Last week we discussed chess books for different stages of development. I hope that some of you found our recommendations useful. Today we will discuss some interesting chess apps and websites. Again, we are not trying to make a list of the best apps and websites. Instead, we want to help you discover and explore some interesting ideas.
Playing chess websites
These are easy to find with a simple search on google. Still, let’s go over them briefly and discuss some differences which might help you to determine which of these websites is best for you.
1. chess.com
At the moment of writing this article, there are 87,836 people playing online games, according to the website statistics. Over the years this website became massive, and other than playing on it, you can also find chess videos, blog articles, news, solve puzzles and much more. While you can play chess for free, you need to pay to unlock some of the other services, such as solving unlimited puzzles or watching video tutorials. Also, with a premium account you will get rid of the advertisements.
2. chesskid.com
This is a website that is part of chess.com, with the difference that it is made for children. It is suitable for small children who are starters in chess. They can play chess for free. A paid account will give access to video tutorials and unlimited puzzles.
3. lichess.org
This is a website that started few years ago and became the main competitor of chess.com, at least when it comes to the playing part. At this moment, there are over 42,000 players online and 17,600 games are being played. Beside the actual chess game, you can play many popular chess variants such as: “Crazy House”, “Chess960”, “Atomic”, “Antichess”, “Horde” etc. The best is that lichess is free and according to the owners, it will always be free. There are no advertisements either. They do not have a separate platform for children, but they do have a “kid mode” in their settings, which if used, will disable all website communications and help to create a children-safe environment.
Solving puzzles websites
4. ideachess.com
Solve unlimited puzzles on this website. You can choose between three levels: Easy, Moderate and Difficult. Simple and easy to use, and also free.
Playing chess apps
5. Play Magnus
It is a hugely popular application among children, launched by the World Champion Magnus Carlsen. It has more than 20 levels. Kids can compete against “6 years old Magnus” and feel a joy in beating a World Champion. The app is free. You can download it both in Play Store for Android devices, and App Store for iOS.
Chess puzzles apps
6.iChess Tactics/Puzzles
Free and available both for Android and iOS, this app has a user friendly interface. Very simple to use. It has three levels to choose from. Not suitable for beginners, as the easiest level still requires some chess knowledge and experience. The app will show you a table of all the puzzles that you solved, so that you can track your progress.
7.Blindfold chess training
It’s an application that will help you to solve puzzles that you don’t see. Instead, you need to visualize the position and solve it, without touching or moving pieces on the screen. Advanced children who are already good at chess find it very useful, but they struggle with discipline and patience when solving puzzles. It has 10 levels based on how far ahead you need to visualize (opening puzzles) and how many pieces are on the board (endgame puzzles). It is free and available for Android. Similar apps might be available for iOS.
There is more than enough here to cover your daily chess activities. We might update the list with some more apps and websites. We hope that this article was helpful.
Have a nice weekend!