ePlusChess Books App Reviews

The concept is brilliant and the interactive books with chess books/boards work great on an iPad. 4 stars. However, for the iPhone everything is too small. Yes you can increase font sizes. But no, you cannot increase the playing board size. Actually, on an iPad the board is a little small. For the iPhone they need to give the option to use a full screen book and a full screen board by swiping left or right, or by rotating from landscape to portrait.

I was a BIG CHESS BOOK HATER..........until this app! I just couldnt stand the freakin diagrams after every few paragraphs in traditional chess books. I never could get through one of those things. I truly hated it. I also resented the fact that it seems I was really missing something that could make me a better chess player..........oh, if I could only have the patience to get through one of those awfully boring looking books, was my constant refrain. But now I just downloaded this book app and I like it a lot so far. Ive been reading the one free book that it came with, and I cant wait to dive into the additional not-for-free books in the app. It allows you to follow the diagram by playing it for you...........KOOL! And now I cant believe Im really reading and liking a chess book. Keep em comin! UPDATE: After using this app book for some months I can now say without a doubt that it has made me into a chess master. And all I did was to read the free book that it comes with for about ten times..........well, parts of it about how to do openings...........I can hardly believe the miracle that this thing has done in my chess life........IT IS INCREDBILE.............WOW!!!

Very nice. Still, would like to be able to add notes and highlight text. Add these features, easily 5 stars.

Great app idea... Thanks whoever thought of it. I read the free book and it helped a lot. The way the book is integrated with the chess board makes it take a lot less time. the only issue I have is how steep some of the prices of the books are for a digital copy... I really would like to download some of them but I know I can get physical copies much cheaper or at the library for free. I cant spend that much for a digital copy of a boom, sorry.

There are a number of chess book readers available for the iPhone and iPad, but this is by far the most pleasurable to use, in its well-designed interface and elegant appearance. When you get the free app you also get Capablancas book for free, so you can explore the interface for yourself while reading a classic. No question, the iPad experience is far superior to the iPhone (you could say much the same for any ebook) but the latter is okay. The catalogue of books is still small but of very high quality. In addition to Capablancas book, I have bought Silmans endgame course and Beims strategy book and they are magnificent. A nice feature is that all puzzles have the solution hidden, but the solution is one touch away. This app easily merits all five stars, but one tool is surprisingly absent: the ability to add bookmarks, highlights, and marginal notes. I do wonder whether an analysis engine could be embedded into the interface some time in the future. This is the best chess purchase I have made in a long time, one that has made an immediate difference to my chess understanding. I do hope that chess authors and publishers everywhere will want to make their books available in this format.

great app! Just need more books. Hopefully , more books soon by Silman and other quality chess writers.

So far I have purchased about half of the books currently available and I love being able to view them using this app! Using a physical chess board can be quite tedious and very slow in comparison to being able to immediately jump from game to game and position to position. This app is well designed and I find it very easy to use. I look forward to purchasing more titles as they become available. I recommend this most highly to anyone who has a love of the game and wants a fantastic tool to help in their progression. This app has never crashed on me and it always remembers right where I left off for each book I own. Fantastic!

I wish the in-app purchases were a bit cheaper. 1/3rd cheaper and this review would go to 5 Stars. [Youd probably move more product anyway.] Thanks for putting out such a novel application.

I have tried several book readers and this is the best because you have a mini board to follow the moves from the book and never miss a variation, its so useful because the pieces move as you just the move in the text. The Kindle has a lot of books but no board to follow the moves. This is the standard all book readers for chess should follow

In principle this is an excellent app. In execution, quite the opposite. The Jerry Silman book appears to crash it after only the fourth time I open the book. After downloading the book and app for the third time I am about to give up. It doesnt matter how good the principle is, the app simply does not work for me. Yes, I had the same result with an iPad two and an iPad.

This app is really an excellent idea. Just this evening I was getting frustrated attempting to setup positions from one of my chess books and thought it would be so great if there were interactive ebooks where the positions are already setup. Thats when I searched and found this. My issue with this app however is that it needs books dedicated to specific openings like the Sicilian, Nimzo Indian, Ruy Lopez, etc. Strategy books are good but too general.

This apps is really good. The concept comes from custom chess tables where the size of the table allows you to place comfortably a large chess set plus a large book. Here you have the same Idea but on your iPad with a very user friendly interface. So far, the only book I bought runs smoothly and I am happy with the product. I would like to suggest the developer to offer bundles ( you get a discount when buy two or more books) as his/her competitors do. Also It will be good if the developers provide an email on the user guide so customers can give provide feedback without using the review section for it.

The animated chessboard is too small. It looks too small in the ipad mini. On the other hand, there is a significant amount of space wasted at the right side of the chessboard which could be used to make it more visible.

The book selection is limited at the moment, however the most frustrating thing for me is how buggy it is. Books will not open or they will only show a blank page, you need to restart the application for it to work, etc. Disappointing given the fact that the books are pricey.

This has all of the essential features you need for interactive learning with chess books. The available books is small but decent with prominent authors such as Sillman and Heisman. Library also contains classics by Capablanca, Lasker, and Nimzowitsch.

This is a great app to learn from great chess books that have been made to interactive right on my iPhone and iPad. Ive bought Silmans Endgame Manual, Chess Praxis, Chess Strategy for Club Players, Invisible Chess Moves and Improve Your Tactics!! The app works great although I wish they would make it right side up instead of having to hold the iPhone on its side. I hope they Publish Paul Keres Road to the Top and Quest for Chess Perfection!! Also Alekhines My Best Games would be great!! Im so thankful to the makers of this product!! Thanks so much epluschess !!! Keep up the good work!!

Please stop making me re-download all of my books when updating this app...what a hassle!

What a fantastic idea, chess books that play out on a board on the iPad! While I love chess books it was always rather laborious to set up each problem on a board to play through the scenario. Not anymore, this app does it all for you! Please get more Silman books, i.e. Reassess Your Chess and The Amateurs Mind. I would purchase those in a heartbeat.

I was initially very happy with this app. Recently, I have been asked to restore all books every time I start the app. Another issue is that not all books I have purchased get restored When I click on the book to open it, I get the message that it has been purchased but not downloaded. The book just does not download. I have removed the app from the iPad, have downloaded it again and still face the same problem. Can somebody explain what the issue is.

This app is excellent. The only improvement is to offer more books! Tell your friends and I’m sure the books will keep coming.