has been doing this for a long time and it shows. I have 3 other paid chess apps and was delighted when I saw chess genius, which I have owned on 2 other platforms. The levels should accomodate all skill levels, and people who have complained about the strength of the lower levels simply need to improve. On the lowest levels it plays down to a weak beginner. Any weaker would be absurd. Three minor gripes: no Internet or network play, slightly confusing menus, and fairly primitive graphics compared to deep green for example. The analysis mode is my favorite feature. It's like having a mini fritz with you on the go. Fantastic overall. I paid over $20 for this on the palm many years ago, so $10 seems like good value to me.

This by far the strongest and easiest to use chess program for the iPhone. I have amazed a friend of mine who is a senior master and former national champion of ireland with the fact that my phone has a winning record against him. With the latest update the graphics are much improved and lots of import/export features have been added. Also, some easier levels for beginners have been added, but not too easy....which is good because the best way to learn is to lose. This app is worth every penny and it will last you from your beginner days until well after you become a master. Look no farther for the best chess app iPhone has available.

I've owned Chess Genius for both PocketPC and Palm platforms. It's uniformly stable and extremely well supported. There are enough level options for any grade chess player as well. Only thing I'd ask for is some better anti-aliasing on the chess pieces. Otherwise, if you want a chess app for the iPod/iPhone, Chess Genius is the best.

The game is awesome! I would like to request a rating estimator to match the level I should be playing on in this program.

I've owned Chess Genius in many forms since the 1980s, first on DOS then on the Palm and PocketPC. (I even still own a 1980s stand-alone chess computer based on an early version of the program.) When it first came out it was by far the strongest program available, though it's no longer in the top 20 on the PC as competitors have evolved ruthlessly over the years. The iPhone version is quite strong and smooth and has most of the features you'd hope for in a "pro" chess app. Well worth $3 or even $5, but $10 is perhaps a bit much.

[I've recently discovered Abaia, a free chess program for iPhones that have been "freed" in a certain way akin to the program Prison Break -- and it's a slightly better program in several ways. It's clearly stronger (to great my surpise), nicer looking, adheres to the GUI standards better, and is, well, free.]

Great depth and tactics.

well worth the money

The chess genius is the absolute strongest game ever created!!!! Very very strong/ hard to beat!!! Fun experience

By far the best chess game I've ever played. I've had this game with my old PDA. It is almost impossible to beat. I've done it once and must have played hundreds of games. The best I can usually achieve is a stalemate.

Is anyone aware that iMacs come with a built-in chess application? It's tough enough to consistently beat all of my stand-alone chess computers. Shortly after getting Chess Genius, which other reviewers say has a very strong program, I pitted it against the iMac chess application. So far, Chess Genius has prevailed in two of three games--and that was accomplished at one of its weaker levels.

I have two complaints, however. I wish it would allow you to pick a rating to play against. At 3 second difficulty, I have yet to beat it (or even come close). I can easily handle easy 13 though. What I wish is that it would have a something like "play against 1800" or 1600 or whatever elo level, or a sliding scale, or whatever.
Next: I love the fact that you can upload pgn files to the phone and review the games. I have millions of games on my computer. However, my complaint is that I don't have a webspace to publish them to, so I cant get them onto the program. If anyone knows how to do that, or if Lang Software could make it easier to upload the files in the next update, that would be awesome.
Still a 5 star app, and I highly recommend it to the moderate-advanced player. It moves with excellent precision, and lightning speed, and more than fulfills my expectations. My complaints are more like suggestions to improve an almost perfect program

The best app I ever dowloaded. Strong engine and a great interface.

This game is the best chess I have played offline! Only problem is the price of this app. Iwould give it a 2/5 if I could rate the price. I hate how people rate based on price and app. There should be a separate rating scale.

I had this app on Windows Mobile. I had forgotten how hard is to play because the engine is so good. The hint button is well positioned in the main screen, although you won't win by following hints alone. Glad to have this app now on my iPhone

Best chess game I have played. Hints/bad moves/take backs/etc make this a very challenging app.

Chess Genius won't teach you to play chess. Doesn't have tutorials a good desktop program like Chessmaster or Fritz does but it is a program that has enough features and depth that it can grow with you as you get better. As of Dec 2008, it's probably the best iPhone chess app.

First of all, if you're looking for internet play, you'll need to look elsewhere. There is none here. Good options are Chess With Friends for turn based and Cyber Chess for FICS and ICC servers.

Before purchasing this game, I was considering between Chess Genius, Caissa Chess and Deep Green.

Deep Green:
People raved about Deep Green's interface and it certainly looks good but it seemed too simple to me. eg. You can't see a move list, doesn't show the name of the opening. It could be fine for a casual player who doesn't want to spend $10 on an app.

Caissa Chess
Completely different from Deep Green, with a ton of features, at least on paper. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information available online about how some of the extra features work. eg. it says there are puzzles available but some reviews said there weren't any. I was interested in the play by email feature but again, couldn't find any info from their website about how exactly this worked. Caissa's cheaper but there were also quite a number of negative reviews, reports of problems and crashes. The user interface looks less polished than either Deep Green or Chess Genius.

In the end, it seemed worth it to spend a little more on Chess Genius.

Here's what I like about Chess Genius:
- starts very quickly. if you're in the middle of a game when you quit, it'll get you right back in it, no waiting for splash screens or clicking on resume game.
- nice clean interface
- has a move list. landscape mode shows a more complete move list
- tells you the name of the opening
- many difficulty levels. i'm not an absolute beginner but the computer seems quite beatable on the easiest level and of course the hardest levels are grandmaster level.
- optional blunder alert will warn you when you make a bad move
- export your game via email
- import pgn files (only Caissa and Chess Genius have this function)
- next best move feature is really nice when you want the computer to follow a particular line of play.

Possible bug:
- next best move feature is sometimes not available in the menu. eg if you take back some moves, start playing again, you can no longer choose next best move after the computer moves.

Things that could be improved:
- separate the playing level from the time controls. eg. I can't choose to play a 1 min blitz game against an easier computer opponent
- more time control options. eg. play a 30 min game, 45 secs increment. this is useful in a two player game and also to train yourself, even if the computer opponent doesn't need or use that time.
- some kind of optional alert when a player has run out of time. there could be a one-time popup saying "White player has run out of time" but then let the game continue after that like it currently does.
- option to disable auto screen off. this is good when you need time to think and want to still see the board.
- option to show captured pieces. Could be tiny icons in the bottom right corner of the screen or bigger icons when the move list is off. or maybe show captured pieces in landscape mode where there's more space.
- an optional display of the algebraic coordinates of the chess board, maybe along the left and bottom sides of the board like Caissa Chess. this would be helpful for beginners.
- option to turn off the move list for those times when you want a super basic interface like Deep Green.
- when playing in two player mode, an option to auto-flip the board after each move.
- can't access any of the extra controls in landscape mode. it's a pity because you can see the expanded move list but can't make use of it and go backwards and forwards to review a game.
- maybe something that lists all the openings in the opening book and lets you practice them.

I bought the ipod for music storage and chess. This is hands down the strongest and best chess program for the iPod so far.

I'm about 1800 level, play about even with caissa chess. This program just ripped me to shreds with ease. Graphics could be a bit crisper, but 10 bucks is worth it for the sheer power of the engine even if you already have caissa. Wow.

Thank you, Mr. Lang from bringing Chess Genus to the iPhone! It's the strongest chess application and easy to use! I've played a dozen demonstration games against Palm HIARCS and it holds HIARCS even. It's a lot of fun on the iPhone and I hope Mr Lang ports his PC version to the Mac next!

I've used Chess Genius on other mobile platforms, and have come to expect a robust, powerful chess game which fits the platform's UI. Chess Genius for the iPhone does this easily! The engine it's based on has a great history, and has proven to be extremely solid. • The interface is simple yet attractive. No 3d, outer space games with wizards... Just great chess. • Flexible levels. The lower levels are moderately strong but beatable, the upper levels will kill you unless you're quite strong, and it's easy to choose a level. • It doesn't have an 'idiot' mode. It plays chess, and it uses all the rules. I think this is a plus myself... YMMV

Very nice features. Very good play. NOT beginner friendly. Lower levels are quite difficult.

This is my 3rd hand held chess application, 1st on the iPhone. The graphics are great, and the set up very efficient. My only complaint is that I did not know the game title was a prerequisite for the buyer!
By that I mean, the levels of play are not scaled to allow progressive learning; you must be a chess whiz to stay in the game at any level. Even at the lowest level ("0-Easiest") the chess engine knows some pretty sophisticated maneuvers, i.e. "en passant" with a pawn, and it never makes the sort of mistake a human beginner (or intermediate!) would make.
True, you can take back moves, and the game will even tutor you with the advice that a move was a bad one. BUT, by the time you get that warning, the only way to stay in the game is to surrender the controls to the engine for every single subsequent move. You are already backed into a corner where the master has calculated every permutation. Accept the advice to take back the bad move, then make any move on your own in a following step, and you will just be slammed in a different way.
So any but the most proficient chess player will end up not just defeated, but crushed by a master over and over again, an experience that does not help teach an advancing player.
I found the PocketChess for Palms, and even Apple's iChess instructive. I lost many early games, but each was a "close" game, and I eventually worked up to become a better player, occasionally beating the engine, and then setting it for a higher level of play. With this engine, every game is a loss to the best. Just too darn advanced.

I've played this app for many years on mobile platforms. It has literally helped me learn chess. I'm so glad to see it on the iPhone platform. I purchased the other chess applications from the iTunes store, because I didn't think Chess Genius was going to be ported to the iPhone. All of the chess apps have thier strengths and weaknesses, but for me the other titles are video games, while Chess Genius is a portable learning companion.

I love chess programs on my Mac and Palm and even did on my older Windows Mobile phone. Now that my contract ended with my old carrier I immediately bought my iPhone and started to look foir a chess game. What a disappointing assortment of the usual suspects. Interface problems, poor play, 3D graphics that might look good but during play the pieces would hide each other or become hard to see, not many options to adjust play or display -- I downloaded a few and regretted it and finally decided to just wait. Wow, am I glad I did because CHESS GENIUS is the best chess program ever on the Palm and Windows Smartphone. Now that it is on the iPhone everyone here can enjoy its crisp graphics, easily and widely-adjustable features and, of course, game play unmatched by any other chess-playing engine on a mobile device. This is it, this is the one. If you're a patzer happy with just looking at "somethin' cool" on your screen go get a program with candy-floss graphics. But if you are a Player, if you love chess, if you like a display designed not to distract but to involve -- download this soon. Heck, download it today.

Best!!!!!!!

Really quite amazing. The levels of expertise are well crafted. Implementation is robust. And friendly. And intuitive. 5 stars!

- A truly GREAT user interface: The Interface makes moving peices absolutely foolproof and very pleasurable. Very creatively done, and the first iphone chess app I've found that really succeeeds in this way.

- Powerful Engine: This is a big benefit for players at any strength. If you want to dial down the playing strength, Genius will be able to move SO much faster than other engines while playing at a given level of actual playing strength. That speed adds greatly to the joy of the experience. The improved playing strength is also great for finding the real solutions to real world chess problems.

- Excellent features- Many of which I've not found in the competitors. They did a beautiful job on stepping forward and back over the move history, and of easily getting the iphone to take over the players position whenever desired.

I've used ChessGenius for over 10 years, first on Palm, and then windows mobile, and I'm delighted to have Genius now on the iPhone, and so beautifully adapted. It's Must Have Application.

I had this at my pc when it first came out. Now on my iphone this is great.