Chess.com Reviews 1,587

I wish instead of having to pay for lessons and stuff they should make all the lessons free

I asked my entire family to get me chess.com diamond for my birthday but they came HERE where there are absolutely nonsense reviews about my favorite game. Leetroxer and Two Fold do you realize you are to of the FOUR one star reviews that first pop up. That’s Just User Error. COMPLETELY OUTRAGEOUS!

Superb, what's not to like.

i got banned for fair play even though i didnt cheat

worst of the worst
This company managed to mess up chess...
The rating is inaccurate, servers are so bad, community sucks and their anti cheat is broken. Game analysis is behind paywall, such as puzzles... there are much better alternatives, whishing them to be bankrupt asap.

Not user friendly + Pay to Learn = Bad. All the features are pay to use except the basic game and even the base game is clunky & cheesy. No reason to use this site.

This was a grand site. Now it is a joke. Site disconnects repeatedly . Impossible to play and stop telling us, it must be our devices, as all other chess sites and apps are rock solid. You were the very best . Sad demise.

If you have kids and youth, keep them away from chess.com. There are tens of thousands of underage members on the site and chess.com does not allow youth and kid's club owners to verify age. These clubs are not secure. They are leaving themselves open to sexual predators. On a positive note, at least they got most of the porn clubs and pics under control. Still unfortunately lots of trash talk, swearing and discrimination.

Full of cheaters. If you're looking to improve your rating, you likely won't get it here. The cheaters will always push your rating down. That has been my experience. Not enough is being done about cheating on this site.

UPDATE: I see I got a response. They will tell you that they deal with cheaters, but what they won't tell you is that cheaters can easily bypass detection by only using their 'cheat tools' when they are in a bind. In other words, they may find themselves in a bad position and not know what to do. So they get assistance from some bot to give them the best move. Once they are safe, they go back to playing normal until they need a little help again.

And what about the nonsense of being paired against opponents who have played tens of thousands of games and have a rating below 900? How is that not suspicious? I have played against many people like this, and they are usually quite good, playing with skill well beyond their rating. They are obviously sandbaggers (people who intentionally lose to keep their rating low). I'm not sure why they do this, but it ruins the fun for less experienced players within the same rating range.

“Addictively Frustrating, Emotionally Draining — More Than Just a Chess Site”

How many of you have been a piece up, dominating the game, only to throw it all away in a 3-minute endgame blunder because of time pressure or nerves?

How many of you have reached 2498, felt one win away from glory, and then — in that single, soul-crushing game — slipped back down to 2250, watching hours of progress vanish in minutes?

I’m not reviewing this site based on bugs or features. I’m reviewing the psychological design of it.

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What Chess.com really offers:
• A sleek interface masking a grind loop, driven by dopamine hits, rating anxiety, and performance addiction.
• Bullet and blitz formats engineered to make you play “just one more game” — until your 10-minute break turns into a 3-hour rabbit hole.
• Engine post-game analysis that feels less like coaching and more like an AI judge reminding you you’re never good enough.

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Real experiences include:
• Opponents insulting you in chat. Reporting them sometimes works. Sometimes, it doesn’t.
• The app overheating your iPad or laptop mid-game — which in bullet is essentially game over.
• Reaching a rating milestone, then spiraling down 200+ points, feeling like you’re not just losing games, you’re losing grip.
• Watching your chess enjoyment slowly replaced by obsessive self-comparison, frustration, and burnout.

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It’s not just about losing — it’s about how you lose

You lose not because you’re bad, but because the structure is designed to punish perfectionists, reward grind, and hook your brain into thinking you’ll “figure it out next time.”

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Final verdict:

Is Chess.com polished? Yes. Popular? Absolutely.
But it’s also a psychologically exhausting ecosystem dressed up as a chess platform. For many of us, it’s not about improvement anymore — it’s about escape, addiction, and chasing a number that never satisfies.

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⛔ Uninstalled the app. Reclaiming my time, sanity, and love for chess the old-fashioned way.

I have tried and I am doing terible

False free trial, ended up paying 130€ instantly

This company does not answer questions and appears dishonest. They make cancelling impossible. They claim i must go though the purchase software though i have no such software they indicate. Signing in is a horror which i cannot do and they will not help.
Report them to authorities and DO NOT SIGN UP WITH THEM. Apparently a fraud and scam.
I am old, please give m a name and telephone number to contact. Your instructions are too complex. I want to cancel and a refund.

CC has closed two large youth clubs without warning or explanation. If they have a problem, please tell us. These were two of the best run clubs on the site. This doesn't just impact one or two people but over a thousand members. They should be ashamed of themselves!!

I really like chess, but this community is too toxic, I can't play here anymore

CC staff must have a big job on hand but nonetheless, they bring a lot of it on themselves as their methods are flawed. They consider everyone guilty before being proven innocent. And of course, they are never wrong. Good luck getting a fair chance to voice yourself or even an opportunity to prove the context of matters, or a chance to work things out and apologize for wrongdoings. Once they close your account, the proof you have goes with it. And then they send to a link to connect to a robot so your questions never get answered.

I GOT BANNED FOR BEING BAD AT CHESS.
DO NOT RECOMEND TO ANYONE UNDER IQ OF 35

This application is the worst by far, they want you to spend your money to buy their subscription so they would not let you play a fair game.
The manipulate your games to make feel you need to join their membership so you can improve your tactics.
Do not, do not, do not waste your money in these crappie application.

You create an account, and they block it. You file an appeal, and they reply with some nonsense about their decision, even though the question was why the account was blocked. The service is complete garbage, and I get the feeling the players are just dumb bots. Hard to believe real people are playing.
I thought if haven`t subscription your account can close anytime wuthout explanation. Pathetic Сrap.