Zen Chess
Learn chess with a calm mind
Free
Learn chess from the first move to a calm, clear mind. Lessons, puzzles and eight opponents, with a master who trains your attention as well as your tactics.
Zen Chess teaches chess as a practice of attention. Master Kū guides you from your first move to strong club play, one calm step at a time.
THE PATH
Eight stages, in the order the great teaching books follow: the rules, basic mates and opening principles, tactics, endgames, positional play, calculation, openings as ideas, and finally strategy and competitive calm. Each stage has short lessons written for the app, puzzles checked by the chess engine, a practice for the mind, and a trial game. Win the trial to earn the stage's seal.
PLAY
Eight opponents run on your iPhone, from a gentle beginner of about 400 to a master of about 2200. The lower levels make human slips, so you can learn from winning as well as losing. After each of your moves the engine judges it, and the master tells you, briefly and kindly, when something was missed and what was better. Ask for a hint, take a move back, or ask the master a question about the position.
A MASTER WHO SPEAKS
On devices with Apple Intelligence, the master speaks in its own words, privately on your iPhone. The engine supplies the chess facts, so the master never invents moves. Without Apple Intelligence the master speaks from the app's built-in teachings, and everything else works the same.
YOUR OWN AI, IF YOU WISH
Add your own API key for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or DeepSeek, and before each game you choose who teaches you: Apple Intelligence is always the default. A cloud master can also play its own moves against you. Every move is checked, and the engine steps in if one isn't legal. Keys stay in your iPhone's Keychain and go only to the provider you chose.
CALM AT THE BOARD
Breathing practices, a body scan before a game, and a practice for after a hard loss. Turn on the mindful pause and the board gives you one slow breath before each of your moves. The calm move checklist trains the habit strong players share: look before you leap.
DESIGNED FOR THE BOARD
Six board themes, from classic green to sumi ink and river stone. Tap or drag to move, legal-move dots, last-move and check highlights, coordinates, piece sounds and haptics.
No account. No ads. No tracking. Your progress stays on your device.
The breathing practices are for focus at the board; Zen Chess is not a health service.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
The developer, Manuel Re, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Manuel Re
- Size
- 3.6 MB
- Category
- Board
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 26.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 26.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 26.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
9+
- 9+
- Contains
Health or Wellness Topics
- Copyright
- © 2026 Company31 Pty Ltd