Best Chess Apps on Android

LATEST ADDITIONS
ChessOcr
Amazing app!  If you want to analyze a position you are reading from a book or magazine, this app snaps a picture of the position and then loads it into your chess analysis app.  ChessOcr on Google Play.

ChessTempo Mobile
The best tactics site (in my opinion) got better with the introduction of the mobile version.  It's not really an app per se, rather just a web site that aligns better on a mobile device.  Check it out at chesstempo.com/mobile.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 UPDATE
In addition to the original post, I wanted to keep adding as I find other apps I really enjoy.

Chess.Com App
The number one Android chess app I use is Chess.Com's app.  The app is stable; graphically nice and fairly easy to use.  The biggest thing I like about the app (and Chess.Com in general) is that is has pretty much everything I want: live play, correspondence chess, problems, videos, articles and all that.  The features I use the most are the live play and the correspondence.  I love the CC because I get an immediate notification when my opponent moves.  I pull my notification bar down, tap on the notification and then the board comes up and shows me the move my opponent made.  I can then open the analysis board and start playing with the position.  When I'm ready, I make my move.  The last thing I have to say about this is: goodbye RedHotPawn/Chess@Work (as soon as I finish my current games at that site).

The live version is stable as well.  When I'm at work and need to take a break, I go to the break room, pull up the app and play a few 5 3 games.  The interface is nice, clean, easy to use.  At night, after the kids are in bed, I get my tablet out and play 30 5 games.  Again, the biggest thing I'm happy about maybe isn't so much the app as it is the chess.com community - I can always find a game on chess.com; whereas I may not always find a game on FICS.  With this app, I think my FICS days may be over.

Chess Visualization Trainer
The other app I use almost on a daily basis is Chess Visualization Trainer.  I mainly use this to memorize the colors of the squares.  I has other functions, but I usually only use one-square color.  The other options are two squares diagonal, two squares knights move, rooks and queens mate, bishops and knights mate, mate in one and mate in two.

Analyze This
The last of the three chess apps I'm using these days is Analyze This - Chess (Free).  I needed a plain 'ol board to play the Pandolfini solitaire chess games in the Chess Life magazine each month.  It does the job and the interface is clean - nuff said.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012 (ORIGINAL POST)
A few months ago, I upgraded from an HTC Incredible to a new (restocked) Samsung Galaxy Nexus.  The Nexus has a much bigger screen than my Incredible.  As such, playing chess on the Incredible was a bit more difficult than playing on the Nexus.

So now that I had a bit bigger screen, I started really looking for a good chess app to play - especially one that would allow me to connect to FICS.

With that said, here's a list of the chess apps I have either used before or I have now and regularly use.

Chess Free - by AI Factory Limited
Chess Free is the first app that pops up on a search at Google play.  This was the app I had on my Incredible.  It is a good computer app - good graphics; lets you export games to a .pgn file.  I imagine most people marginally interested in chess would download this app; and rightfully so.

Chess for Android by Aart Bik
Chess for Android is average.  If you just want a chess computer app, just go for Chess Free above.  Chess for Android is fairly popular, but once I found Chess Free, I stopped using Chess for Android.  I did not install this on my Nexus.

Mobialia Chess
Mobialia Chess allows you to log on to FICS.  I remember having issues logging onto FICS when I installed this on my Incredible.  I just installed this app on my Nexus and tried logging into FICS again ... same issue - it just sits there trying to authenticate me - not impressed.

Chess Lite by Odesys
Chess Lite is another FICS-connectable app.  If I recall, it seems to work, but the graphics weren't all that great.

Yafi Internet Chess
Yafi is also a good client.  I use this chess app the most - especially when I have time to kill and want to play a quick 5 0 game.  It appears the developer is continuing to work on this app and I think this app has the best potential of all the FICS-related apps.

Tactic Trainer by Core Games
I love to do tactics.  I normally get my tactics fix on ChessTempo.  I can do tactics on CT from my Nexus, but since there is no app for CT, I have to use the browser interface ... I then have to zoom in and I usually can't get the zoom quite right, causes fat-fingering moves/mistakes ... anyway, I did find an app dedicated exclusively to chess tactics.  Tactic Trainer has 20,000 problems!  By comparison, CT has just over 54,000 problems - obviously not as many, but at 20K, that's still quite a lot.  It will track your rating progress and the interface is really good.  I wish Richard at CT would hook up with the developer of this app and collaborate on a ChessTempo app.

I just ordered a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) this week with a small bonus I received at work.  The Tab 2 should arrive on Thursday.  I'm sure I'll find lots of different and neat uses for the Tab 2, but the biggest reason I wanted it was so that I could play chess anywhere - only on a bigger screen than my Nexus.  I'm looking forward to doing a lot more tactics at CT on the Tab 2.  I'll also be able to use all the above apps and play chess on a bigger mobile display.  I'm sure I'll start playing more 5 0 games at ChessCube than on Yafi.

If you're an Android / Google user, what are your favorite chess-related apps?

2012-13 Season Done, Chess.com, 30/30 Again

I'm starting to play chess more than ever; at least more than I have been playing in the last 10 years ... and I'm enjoying it for now.

The goal of my 52-games per year quest over the last two years was intended to just get myself to play more often.  At first I tried to play 75 5 games, 120 5 games and even 60 5 games; but I have since landed upon the realization that shorter, more frequent games was more enjoyable.  So, these days I'm playing more 30 5 games.

With that said, I was behind in my effort to play 52 games between September 2012 and August 2013.  Over the last few weeks, I really focused on trying to fish for a 30 5 game on FICS.  As was usually the case, it was hit and miss ... sometimes I could find a game, but most times I tried, no one was willing to play.  Also there have been multiple hackings going on over there the last few weeks.  So with that in mind, I decided to give chess.com a whirl.

I downloaded the Android app on my S4 as well as my tablet.  And then, on most evenings, after I fire up the app, I'm able to find a 30 5 game relatively quickly.  The chess.com app and web interface are just fine and quite reliable.  I'm also enjoying the extensive educational content they have on their site.  They have live games as well as correspondence games.  I just started my first CC game over there today.  If ever you want to play me (live or CC), look for me on chess.com.  In summary, my days at FICS may be over as I'm contemplating upgrading from a free account on chess.com to one of the paid accounts.

Anyway - back to the 2012-13 season - I was able to complete playing 52 games.  I have already kicked off my 2013-14 season, again with the goal of playing a minimum of 52 games.  Although, I think I'll end up playing much more than 52 with my preferred 30 5 time control.  I'm keeping tabs on my seasonal progress in the link to the right in the section GAME PLAY STATS.

Lastly, I had another great day at ChessTempo ... going 10/10 in my warm-up problems and then 20/20 in my blitz attempts.  My performance always seems to by cyclical ... I perform great for a while and then out of no where, I come crashing down.  I'm just trying to focus on consistent, good performance.

Still Need One More ...

We're still looking for one more for the double-my-egg-nog tourney.

Let me know (by December 20) if you want to play.

ChessAdmin and Timmmmm have both signed up.

2012 Double My Egg Nog FICS Tourney

We still need one more for the "Double My Egg Nog" tourney: a double round robin chess tourney on FICS.

Dates
December 16 - January 1

Format
60 5 on FICS

Qualification
FICS standard rating between 1500-1700 or around Class C/B USCF rating

Prize
$10 amazon gift card

Post a comment and then email me if you want to play (rockyrook at hotmail).  First three are in; but we may need an extra in case, so let me know if you want to be on stand-by too.

2012 Round Turkey Pairings & Results

Congratulations to ChessAdmin for winning the 2012 Round Turkey!

Round 1 - should be finished by Nov 21

Rocky v Timmmmm (1-0) link to game here.

tomgtro v ChessAdmin (1-0) link to game here.

Round 2- should be finished by Nov 23

ChessAdmin v Rocky (1-0) link to game here.

Timmmmm v tomgtro (1-0) link to game here.

Round 3 - should be finished by Nov 25

tomgtro v Rocky (0-1) link to game here

Timmmmm v ChessAdmin (0-1) link to game here.

Standings
ChessAdmin 2.0
RockyRook 2.0
Timmmmm 1.0
tomgtro 1.0

* format: white v black

Other Logistics

If you would send me your email address at rockyrook at hotmail, I will pass along to everyone else, so you can schedule your games via email.  Also, let me know your FICS handle when you send me your address.

Always offer times in FICS time zone - this makes negotiations easier.  Feel free to schedule your games immediately.

I'll provide updates and links to this post.

Feel free to post questions or suggestions in the comments.

Have fun!

Need One More for Round Turkey Chess Quad

We had four, but one dropped out at the last minute to close the deal on his new home.

So, we're back to three.

Anyone else out there who wants to play?

Details:
- Round Turkey (i.e Robin) style (4 players)
- Starts November 18/19; ends November 24/25
- About 1 game every two days
- 60 5 format
- All games on FICS
- Looking for someone 1500-1700 (standard) rating
- Winner to receive at least $10 Amazon gift card (possibly $20)

Let me know in the comments section if you want to join.

Round Turkey Chess Tournament? (on FICS)

Out of curiosity - how many of you, dear readers, would be interested in a either:

1. a 4-week (one game a week) chess tournament; every week of November, starting the week of November 4 and have all 4 games completed by November 30.

2. or perhaps a week-long tournament during the Thanksgiving holiday - November 20-23

It would have to be 4 players to accommodate either 4 weeks or 4 days.  Everyone plays everyone else (round robin style, although I'm calling it round turkey :-))  I'd propose a G 60 format ... or maybe a 60 5 format.

Participants would have to play all the other players in the given period of time.

Any takers?  I'd only need 3.

And to give some extra incentive, I'll offer a $10 gift card (to Starbucks or to Amazon or something like that) for the winner.

I'd want the tournament to be somewhat competitive - don't want any grandmasters or beginners playing, so the bottom cut-off rating would be 1500 and the top cut-off rating ... let's say 1700 (using FICS standard rating).

If I get a lot of responses, I'll take the first 3 who meet the criteria.

image source: NBC:SNL

10 YEARS ON FICS

Towards the end of my college years, I had a lot of time on my hands.  Classes were winding down; the work was getting easier; I was spending more time looking for work and grading papers as a TA than I was attending classes.  Since my evenings weren't filled with much homework, I would play personalities on Chessmaster ... this was all back in 2000.

I graduated in December of 2000 and landed a job in Texas.  We moved our small family and I started working in January of 2001.  My evenings were even more freed up with absolutely no homework, so I ramped up my time playing chess.  I eventually discovered that Chessmaster had an on-line community and I'd occasionally play someone on the CM server.  Then I discovered pogo.com and Yahoo! chess.  Soon I started reading chess forums and I frequently visited Chessville.com and their forums.  Then I discovered FICS and Winboard and my life has never been the same.

I came home from work on a Spring day in 2002.  Our oldest was a toddler and our friends who had kids the same age as ours were over for a visit.  The windows were open; the air was crisp and fresh and I was sitting at my computer watching the kids while downloading Winboard and registering my handle at FICS.

Soon I was blitzing on FICS most nights and then eventually playing in the OCL and the 45-45 Team League.

It's a bit surprising that I've only played 1129 blitz games.  I imagine I've logged into FICS many times as a guest so I could play wreckless blitz without affecting my rating too badly.

When did you log on to FICS or ICC or one of the other chess servers for the first time?  Do you remember the day?

FICS SurveyBot September 2011

A few years ago, I published the FICS SurveyBot results comparing FICS Standard ratings with USCF ratings.

Last year when I jumped into OTB by playing at the US Class Championships, I had to enter the "Unrated Division".  I came out with a 2nd place result and about a 1200 rating.  I then played in another OTB and my rating jumped up over 1400.  So I was curious about what to expect playing in the Class C division this year.  At least according to FICS SurveyBot, I'm in the division I should be in.  I'm sitting at 1434 USCF and 1630 on FICS.  So I think the SurveyBot (in my case) is in the ballpark.

And this is about right for my expectations.  Three things could happen for me this weekend:
1) I blow through the field and go 5-0; in which case that'd would be wonderful.  Odds: pretty low.
2) I am somewhere in the middle ... 2.5-2.5, maybe worse, maybe better.  This is what I'm anticipating.  Odds: fairly high.
3) I turf it big time and fail to win a single game.  This would be a blow to the 'ol ego and it would be a bit surprising.  Odds: somewhat likely (yikes!)  I played a 1400 rated player back in June and it was a slog-fest.  I won, but it was a really hard-fought win.  I could end up with 4 or 5 losses that are decided by a pawn.

My overall approach to this weekend is just to have fun.  I didn't do any post-game skittles room analysis last year, but I hope to this year.  So if I lose, I plan on really picking the other guy's brain and even try to get some tips for improvement.

UPDATE: September 30, 2011
: FICS USCF
: ---------
: 1220  982
: 1240 1004
: 1260 1026
: 1280 1048
: 1300 1070
: 1320 1093
: 1340 1115
: 1360 1138
: 1380 1161
: 1400 1183
: 1420 1206
: 1440 1230
: 1460 1253
: 1480 1276
: 1500 1300
: 1520 1323
: 1540 1347
: 1560 1371
: 1580 1395
: 1600 1419 <<---
: 1620 1443 <<---
: 1640 1467 <<---
: 1660 1491
: 1680 1516
: 1700 1540
: 1720 1565
: 1740 1590
: 1760 1615
: 1780 1640
: 1800 1665
: 1820 1690
: 1840 1715
: 1860 1740
: 1880 1766
: 1900 1791
: 1920 1817
: 1940 1843
: 1960 1869
: 1980 1895
: 2000 1921
: 2020 1947
: 2040 1973
: 2060 1999
: 2080 2026
: 2100 2052
: 2120 2079
: 2140 2105
: 2160 2132
: 2180 2159
: 2200 2186
: 2220 2213
: 2240 2240
: 2260 2267
: 2280 2294
: 2300 2322
: 2320 2349
: 2340 2377
: 2360 2404
: 2380 2432
: 2400 2460

SurveyBot(TD): A list of the estimated USCF ratings has been displayed above. The 257 submitted USCF ratings fit the best power curve given by formula USCF=a*FICS^b, a>0, where a=0.06364782, b=1.35707831 and coefficient of determination r^2=0.517.

Game 3 of 52

I finally pulled off my first victory in this march to 52.  I tried fishing for a game early on last night on FICS ... I trolled channel 90 for a bit asking for any takers, but there were none.  So I stayed up and watched the TCU at Baylor game (what a game!) and then decided to sleep in.  I worked it out so I could have 3 hours to myself in the afternoon.  So I had 1:00pm to 4:00pm blocked off.  I tried fishing for a G/90 game again on FICS, but there were still no takers.

So I fired up Chessmaster again.  I couldn't play Seb ... the highest rated player it would let me play was Hayden (1282).  Fifty moves later I had won.  Unfortunately, the Hayden personality wasn't so keen.  You know when the computer makes a seemingly dumb move like just giving up a pawn or exchanging a bishop for pawn?  Well, that is what it was like playing this personality.  I would have thought it would've played a bit tougher.  Seb was like 1300 or something ... anyway.

The cool part about playing from 1-4pm on a Saturday was being able to watch all the college football while playing chess.  Maybe that doesn't exactly help me make the best moves, but it was fun.

I'm on game 20 in Logical Chess - still enjoying that.  I should be done with the project around the end of October now.  I'm averaging about 3 pages a day now.

This 3-day weekend should be fun ... I should have lots of time to do tactics and play some blitz.  I'm for sure going to the LHCC Tuesday night.  I also need to renew my USCF membership and sign up for the US Class Championships scheduled in about a month.

LOL

In playing a 3-game set with another player, I lost the first game and was about to crash and burn in the 2nd and 3rd games ... but I didn't.

Game 2
Game 3

Configuring BabasChess to look like Fritz

I am constantly surprised, when talking on-line chess with people, how many haven't heard of FICS or BabasChess - one of the many clients that interfaces with FICS.  In the next few posts, I'll discuss setting up BabasChess to look like Fritz and then how to log onto to FICS and issue simple commands.  For me, having a nice interface really enhances the on-line playing experience.

A number of years ago, I found someone who was able to configure BabasChess to look like Fritz' board.  I really liked that setup.  I've had my set up the same ever since.

Step 1:
Download and install BabasChess (click here).

Step 2:
Download this zip file to get the data needed for this theme (click here)

Step 3:
Extract the files under the Data directory to their proper folders.  In other words, go to the Data directory where BabasChess was installed on your PC and then copy the data from the zip folder to the matching folder.  So the file in the Fonts directory in the zip file will go in the Fonts directory in the Data file.

Step 4:
Import the BabasFritz.bcpref theme from the zip file.  Click 'File' then 'Import Preferences' then choose the BabasFritz.bcpref file.

Step 5:
Click on the 'Preferences' button in BabasChess (or hit F11) and configure the board settings as per the screen shot below

If the setup worked it should look very similar to the Fritz Wood setup

The first screen shot is Fritz while the second is BabasChess configured to look like Fritz.

I just want to puke ...

Our team is playing a warm-up tournament before T44 starts.  I played the first game yesterday.  I got off to a fantastic start - found a really nifty tactic, won a bishop, made it to the end game and then ...

Well - let me put it this way - what would happen if Lance Armstrong decided to quit the last 100 miles of the 2000 mile race?  How would the world react if Federer threw in the towel in the last set at Wimbledon?  Or if you were running a marathon and collapsed with 1/2 a mile to go?  Truly frustrating and agonizing - it has taken me a full day to even talk about it.

So here is the justification - I had about 10 minutes on my clock and I needed to go pick up my kid from the bus stop.  Under that pressure, I simply dropped my rook.  I was truly blind and not thinking - the only thing I remember was the need to defend that pawn and that the rook would be defended by the king - which obviously he was not.  It's like my brain short-circuited - there is something fundamentally un-nerving about that game that makes me wonder if I really have brain-function issues.  Even under those pressures, I should not have dropped that rook.

... and the rook of all pieces!  My flippin handle is the rook - holy hell.

One of the biggest things I learned and liked from the game was the 'whisper' command.  I've never used the whipser command before in a game I was playing.  So I used it quite a bit and it helped me a lot - helped me see variations, avoid traps and what not.  I think I'll be using that feature again.

And with that - here is the game.

image source: bildungblog

FICS DB Annotate Feature

So I was messing around at ficsgames.com and found that you can request for games to be annotated.  What I did was search on my handle, clicked on a specific game and then clicked the 'annotate' button.  A message pops up saying a request has been made and that in a few minutes the annotated game would be available.  Sure enough, I hit refresh on the browser and the game was annotated.  Pretty neat for a quick and dirty analysis of a game.

Here is the game I had annotated.

And since I'm a glutton for punishment, I've linked to all my FICS games (for all my potential competitors to see).  You can find the link under "ROCKY ROOK GAMES" to the right.

The Up Days

You gotta love the ups when they finally come.

These stats by no means represent anything other than the love of the game. I usually lose and I usually suck at tactics, so when I correctly answer 34 out of the last 40 problems at ChessTempo and I won two blitz games in a row at FICS (look at this beauty), I have to celebrate. Of course I also have to celebrate whenever I actually log onto FICS and play these days. I hadn't played a game there since August!

I also played Greg last weekend. It wasn't anything spectacular ... we drew. But I look forward to future games and I hope I can put up a good fight for him.

FICS Chats

I found this little blurb funny.

Blakeos(2): since the server crash, I am no longer labeled as an abuser, is there a way to fix this?
MarcdCool(2): you still want to be an abuser?

Tactics

I did about 20 tactics tonight ... just to warm up before playing ... didn't really help.

Play

I played a handful of games tonight. I won two blitz and one standard game. I lost four blitz and two standard games. I also chatted a bit with a couple of people on FICS including dk. I saw Robert log on, but he was playing when I was seeking and vice versa. All said and done, I was on FICS for a solid 4 hours this morning from 11:30pm to 3:30am.

It was fun ... I mean, I really enjoyed myself ... just playing. I know I suck, but I played some good games and some really crappy games. Sometimes I don't mind losing if the game is brilliant. There are a lot of games where I am just in awe that the other player is seeing the stuff he is seeing. It is like he all of the sudden reaches behind himself and monkeys start flying out of his butt. I just have to shake my head and smile in awe.

GameBot on FICS

Tactics

I did a few tonight. I also tried my hand (again after a very long time) in standard mode. I lasted two problems. For some reason, the standard mode drives me insane. I can think and think and calculate and calculate for a long, long time. Eventually I either have it nailed down (or I think I do) and I proceed with my moves. Obviously the ones I correctly get give me great satisfaction, but the ones I miss drive me absolutely nuts. It is very taxing. But I see the benefit of it ... the practice in that calculation. With blitz, it is practically a gut reaction. I train my one-second vision of the board and once I get a feel for it, I generally know the plan of action. If I miss, no big deal.

Anyway ... both have their virtues, which is why I'm planning on working in both modes from now on.

Logical Chess

Game 22 was a thrilla. I learned about the Pillsbury Attack.

Play

I played three blitz games on FICS tonight. I should have won all three, but I lost the first and won the other two. The 2nd game went over 70 moves because I stupidly missed a mate in three on move 24.

GameBot on FICS

And lastly ... have you heard about this nifty database? WOW! It has only been around since October 2008, but it contains every game, except bughouse and non-registered user games, that has ever been played on FICS since October 2008. That makes standard/tournament play much more difficult. There were always ways to go get your opponents' games before a tourney, but this little DB gives you a lot more games to study. Go check it out: http://www.ficsgames.com/

You can also add links to previously played games. Here is the game I played tonight that I should have had a mate in 3 on move 24.

The Help Channel on FICS

Here's a screen shot of a little conversation on FICS from tonight.

Is there some inside joke switzer was trying to make? I fingered him and from the looks of his rating it would seem his comments have some deeper or cynical meaning.

Then again, he might have just been acting facetious. There are lots of "those" on FICS.

Losing Streak Over

The last time I played a longish game was April 10 and I won that game ... it was my one win in the LEPers tournament. I've not played much at FICS since then. I've been focusing on my chess correspondance play at Red Hot Pawn as well as spending a lot of time at chesstempo. I just lost my 2nd game at RHP, by the way.

Tonight I logged into FICS and dinked around. I finally found a 20 5 game. My opponent kept making these annotation type comments. I usually ignore chat messages during a game. But some of his comments sounded like smack. If I remember correctly, his first comment was something like "Black up in material, White up in space and tempo" or something like that (I was playing Black). I wasn't too distracted, other than a passing thought in my head ... "wait until I shove your king into your blowhole after I deliver checkmate ya frickin' idiot!" I didn't let his smack bother me.

Pretty soon I had pretty good spacing and felt really confident. That's when he made another comment ... something like "e5 is a weak spot in the Sicilian." I probably should have paid more attention to his subtle hints. He wacked my e5 pawn and my d6 pawn could not recapture else his rook would capture my queen. Pretty soon, his white-squared bishop was hounding my king and his knight was forking my queen and rook. By this time, all dreams, hopes and aspirations of kicking this cocky SOB to Australia were dashed. I simply resigned. I had no gumption to finish it. His last comment was something to the effect that the score is now 1-1. I didn't understand at first, but then I issued a "hstat rockyrook [opponent]" and found that I had beat this fellow before. Either he issues the same command during most of his games or he must have remembered the last time I beat him (probably very soundly). That was my first longish game in a month.

Here's the game in all it's bloody glory.




The other three I played tonight were against a decent chap. The first game was kind of close until the end game. His queen and rooks really put the pressure on me. I gave it one last effort, sacrificing my rook to let my other rook and queen try to finish him off, but he defended well and I lost on time.

The 2nd game was quick and very painful. I blundered in under 7 or 8 moves. I let his queen and bishop zoom in on the f7 pawn and I could not defend it. I resigned.

The last game was a battle to the finish. I only won because I gobbled up a couple of his pawns during the course of the game. Otherwise it was pretty even. Because of the pawn advantage, I was able to trade pieces and let my pawns do the walking. He resigned. And thus the pitiful losing streak ended. My ego was almost crushed in a night of defeats, but I managed to salvage some respect before heading to bed.