tChess Pro has long been one of my preferred chess apps--which maybe isn't such a big deal because I have five or six that I truly love. But still, it's a good one. It's slick looking and obviously comes from an author/developer who cares about chess and wants to help people improve their game.
It's got a unique system for showing main-line options from book openings as you play, and you can even pick your desired opening before you start. It's also the only app on the market that allows you to play blindfold chess. The UI is deceptively simple but benefits from several zones that respond to taps or swipes and provide access to some cool and useful features. The analysis view is nicely implemented.
As of today, there's a new version out that adds the following:
- Captured Pieces display
Always a plus!
- Added "Copy & Paste Game" feature
This is pretty cool. Opens a text window that includes the PGN for the current game (if any), so you can copy it to your clipboard. You can also paste PGN into this window to load a game direct from text.
- Added "Flip Top Pieces" feature (an option)
A bit of a strange one. Flips the top pieces upside down. I guess the idea is that you can play a two-(human) player game without having to pass the phone or flip the board every time: Two players just sit on opposite sides of the phone and learn to deal with the fact that the 'bad guys' are always upside down from your point of view. It's creative, anyway. :)
This shot highlights the flip feature and the new display of captured pieces:
- Corrected toolbar icon size in OS 3.x
- Improved engine strength by 30 Elo
Lean & mean, and $7.99.. Very much in active development, this one's a keeper.
tChess Pro has long been one of my preferred chess apps--which maybe isn't such a big deal because I have five or six that I truly love.
But still, it's a good one. It's slick looking and obviously comes from an author/developer who cares about chess and wants to help people improve their game.
It's got a unique system for showing main-line options from book openings as you play, and you can even pick your desired opening before you start. It's also the only app on the market that allows you to play blindfold chess. The UI is deceptively simple but benefits from several zones that respond to taps or swipes and provide access to some cool and useful features. The analysis view is nicely implemented.
As of today, there's a new version out that adds the following:
- Captured Pieces display
Always a plus!
- Added "Copy & Paste Game" feature
This is pretty cool. Opens a text window that includes the PGN for the current game (if any), so you can copy it to your clipboard. You can also paste PGN into this window to load a game direct from text.
- Added "Flip Top Pieces" feature (an option)
A bit of a strange one. Flips the top pieces upside down. I guess the idea is that you can play a two-(human) player game without having to pass the phone or flip the board every time: Two players just sit on opposite sides of the phone and learn to deal with the fact that the 'bad guys' are always upside down from your point of view. It's creative, anyway. :)
This shot highlights the flip feature and the new display of captured pieces:
- Corrected toolbar icon size in OS 3.x
- Improved engine strength by 30 Elo
Lean & mean, and $7.99.. Very much in active development, this one's a keeper.
Cheers!