Chess.com review

Chess.com is the strongest free option on this list for logic and planning, because the full game of chess costs nothing. The app lets you play online against friends or strangers at any time control, play offline against the computer, and choose from more than 100 bot opponents. For short training sessions, the puzzle library holds more than 1,000,000 positions, with a rated mode that adjusts to your skill, timed Puzzle Rush and themed sets such as forks, skewers and endgames. Lessons and an interactive coach explain rules and strategy step by step, which helps new adult players. Chess asks more of you than a quick memory game, so it suits people who enjoy depth and competition. The membership page lists unlimited puzzles, lessons, game review and no ads as Premium features; we could not confirm a USD price on the page as fetched, so the price is pending. We compared documented features and published prices.

Who it is for

Adults who want a deep strategy game that trains planning, calculation and pattern recognition for free.

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Free online games with friends and players worldwide
• Over 100 bot opponents and offline play against the computer
• 1,000,000+ puzzles with a rated mode that adjusts to your level
• Puzzle Rush timed puzzles and themed puzzle practice
• Lessons, videos and an interactive coach

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Core game is free with no limit on games
• Strength: Puzzles train calculation and pattern spotting
• Strength: Large community for matches at any hour
• Weakness: Steeper learning curve than casual brain games
• Weakness: Unlimited puzzles, lessons and game review need Premium
• Weakness: USD membership prices were not shown on the page as fetched

Key facts

• Puzzles: 1,000,000+ in the app
• Bots: Over 100 opponents
• Free play: Online games with friends are free

Where it ranks

Chess.com is No. 2 in our Best Free Brain Games verdict.