FollowChess (Pro) Mobile - Review
Updated: Jan 20
Right now, there is a chess engine match going on, or a tournament with your favorite players. Right now there is a broadcast of this important event for you.
Are you on a walk, spending time sitting on a park bench or maybe you are just traveling by train, or just preparing a meal at your place ?
Whatever you are doing right now, at any time you can live stream chess games, see and listen to the video broadcast, analyze ongoing and completed games and much more using smartphone with the FollowChess app by Mr. Asim Pereira.
FollowChess is an app available on Android and iOS smartphones and through the website live.followchess.com.
This review will show images from the FollowChess Pro version 3.6.13 on Android system - the latest as of the date of this writing.
Versions for both systems are functionally almost identical, they differ, for example, in color themes. If the review remains showing a screenshot of the iOS version, it will be explicitly described.
FollowChess comes in two versions: Free and Pro.
Free has ads and has limited functionality, e.g. Free can not view all Standings only top, Pro can view all standings, etc.
The Pro version costs $0.99 per month which is less than one coffee from Starbucks.
It is also possible to buy a lifetime version, which will be Pro forever, without any limitations.
Let's start with...
After launching the program, we are greeted by a screen with a list of chess matches and tournaments. There are a lot of them, as by default, in addition to live events, already completed ones are also available.
The user has the possibility to filter the events and leave e.g. only the live ones.
When you tap on a selected event, such as one being played live - FollowChess will take you to a screen where you will see multiple chess boards with open chess games.
Here is round 6 of one of the live events being played:
And below is another tournament, also broadcast live.
In real time, the chessboards are updated when players make a move.
It's cool to be able to watch multiple games being played at the same time :-)
FollowChess can operate in portrait mode (above images) or in landscape mode (below). The landscape mode is especially convenient when using a tablet or larger smartphone.
By pressing any chessboard you will be taken to the view of that selected and enlarged chessboard; the game notation will be shown and icons for selecting various functions will be displayed.
Below, the game in a vertical setting.
And here is a chess game in a horizontal setting.
At any time if we wish to change the chessboard design and color themes, this can be easily done in the app settings.