Chess Quest

Why play a fellow weak opponent to try and learn? Why get slaughtered by an expert? This app is perfect for developing your chess game. Note: these are scenarios, not full games. My dad taught me chess basics a long time ago, but I play backgammon. BGBlitz isn't available for iPhone so I decided to try to get into chess. I just purchased this and already mychess skills are developing. If you know how the pieces move and have played a few games, this is an awesome way to spend a little iPhone time.

Exactly as advertised, though I wish pgn files were exportable.

A good, large set of puzzles

Great app, some of the better puzzles I have seen, no one should have any reason to give this app less than 5 stars, I does what it say it will do, and it does it well. Please come out with a app to learn openings

I have several chess programs on my iPhone, but none compares to this one. Get it! You'll be glad you did!

A lot of variety - endgame or middlegame - "white to mate", "black to play and win", "white to draw"... it is much better than "Chess Problems" by "Psygames" -- Get it !! it's fun and and you learn, and doesn't get boring and i want to return to the ones i solved to learn more... some positions look impossible but not for long.

Pretty chessboard pieces... I don't have complaints, just suggestions:
*It would be nice to know how much it took me to solve (have username also so others can play and compare)
*Showing me how many i got on each level (22/80 for example)
*Email me with screenshot (because i would like to analyze it in some other chess program)

There should be another application done for big games by players like Alekhine, Lopez, Fischer, Karpor, Kasparov... and not just endgame but also "white to move and win" where in a set of 2-3 moves the player gains advantage by winning a big piece or forcing eventual mate... but in middle game with lots of pieces around. There was a book "Fisher's Outrageous Chess Moves", some of them back when he was 13, and throughout his career... and lots of middle-game.. good for variety.

I like the chessboard look of this app.... and the Hint is nice, i haven't used it yet, but i haven't left Basic level for now... i like the app so far, so had to comment :-).
Also, I never used the Hint button, but there is "automatic hint" when you touch to move a piece, if it's the right one to move now, it will stay solid -- basically you can't move the wrong piece, so that's a hint of its own. Because of that, it can become quite easy because you can "cheat" and just click on all pieces to find out which one to move -- but you still learn because this becomes "handholding" and at some point you catch on.
I am giving it 5 stars because it's fun and stimulates my mind and i learn something !!!

update: after several times of enjoying [still keeping my 5 star opinion], here is what i think - as is, there is too much "handholding" since i can only move the "right pieces", i would like to be allowed [a setting probably] to follow my idea and see it fail... i mean let me move how i want to, respond with the other side, but when i obviously "missed it", then tell me "Sorry", but still let me continue playing to the end if i want to -- that would be great
Otherwise, as is, by clicking at all pieces and moving them everywhere, i can figure out what the moves are "without thinking", not that i would do that, but i would like to follow my "wrong ideas" and see them develop, even only to see that my starting point was wrong [a setting would keep the game as is, or when "on", it would let me "be on my own" without the handholding]

this application cost lot of money, and the funny thing is you can not play the game. do not buy it

I use this everyday and it helps tremendously with tactical awareness. There are certain rules that apply to tactical combinations and it may be helpful for beginners to understand this fact. Maybe a small guide that explains things like unprotected pieces and poorly placed pieces and how they provide the grounds for tactical motifs. You will be happy about this purchase.

I'm a 2200 player, and for me these puzzles are awesome. Great for distilling recurring chess tactical themes and real application for over-the-board games. Made me reconsider just how good a tactician I thought I was. Amazing for demonstrating what kind of tactical shots are present in apparently dead or dull positions. And I'm only on level 3 so far! Great work!!

I am ELo rated1800, recommend this very highly starting at beginner level even though the initial puzzles are easy. I worked the first 3 levels with valuable learning, yet enjoy trying the higher levels which are a fun challenge. Agozyen

Finally a great tactical trainer for the iPhone. I feel like the puzzles are even harder than the level suggests. I am class b player and already find level 1 a good challenge!

It makes you think a lot , and obligate you to do a checkmate in 2 or 3 movements

Would be even better if there were some kind of written explanation of some of the tactics being demonstrated through these problems. Still, I'm learning a ton and having fun doing it!

I am happy.
--
p.s. a minor issue: is there a way to turn off the green flash that happens after the objective is complete?
if not, hopefully there will be an update to turn it off. =)

I cannot give enough praise for this app. The graphics are clear and visually pleasing, the piece movement is intuitive and well-implemented, and, most importantly, the puzzles are quite challenging. Any serious chess player should get this. And even a beginner can improve his game with this app. If you love chess, this is a bargain at ten times the price.

I've been waiting for an app like this that had a decent amount of puzzles included. This one fits the bill. Intuitive interface -- no crashes or bugs so far. The only advice I'd give to potential purchasers would be: The puzzles are NOT beginner friendly. To be fair, the description states as much, suggesting ratings of 1100-1300 for even the lowest levels. It would be nice if the developer added a set of slighly easier problems or 1-2 move checkmates for newer players. Edited to add: developer is very responsive. Added additional puzzles for beginner levels. Updated my rating to 5 stars. Thank you!

one of the best chess aps there is fir the iPhone. now if only someone would build an app that would teach openings.

I'm not a good player so this review may be meaningless but I don't understand many of the solutions given especially the advantage ones it seems like you give up alot for a little or just trade pieces and it tells you you're winning. I would like to be able to move the piece of my choice and then see how I'll lose I would learn more that way the game is however addicting and I do play it alot just don't always understand it. I think it's worth the price

I'm loving this app! Even though I'm a beginner, I'm enjoying it a lot. It's got a ton of puzzles and a simple to use interface - and when I solve one puzzle, I can't help but keep moving on to the next one. Thanks guys!

Very impressive set of problems. Higher levels provide excellent training - I am Fide Master and find it still challenging and definitely worth time and money spent. I would highly recommend it for chessplayers of all leverls.

I only got to level 2 (3 is too hard) but I can see that I can improve my skills using this program. Design is superb! Thanks!

Using this app has provided me one of the best chess learning experiences! Well designed and implemented. This app does a great job of exposing the user to the beauty of imagination in chess.

Good app, not perfect, but gets the job done. I personally think the first level is a bit too complex for the beginners, would be nice to have another junior level, and freedom to choose pieces. But still, not a bad app at all!

Love this. The interface is much better than most of the chess apps. Great learning tool.

Wow! I've been waiting for something like this ever since I tried the free 'chess puzzles' app which quite frankly turned out to be a dissapointment - the puzzles were too few and too simple. This one is in a completely different league. Huge number of puzzles, break down by levels, branching - exactly what I wanted. The puzzles are of very high quality. One would expect nothing less from Mr Yudasin who is very well known among chess enthusiasts and educators. The GUI is not quite polished, but it is simple and it works very well - I haven't stumbled upon any bugs so far. Good job guys! Keep them coming.

I'm 22 and have discovered chess only a few years ago. I'm not a great player by any stretch, I just play online once in a while. I did get beat pretty badly in the beginning, but now I'm around the 1500 rating on yahoo chess. I like this training program quite a bit. It's more helpful than all the books I've read combined. I've only used it for a couple of days, but I can see progress in my game already. It's like a workout for my brain ))) Recommend it for sure!

Great app!
I'm just a beginner and this app will definitely improve my game quality. The interface is easy-to-use and the puzzles are interesting and challenging. My daily commute will now go faster!