A smartphone turns any spare moment—a commute, a waiting room, a coffee break—into a chance to play or improve. The right app makes the difference between casual dabbling and steady progress. Here are the best chess apps for learning on the go, what each does well, and who should use it.
Chess.com
The Chess.com app brings the full power of the world’s largest chess site to your pocket: live and correspondence games, a huge daily puzzle library, structured video lessons, and post-game analysis. The interface is polished, push notifications keep your correspondence games moving, and there is a vast pool of opponents at every rating. It is free to use, with an optional paid membership unlocking unlimited puzzles and lessons. For most players, it is the best all-around choice.
Lichess
Lichess is completely free, open-source, and ad-free—there are no paywalls of any kind. The app is fast and clean, mirrors every feature of the website, and includes unlimited tactics puzzles, studies, and powerful Stockfish analysis. You can even play offline against the computer. If you want serious tools without spending a cent, Lichess is unbeatable. We compare it head-to-head with the competition in our guide to the best online chess platforms.
Chess – Play and Learn
This is Chess.com’s beginner-focused companion app, built around guided lessons and a gentle, simplified interface. Step-by-step tutorials introduce the rules, basic tactics, and opening ideas in small, digestible pieces. If you are just starting out, pair it with our complete beginner’s guide to chess to build a solid foundation quickly.
Dedicated Puzzle Apps
For players who want to drill tactics specifically, apps like Chess Tactics Pro and CT-ART offer thousands of problems organized by theme and difficulty, often with spaced-repetition systems that resurface the patterns you miss. Many work offline, making them ideal for flights or areas with poor signal. Consistent puzzle practice is one of the fastest ways to raise your rating; see our overview of forks, pins, and skewers to learn the patterns you’ll be drilling.
Play Magnus and Opening Trainers
Novelty apps add motivation. Play Magnus lets you challenge a computer modeled on World Champion Magnus Carlsen at different ages, scaling from beginner-friendly to brutally strong. Opening-trainer apps use spaced repetition to help you memorize and rehearse a personal repertoire—valuable once you know the basics and want to stop falling into the same early traps.
Offline vs. Online: What to Check
Not every feature works without a connection. Live play, leaderboards, and cloud analysis generally need internet, while puzzle packs and play-versus-computer modes often work offline. If you travel frequently or want to practice where signal is unreliable, confirm a app’s offline capabilities before you commit your study time to it.
Building a Routine
The best app is the one you actually open every day. A simple, sustainable routine—a few puzzles in the morning, one or two longer games in the evening, and a quick analysis of any loss—will do more for your chess than any single feature. Apps are a complement to real boards and real opponents, not a replacement; when you want to play face-to-face, check where to play chess in St. Augustine.
ChessKid for Young Players
For children, ChessKid is the standout app. Built by Chess.com specifically for kids, it pairs a colorful, safe environment with guided lessons, puzzles, and play against age-appropriate bots, while giving parents and coaches oversight tools. It strips out the open chat and stranger matchmaking of adult sites, which makes it the right first app for a young learner. Pair it with our look at the benefits of teaching chess to kids for ideas on keeping early sessions short and fun.
Using Your Phone to Review Games
One of the most valuable—and most overlooked—uses of a chess app is post-game review. After a loss, open the game in the app’s analysis or “game review” feature and let the engine show you the moment the position turned against you. Both Chess.com and Lichess do this on mobile, often flagging your blunders and pointing out the move you missed. A two-minute review of every loss compounds into real improvement far faster than simply playing one game after another without reflection.
Take your love of the game beyond the screen with gear from the St. Augustine Chess shop.