Chessvis: what it trains, and what it costs
Chessvis is a visualisation trainer with an enormous puzzle library behind a subscription. DarkSquares is a ladder with a one-time unlock at the top.
Checked against Chessvis’s own pages on
Chessvis, from Conceptual Software, is one of the few products that treats visualisation as the subject rather than a setting. Its App Store listing describes visualized puzzles solved from a position that only exists in your head, blindfold chess with graduated visual aids, progressive move-following, a "Who's Guarding Whom" exercise, opening preparation aimed at the moves you will actually see, and game import from Chess.com and Lichess.
It is a serious tool and the overlap with DarkSquares is real. The two differences that will decide it for most people are the shape of the training and the shape of the bill.
Feature by feature
| What you are comparing | Chessvis | DarkSquares |
|---|---|---|
| Puzzle libraryChessvis wins on raw volume, clearly. Whether volume is what a visualisation learner needs is the actual argument. | Over a million categorised, rated puzzles drawn from the Lichess database | A curated set across blind-move, blindfold and advanced tiers |
| Visualisation exercises | Visualized puzzles, progressive move following, Who's Guarding Whom | Visualisation, attack detection, position memory and position reconstruction |
| Getting started from zero | Aimed at players who already calculate | Starts at square colours and coordinates before any piece moves |
| Partial visibilityBoth graduate the difficulty. Chessvis does it with aids on top of a blindfold; DarkSquares does it by degrading the board itself. | Blindfold chess with graduated visual aids | Seven visibility levels, from a fully visible board down to a blank one, with silhouettes and plain disks in between |
| Your own gamesChessvis wins this outright. | Imports games from Chess.com and Lichess for analysis | Not covered |
| Where it runs | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision and Android | Browser, iOS and Android |
| Paying for it | Monthly or annual subscription, with a perpetual unlock available | One optional one-time Pro unlock; no subscription exists |
| Price | Free with in-app purchases: $3.99 monthly, $29.99 annual, or $99.99 perpetual (US App Store) | Free tier with unlimited exercises; optional Pro Lifetime at €39, paid once |
Where Chessvis is better
Every comparison written by one of the two products is worth less than it claims. Here is the part of this one that costs us something.
- Over a million rated puzzles is more tactical material than DarkSquares will ever hold, and the rating control makes it usable.
- Game import from Chess.com and Lichess turns your own losses into visualisation work. DarkSquares has nothing equivalent.
- "Who's Guarding Whom" is a genuinely original exercise with no DarkSquares counterpart.
- It runs natively on Mac and Apple Vision, not just phones.
- A perpetual unlock exists for people who refuse subscriptions.
Where the two actually differ
Volume against sequence
Chessvis gives you a million puzzles and rating controls to find your level in them. DarkSquares gives you an order: square colours, then coordinates, then piece paths, then position memory, then blind puzzles, then partial visibility, then a whole game. If you already visualise and want reps, volume wins. If you keep failing at blindfold and cannot say why, the order is the thing you are missing.
Subscription against one payment
Chessvis is billed monthly or annually on the App Store, with a perpetual unlock at a much higher one-off price. DarkSquares has one optional lifetime unlock and a free tier with unlimited exercises underneath it. Neither is inherently right; they are different bets on how long you will train.
Trying it before installing
Chessvis is an app. You can play a blindfold game against the engine on this page, in this browser, without an account or an install.
Choose Chessvis if you want the largest visualisation puzzle library available, if importing your own games matters to you, or if you train on a Mac. On volume and on game analysis it is ahead.
Choose DarkSquares if you want a sequence rather than a library, if you are starting from not being able to name squares, or if you would rather pay once at a lower price than subscribe.
Questions people ask
Is Chessvis free?
It is a free download with in-app purchases. The US App Store listing shows a $3.99 monthly subscription, a $29.99 annual subscription and a $99.99 perpetual unlock. Store prices vary by country and change over time; this page prints the date it was checked.
Does Chessvis have blindfold chess?
Yes. Its listing describes blindfold chess with graduated visual aids, alongside visualized puzzles and progressive move following.
Is there a free Chessvis alternative?
DarkSquares has a free tier with unlimited exercises and games in the browser, with a one-time optional Pro unlock rather than a subscription. Listudy is free and open source but covers only blindfold tactics puzzles.
Which is better for a complete beginner at visualisation?
DarkSquares starts earlier: square colours and coordinates before any tactical work. Chessvis assumes you can already calculate and gives you material to calculate on.
Start at the rung you can actually reach
Seven levels, from naming one square to a full game on a blank board. Free, no card.
How this was checked
Every claim about Chessvis on this page was read off the pages below on . Store prices are US storefront prices and change without notice; check the listing before buying.
Chessvis is a product of Conceptual Software, Inc. and is not affiliated with DarkSquares. Product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners and are used here only to identify the products being compared. Found something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.