Last updated on January 17th, 2026 at 05:19 am
Chess Premium HD – Entertainment Game Review
Chess Premium HD is a Entertainment/Board/Strategy game from Optime Software LLC, first launched in 12th July 2010.
It’s rated 4+ and currently has 672+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes Chess Premium HD Stand Out
Are you tired of playing chess games that look like they were designed for a Commodore 64 instead of an iPad? We've got the antidote for you. Chess Premium HD is the best looking chess game for the iPad.
Chess Premium HD supports both 1 player and 2 player gameplay, so you can play against friends or test your skills against a challenging computer opponent.
Chess Premium HD includes a host of exciting features, including:
- Great graphics and exciting sound effects
- Configurable player names and score tracking
- Outstanding AI engine with configurable difficulty level
- Undo function if you accidentally hit the wrong square
- Automatically saves your game when you exit the application
If you're looking for a killer chess application for your iPad, check out Chess Premium HD today!
This Entertainment game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, Chess Premium HD is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 9th December 2021
Recent improvements include:
• Fixed issue that was causing app to crash on launch
• Minor bug fixes
Download & Availability
Chess Premium HD is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get Chess Premium HD on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 / iPad Mini 3 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 4 / iPad Mini 4 (Cellular) or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
Even when clicked inoptions, the screen will not rotate. This is true of both iPad and iPhone.
Beautifully displayed. Good options. Relaxing music. Chess clocks are an option if one chooses timed play.
Game will often crash immediately upon opening and continue to do son until the device is rebooted. Not worth the money.
The game does not recognize a draw by insufficient force. If one side has only a bishop and king and the other only a king, the game only declares a draw after 50 moves. We would prefer if it kept track of wins and losses.
Unfortunately the app crashes regularly on the new iPad10/26/2021.
Thot this would teach us how to play.
This app wont even run on our 2021 iPad Pro 11.
We have used this app for years but recently it will disconnect when we try to enter the game. It used to work well now, all we get is music while looking at the opening screen.
Ive just bought this and it wont open. Id like a refund.
Great game but wish it would play in landscape mode on ipad.
Got it for free.we dunno how but we did.Decent game.
We love this app but you have to purchase this app separately for the iPad and iPhone and it not worth it even worse the computer version takes so slow for it to move the pieces.
We played against the engine. Game was going alright- challenging enough for us. But suddenly When it was the engines turn to play, our night disappeared. We found it strange. So we hit undo and made the same move again. It just keeps disappearing. Zugswang.
It drains 50% to 70% of the iOS battery usage on iPhone and iPad. It also often cheats to win. Magically Adds pieces to its side or deletes pieces from your side.
This is one of our go to chess apps. It's easy to use with good game play. We highly recommend it for casual chess players who don't need lots of bells and whistles.
If you enjoy a good game of chess, this version will fill the bill.
It is pretty good. The response time is very fast and it appears to have well debugged software. However, we did came across some bugs, where it randomly quits (we have seen this happen several times, specially when it is in a lost position and in most cases we have reported the problem). Also many times it would not allow you make a very legitimate move. At that point in time you have to start a new game.
We love it. It works great on our iPad2. It's easy to learn from, since you have an "undo" feature. Looks good too.
This is our favorite chess program because it is easy to dial in the degree of difficulty.
An excellent way to practice and improve our game.
We love chess, even most of the times we only play with our computer. It helps us to develop our knowledge with every situation on our living.
We're not an expert player. We'd call ourselves a middle level player. For us this program offers enough challenge to maintain our interest and it is on our iPad! The graphics are good and for the price it is hard to beat. We have not experienced any of the bugs some have mentioned. The only minor bug is that occasionally a series of games is lost and the game counter starts over. We've never had a problem during a game.
Apps crash often, and pieces disappear in the middle of winning game.
The program has nice features and plays easily. At its higher levels of play, it tends to go for locked pawn structures and drawish positions. The strength settings could be a bit more finely grained; the play is either super-weak or quite strong with not so much middle ground. All in all, though, it gives an enjoyable experience.
We think this is a nice chess program, it's simple, sound effects are soft and fitting, the music is calming but could get annoying to some and that's no problem because sound can be muted. We find two things that we think could use improvement; The AI of the computer opponent and stalemates. The comp is a 10×10^ grandmaster at just 50% difficulty, it's as if it literally sees every move and then thinks 100 turns ahead for every possible out come.. Ok, that's an exaggeration, sort of. Turning the AI down to far can cause it to make moves that even a first grader probably wouldn't make. So it can be tough to find the difficulty that's "just right". The AI we is forgivable because you can play a human, but what we find infinitely frustrating is the conditions in which the game declares a stalemate… Honestly we don't think it should ever be calling a stalemate for the player. Let a human decide when it's time to call a stalemate through the menu button, otherwise it can be very frustrating to be stopped in the middle of a match that may be quite enjoyable and most certainly is not a stalemate. There were certainly legal moves to be made in many of the matches that this premature call was made in, which is very disappointing when it happens.
We really like this version in general. But we really dislike the flashy sign at the end of the game. We also wish we could not lose the total game count at random intervals, often when our iPad charges. We really like the board and the ability to turn off the irritating music.
Good chess game but we have a few suggestions to make it great! 1) Change the difficulty slider to, say six discrete levels of difficulty. If you set the slider too high, you can't easily go back to exactly the level you were at previously. 2) The win-loss counter randomly resets itself. Let us decide when we want to reset the counter, not the game. It would also be a good idea to show the win-loss at each difficulty level (see suggestion 1).
We have experienced lockups and crashes.
Love the app but the game board does not rotate.
Does not display captures. No features.
Wants to keep restarting and resets to new game all the time can not play multi times before it resets and very slow not happy with it.
We paid the fee to buy the upgraded version of chess without the ads since the free version was ok. Unfortunately, the paid version plays slower and has several bugs; at times the computer playing side will "cheat" e.g. Move a pawn horizontally (like a rook) or advance (4) spaces forward at a time, at which point the game is over because it will keep trying to do the same crazy move again even if you hit "undo". It gets worse, towards the endgame, pieces will freeze movement or even disappear for no reason. Last, when it is advancing a pawn towards being promoted, it will give it the move powers of the queen before it even reaches the final row … This can't be undone, ending the game. If you try to speed the game up, the computer just plays poorly, making dumb moves. Not a completely horrible app, but not more than 1 star.
By moving a slider bar you adjust the strength or ability of your opponent in single play mode. This is VERY sensitive and you can play to your ability once set. As a casual player we enjoy having a chance to win as well as knowing that as we get better the game remains competitive with our abilities. Play is fast and smooth. Does not display taken pieces but allows en passant and correct play. Excellent value.
We enjoy this app to the max because when we want to challenge each other to see who is the best at chess. We can take it anywhere and its dynamics is like no other game. Saves thinking, moving, and the keeping-time effort which gives time to just think about our next move! Excellent App.
We enjoy the challenge this game give us. We would recommend this game to all our friends. Once you play you're hooked.
Nicely designed. Easy to use. Allows for varying skill levels. We would buy it again.
Works great! From easy to beat to super challenging this chess program is well designed and functional for all skill levels. Great for teaching our son chess. He can play on his own now :).
We love this game. It is challenging and very fun.
Great game. Could advice and demo of various techniques be included? Now that would be the greatest.
Although we have a blast playing chess with our seven-year-old grandson, he loves to play chess more than we do. This app is proving to be very helpful as he can play chess anytime without always having to be dependent on having a partner. The game is well designed and easy to use :-).
Enjoy playing. We would like to see more themes.
We have tried several chess apps and this is our favorite.
Excellent app, easy to use and simulates a real chessboard very nicely.
We enjoy this game immensely. It can be adjusted to a pro level and our level of play. Looks good, too.
Good game, no issues with it, and we play it a lot. We do wish it would show the captured pieces though, but that's our only gripe. This is the best chess app we've seen.
Good app, one & two player options, very good AI, nice interface. No gripes at all.
Really great gradual difficulty changes–from very basic to expert. It really makes a difference.
After about a month of teaching and playing our children, they are beating us. Yes, we're no master, but this is a great game and a well done app. The game won't allow a player to move to a place where you would be in "Check." we would recommend the purchase, especially since the children would inevitably touch the commercial tab and delay the game until it is cancelled.
Love it, great way to pass the time. We recommend it.
Top area of 7-10 works well, a little lax in game plays, but good. The lower half works, also, but acts like a little confused with the king moving on the fourth turn.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 1.96
- Size: 81.46 MB
- iOS: 10.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory:
- Developer: Optime Software LLC
Last updated: 9th December 2021 | Genre: Entertainment, Board | Developer: Optime Software LLC