Chessnook · Chess & Xiangqi

New: Chess with adjustable AI, opening book, and Pro game analysis. Play Xiangqi, Banqi, or chess — fully offline, with a friendly dog mascot at your side.

Chessnook is a cozy chess club for your pocket — a beginner-friendly, fully offline iPhone and iPad app for Chinese chess (Xiangqi), Banqi (Dark Chess / Flip Chess), and Western chess. A friendly dog mascot called Lil' General cheers you on, reacts to your moves, and softens losses with a wag of the tail.

WHAT YOU GET • Standard Xiangqi — the full 9×10 board with River and Palace. Cross the river, ride the cannon, and corner the General. • Banqi (Dark Chess) — a 4×8 flip-board variant where every move reveals a new piece. Quick games, surprising swings. • Western chess — the classic 8×8 game with full standard rules, an opening book, endgame puzzles, and piece-by-piece tutorials. • 14 endgame puzzles — classical mate-in-1 patterns, from Lone Chariot Mate and Horse-and-Cannon to Iron Bolt and Bold Sacrifice. • Step-by-step tutorials — learn how each piece moves, then how it really fights. • Adjustable AI — gentle Easy for newcomers, tough Master for veterans. • Local 2-player mode — pass-and-play on a single device. • Save & resume — pick up exactly where you left off.

DESIGNED FOR COZY PLAY • A friendly dog mascot reacts to every move and never lectures. • Five hand-crafted board themes — Classic, Ocean, Space, Jungle, Candy. • Thoughtful sound and music with independent volume controls. • Three languages — Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese — switch any time from inside the app. • Optimised for iPhone and iPad, including landscape and split-view layouts.

100% OFFLINE • No accounts. No sign-ups. No servers. • Play on a train, on a plane, or on the couch.

CHESSNOOK PRO (one-time, optional) Unlock the full experience with a single purchase: • All 5 board themes • Remove all ads • Save & resume in-progress games • Full set of endgame puzzles

More variants on the way.

Need help? Visit support from the Settings tab inside the app.