Chess King Learn Courses Review

Chess King Learn sells exercise-led interactive courses rather than a video library, one at a time or in subscriptions, and at 299 RUB a course it may be a low-cost way to drill a single topic. Prices differ between the web and the App Store, and the pages we read stated no refund terms and named no course author. Use the free preview before buying anything.

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Test depth: Public information only. Nobody at ChessCourseFinder has taken this course. This review is based on published documentation and pricing from learn.chessking.com, read on 8 November 2026 in its Russian-language version, and on the App Store listing. It is a judgment on paper, not a report on what the courses are like to use. How we review explains the limits.

This review has no star score. Fit, price and limits are set out instead, and how reviews are made is public.

What kind of product this is

Chess King Learn is closer to an interactive workbook than a video course. The App Store listing describes "Interactive theory: read the lesson, then play the moves on the board yourself", exercises with graphic hints and explanations, and play against the computer. In a reply to a user review, the developer says lessons have a theory part in words and a practice part that tests your understanding. The app's version notes include "Added video theory support", so some courses may have video, but no course page we read listed any video or running time. The listing ties the method to CT-ART, the tactics trainer it says is used by serious players, and says methods were "refined over 30 years". Those are seller claims.

That format is the main thing to decide on. If you learn best by being talked through ideas on video, this is unlikely to be the right product at any price. If you learn by solving and being corrected, cost per course is very low. Research on testing yourself supports the general idea, within limits, and our Chess King Caro-Kann page gives that evidence and its caveats.

The site shows "(c) 2013-2026 Chess King", the App Store seller is CHESSQUEEN INC, and courses work on the web, Android and iOS. The pages we opened were in Russian. English is in the language menu, but the course page we checked (course 128) showed no note on how much is translated, so confirm the English yourself.

What it costs, and three prices that disagree

The same catalogue shows different prices depending on where you look, so check your own route. These are as of 8 November 2026.

All three bundle discounts work out to exactly 15% (calculated). We do not convert rubles. Whether you would pay 299 RUB or a dollar price depends on your locale, which we could not test, so look at the price at checkout. One App Store reviewer also recommends buying inside the app and not through Apple, saying that linking purchases can be confusing. That is one person's experience.

The catalogue size also varies by source: the homepage says "130+" and the App Store listing says 147.

When a bundle beats single courses

Buying single courses is cheaper unless you will use a lot of them. Calculated at 299 RUB a course, which we only know applies to the opening courses we read:

• All courses at 8,499.15 RUB equals about 28.4 single courses, so it pays off from the 29th.
• University at 5,524.15 RUB equals about 18.5 single courses, so it pays off from the 19th. If it holds the 44 courses the App Store listing gives, that is about 125.5 RUB a course.
• The break-even is unrealistic for most study plans. Going through even one 345-item course properly takes a long time. Time, not price, is the limit here.

Check what a bundle's duration is before paying. The University page says "buy forever", and describes lifetime access to current and future tracks, while the homepage describes subscriptions you can use until the period ends and a 100-year option exists. The same tier is described as "8 modules" on the homepage and 7 paths and 44 courses in the App Store listing.

Three opening courses we could read

We read two Caro-Kann courses and one on the Italian Game, and they show the format's pattern.

The ranges are the pages' own labels, with no rating system named, and no page named an author. At 299 RUB, the Italian course works out at about 1.11 RUB per item and the first Caro-Kann course at about 0.87 RUB (calculated).

The Italian page shows why the level labels matter. It says the course teaches play in key opening positions and helps you understand the opening "for both sides". That makes it practice for positions you already know you will reach rather than a repertoire for one colour. Our Caro-Kann course page explains that distinction further.

What a user of an exercise course should look for

Use the free portion to answer these, because they decide whether a cheap exercise course teaches you anything.

• Do wrong answers get an explanation? The listing promises explanations and refutations of mistakes. One App Store reviewer (2020) complained about a lack of explanation for the reasoning behind arrows shown on the board. The developer replied that lessons have separate theory and practice parts. So check both parts.
• Are the exercises the level you are? A 1500-2300 label is an enormous range.
• Is the English real? Open a lesson in English and read a full explanation, rather than relying on the menu.
• Does the interface suit you? A positive 2019 App Store reviewer still said the interface needed a redesign and was confusing at first.

What the seller's pages do not tell you

• What the numbers count. The openings course shows "345" and the tactics course shows counters of 144 and 287 against about 350 exercises in its text, so item counts cannot be compared with hours of video elsewhere.
• Who wrote them. No course page we read names an author, so you cannot check the teacher's credentials.
• How they compare on size with a Chessable Caro-Kann course. Chessable's L'Ami course lists 822 trainable variations and 36 hours of video (an extra 36 hours on top of about 2 hours included at base) at $49.99 base and $299.98 with video, and the Schandorff course lists 490 trainable variations and an extra 17h 59m on top of about 2 hours at base, at $49.99 base and $249.98 with video (list prices read on 8 November 2026). A Chess King item and a Chessable variation are not the same unit, but the Chessable pages do state author, hours and price in one currency.
• Refunds. No refund terms were stated on the pages we read. A developer reply in the App Store says you can subscribe, for example to all courses for one month, and cancel within 3 days without being charged. That is a reply to one user, undated, and not a published policy.
• The rating system behind the level labels, and how a "1500" here relates to Chess.com or FIDE.

What others say

Independent opinion is thin. On the App Store listing, the app showed 4.8 from 2.5K ratings on 8 November 2026. Those are app ratings and cover the whole app. Of the written reviews we read, a 2019 one calls the content deep, a 2020 one gives the criticism about missing explanations noted above, and a 2024 one calls it "The absolute BEST chess learning product I own!". One Lichess forum user called the tactics course (course 36) the best program for learning the Caro-Kann, as shown in a search snippet that we did not open.

Who it might suit

• A player rated roughly 1500 to 2300 by the page's own labels who already knows which positions they want to practise.
• Someone who learns by solving and wants a one-time purchase, since the course pages say a single course carries no subscription.
• Someone who wants the CT-ART style of tactics training in an app.

Who should skip this

• You need documented hours, authors or a refund policy first. The better-documented Caro-Kann alternatives we have are the Chessable courses above; see our Chessable review and best Caro-Kann courses.
• You want video explanation. One line in the app's version notes mentions video theory, but no course page we read listed video or hours.
• You prefer to study in English and want certainty. Translation varies.
• You are rated below about 1500 and looking at these opening courses. They start at 1500 and 1600 by the site's own labels, though the App Store listing says the wider catalogue reaches down to beginners.

For budget options across sellers, see cheapest chess courses. A subscription catalogue with stated ratings and a published refund policy is described in our ChessMood review.

The free resource that covers similar ground

Chess King's own preview is the nearest free option: the App Store listing says "Preview courses before you commit", and the developer's reply says each course can be tested with "10% or 20% open material". Beyond that, we have not verified a free course that covers the Caro-Kann specifically. Lichess Studies appear to be user-created collections organised into chapters, free with no paid tier; see Lichess studies and practice. We have not checked the quality of any particular study.

Before you pay

1. Open the free portion of the exact course in the language you will use.
2. Answer three exercises wrongly on purpose and read what the feedback tells you.
3. Check the price in your currency on the route you will actually buy through.
4. Ask for the refund policy in writing.
5. Start with one course, not a subscription.