Chess Pro (iTunes Link) is the newest game from iPhone developer 99 Games Online Private Limited. The game offers a standard game of chess and two variant game types, Suicide and Losers. The object of the Suicide game is to be the first player to lose all your pieces or be left unable to make a legal move. The Losers game is exactly the same except that the king is still in play, meaning that a checkmate can still end the game, as in a normal game. Each of Chess Pro's three game modes can be played on either easy, medium or hard difficulty levels.

Chess Pro is a challenging game but seems designed for experienced players over new or novice players. Chess Pro's three difficulty levels vary wildly. Most new or novice chess players will probably start on the east level. On this level, the computer makes astonishingly bad decisions and even a relatively new player should be able to win in short order. Because the easy level is so simple, most novice players will immediately move up to the medium level. The computer provides a far more difficult challenge on medium than on easy. The gameplay is challenging because the computer is very aggressive and exploits mistakes quickly. Experienced chess players should find that the medium level is a fair challenge. The hard level is reserved for veteran chess players only.

The game also offers a two player option, although its implementation leaves something to be desired. For some reason, the chess board rotates around in two player mode. Instead of allowing two players to sit at a table opposite each other, as though a real chess board were between them, Chess Pro instead rotates the chess board so that the active player's pieces always appear at the bottom of the screen. To be clear, Chess Pro does not currently offer an option to disable the rotating view. It is the only option available in the game.

After a few days with Chess Pro, I wondered if other players were similarly frustrated with the game. After reviewing similar sentiments at the App Store, I contacted Chess Pro developer Vinodh Kumar about my frustrations.

One frustrating element of Chess Pro are the gaps in the game engine. I watched in horror as the computer neglected to promote a pawn turn after turn despite being in an obvious position to do so. I have included screenshots of a game in which I deliberately eliminated all other pieces to illustrate this problem.

The more I played Chess Pro, the more frustrated I became with the lack of options in the game. For example, Chess Pro does not offer an option to resign from a game or allow the computer to declare a draw. The game features a timer in the upper right hand corner but offers no way to edit or disable the timer. Also frustrating are the lack of statistics tracking (for both single player and two player modes) and the lack of an option to disable the rotating screen in two player mode.

I asked Kumar of 99 Games Online about all of these missing features. To his credit, Kumar acknowledged these problems, some of them due to the game engine, and stated that his team are working to improve the game for a future release.

Chess Pro is an intriguing start to what might one day be a promising chess game for the iPhone but for now, Chess Pro feels more like a work in progress.

This review was written by Brendan Wilhide

Author: Brendan Wilhide