Chess Online & Offline

Review by eFreeware

Chess Online & Offline is a free chess app from Splend Apps, published on Google Play under the Checkmate name. It combines rated games against people around the world with practice against a computer opponent, and wraps both in a presentation the developer describes as modern and friendly. The main reason to consider it is breadth: online play, offline play, puzzles, openings and rankings sit in the same app rather than being split across several.

The app has been available since September 2024 and has built a large audience, with more than ten million installs and a 4.7 average from over 519,000 ratings.

What appeals to me most is that the two halves of chess practice are treated as equally important. A player can sign in for a rated game when there is time for one, or drop into an unrated game against the computer when there is not. The developer also includes puzzles and opening recognition, so improvement tools are part of the package rather than an afterthought.

Rated games with real opponents, and a computer when you would rather not wait

Online play is the headline feature. Games are played for rating points against players from around the world, and the developer notes that opponents range from beginners to grandmasters. Time controls are split into three families: Classic at 10, 20 and 30 minutes, Blitz at 3 and 5 minutes plus a 3-minute game with two seconds added per move, and Bullet at 1 minute, 1 minute with a one-second increment, and 2 minutes with a one-second increment. That is a sensible spread, covering both a slow evening game and a quick break.

Offline play works differently. The computer opponent has 16 strength levels running from roughly 600 to 2100 ELO, and games against it do not affect your rating. I would expect that range to serve a genuine beginner at the low end and a fairly strong club player at the top. Because it is unrated, it is also the natural place to try an unfamiliar opening without putting points at risk.

There is a third option for people who want a specific opponent: you can invite friends to a game and accept invitations from others. That turns the app into something you can share with a regular playing partner rather than only a pool of strangers. The developer says ratings, player strength and computer strength all follow the Arpad Elo formula, which is the standard rating method chess players already understand.

Two smaller touches matter more than they sound. A pending move, also called a premove, lets you line up your reply before the opponent has moved, so it plays automatically when their move arrives. You can also browse the game history while a game is still running, which is useful when you want to check how a position developed without leaving the board.

Puzzles, opening recognition and where you stand in the rankings

The tactics section is substantial: more than 500,000 puzzles covering themes such as mate in one, two or three moves, perpetual check, endgames, pins, forks, skewers and sacrifices. Solving quickly earns a speed bonus, which gives the puzzles a light competitive edge beyond simply finding the right move. For anyone who wants to improve without committing to a full game, this is the most direct route the app offers.

Opening knowledge is handled by recognition rather than lessons. The app knows over 3,000 openings and their variations and displays the name and information as they appear on the board, with examples like the Sicilian Defense, Queen's Gambit, Caro-Kann Defense, Italian Game and French Defense. I like this approach because it teaches in context: you see the name attached to the moves you actually played, not to a diagram in a separate chapter.

Rankings add a longer-term goal. There are global and country leaderboards for registered players, ordered by ELO rating, online games won and points earned from puzzles. Being able to check your position nationally and worldwide gives the puzzle solving and the rated games a shared purpose, which is a neat way of tying the different modes together.

Presentation is clearly a priority as well. There are 21 board styles and 16 piece sets to choose from, along with markers for legal moves, the last move, possible captures and a king in check. Classical music plays in the background, sound effects accompany the game, and haptic feedback adds vibration cues. Light and dark themes are supported, and the interface follows Material Design 3. The app also includes game statistics and lets you edit your profile, including a picture.

Free to download, with ads and in-app purchases

The app costs nothing to download and is free to use. It is supported by advertising, and in-app purchases are available.

The app is said to guard your privacy and keep your data secure, and online play runs on Firebase Firestore, part of Google's infrastructure, to keep games comfortable for thousands of players at once. Those are claims about the service behind the app rather than features you can see, and they describe how the online side is built.

In practice, the presence of ads and purchases is the main thing to weigh against the price.

A good fit for casual players who want everything in one app

This app looks best suited to someone who plays chess regularly but not obsessively. If you want a rated game in the evening, a quick puzzle while waiting for something, and a computer opponent on the days you would rather not deal with another person, all three are here. The spread of time controls and the 16 difficulty levels mean you can move between them without changing apps.

It also suits players who are still learning. The opening recognition explains what you are playing as you play it, the markers make the board easier to read, and the puzzle set is large enough to keep a beginner occupied for a long time. The unrated computer games give that player a place to experiment without the sting of a lost rating point.

Someone with a regular playing partner will get extra value from the invite system, since it turns a public pool of opponents into something more personal. And anyone who enjoys a bit of competition beyond the game itself has the country and global rankings to work toward, with puzzle points counting alongside wins.

The app is rated for Everyone and the developer's framing is welcoming to newcomers and experienced players alike. I would not expect it to replace serious study tools or a dedicated analysis program, but as a single place to play, practice and solve puzzles, it covers a lot of ground.

A complete chess app for playing, practicing and improving

Chess Online & Offline is a well-rounded package: rated online games in Classic, Blitz and Bullet formats, an offline computer opponent with 16 levels from 600 to 2100 ELO, friend invitations, a large puzzle library, opening recognition and rankings. The presentation, with its board and piece choices, music, sound and haptics, gives it a character that plain chess boards lack.

The caveats are straightforward. It is free with ads and in-app purchases. The offline computer is there for practice, and games against it do not count toward your rating, so anyone chasing a higher number will need to play online.

If you want one app that handles a rated game, a quiet practice session and a daily puzzle without fuss, this is a reasonable place to start. The install numbers and the 4.7 average suggest plenty of players have already made that choice.

What's new in version 3.0.7

Usability improvements and minor bug fixes.