ForwardChess ebook reader app for iOS and Android (mini review)
Sort:
[COMMENT DELETED]
Useful review - thanks for that, and I'm glad you gave the folks at Forward Chess your thoughts.
Have you looked at the e+chess reader? A comparison review would be great...
It's a great little app, they just need more books. A partnership with Everyman and Gambit would be good. I think Forward Chess is best used with annotated game collections, but they only have a handful on there. Most everything they have is on openings (unsurprisingly). We should get a campaign together asking them to get more books in there.
Two of my favorite features:
- You can load an engine to analyze the games as you're going through them.
- You can play moves that aren't part of the game as part of the analysis.
This is really a great app and I hope they get more users and books. I've bought 4 books in the couple of months I've used it. Also is great for reading on a plane or other long travel.
Gambit has its own reader, Chess Studio.
fburton wrote:
Gambit has its own reader, Chess Studio.
Wish I had known this a week ago. I just bought the paper version of Nunn's Understanding Chess Middlegames.
Everyman also has its own reader, just in case you weren't aware.
Yeah I just saw it on their site. My entire world has just been turned upside down.
Man, Everyman puts out a TON of books. Just recently bought two from their list that I could've had on their app.
I think the Everyman ebooks are expensive. 
$19.99 isn't bad. That's around what I pay for a lot of books once you include shipping. Forward Chess and Gambit seem to have cheaper options though.
Reading my 1st book on the Gambit app. Seems like it forces you to orient in landscape mode. Will take some getting used to.
There is also the SmartChess app.
(There is currently a problem with their server. I have emailed them and I expect something will be done about it eventually.)
What would be really nice is a review of all the available chess reader apps comparing them feature by feature.
One essential feature (imo) which not all the apps offer is the ability to play out your own moves, as you might on a real board when reading a real book. This can either be provided in the app itself, or - if someone can work out a way to do it - by sending the position (e.g. via FEN) to one of the existing chess apps. I would love to be able to do, e.g., an "Open in Hiarcs" from a reader app to allow exploration and analysis of positions.
Looks like SmartChess is iOS only. They need to get with the program.
There is also the SmartChess app.
(There is currently a problem with their server. I have emailed them and I expect something will be done about it eventually.)
-------------------------------------
The app has been like that for about a month. Which is when I received an email from the creator of said app stating he is running for a political office and asking for support. Perhaps he has put the app on hold
fburton wrote:
What would be really nice is a review of all the available chess reader apps comparing them feature by feature.
Right now I would rank them as:
- Forward Chess
- Gambit Chess Studio
Forward Chess allows you to make your own moves and load an engine for analysis. Gambit Chess limits you to what's in the book. Haven't used the Everyman Chess app yet.
I emailed Forward Chess the other day and asked them to release a list of like 10 books for their app, lol. I really hope this catches on. Email them book requests, just not opening books since those are regularly released because of their popularity.
fburton wrote:
You can move the pieces around in the e+chess app too.
iOS only. They need to get with the program.
Ah yes. 
Just downloaded the Chesster app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bento.chessterlite&hl=en
Claims to be able to take any epub chess book and turn it into interactive format. Now I just need an epub chess book. Games have to be in the starting position though, so no tactics or game fragments.
A few comments on the ForwardChess ebook reader app for iOS and Android. I first learned of it in a post by fburton in the thread "What is the best ereader for pdf chess books?".
This app presents books from multiple vendors (so far: Chess Stars, Mongoose Press, Quality Chess, Russell Enterprises). That's a first as far as I know, and is attractive in that having a different app for each publisher is becoming a little confusing.
I like the app in general. I bought the Russell Enterprises ebook Bobby Fischer by Karsten Müller, iPad version, and the presentation is attractive and easy to use (intuitive) when viewing a game. I'm writing because I like the app and see potential, but in several aspects I am disappointed in this first book I tried; the following (missing) features seem like reasonable expectations for all such publications to make navigation and browsing easy and pleasurable (especially for a book like this with a lot of content).
Suggested features or issues:
* Table of contents by event (with hyperlinks).
* Game list (with hyperlinks). In the app's current condition, scrolling through all the pages/games for a year can be pretty laborious (1970 for example, with several events and 75 games).
* Games listed in the player index should include hyperlinks.
* Bookmarks settable by user.
* Page and/or percent numbers.
* Headers for individual games should include event and round number.
* Table of contents should include the cover.
* The "Bibliography" link in the table of contents is more of a title page (the bibliography can be viewed by scrolling down but this is not so obvious).
* On the ForwardChess web page, one of the comments is "...play through all lines in the book and try some of your own." I haven't been able to figure out what's involved in trying my own lines.
I have made the authors aware of these thoughts hoping that they will continue to improve the product.