Choose Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition
Choose Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition if you want the Shared/Split Screen side of the pairing. Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition launched in 2016.
Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition vs Chess Ultra
Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition and Chess Ultra both land in Sports, Strategy, Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Sports, Strategy, Indie on Steam. Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition (2016) is 1 year older than Chess Ultra (2017). Both sit near 74% positive on Steam (Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition: 102 reviews, Chess Ultra: 1,040). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Chess Ultra
Choose Chess Ultra if you want an Action, Adventure, and RPG game with Steam Turn Notifications, Online PvP, and Shared/Split Screen PvP. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 1,040 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition and Chess Ultra sit in Sports, Strategy, and Indie on Steam and both list Multi-player, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (73.5% vs 73.7% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition |  Chess Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Genres | Sports, Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Casual | Action, Sports, Strategy, Indie, Adventure, Simulation, RPG, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Verified |
| Price | 15.99 USD | 12.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 73.5% positive (102 reviews) | 73.7% positive (1,040 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer |
| Developers | Ripstone | Ripstone |
Side by side
- Both share Sports, Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition (2016) is 1 year older than Chess Ultra (2017).
- Both sit near 74% positive on Steam (Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition: 102 reviews, Chess Ultra: 1,040).
- Chess Ultra is currently ~19% cheaper on Steam than Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition (12.99 USD vs. 15.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition is Deck Playable, Chess Ultra is Deck Verified.
Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition vs Chess Ultra — FAQ
- Which is better, Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition or Chess Ultra?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition sits at 73.5% positive (102 reviews), Chess Ultra at 73.7% (1,040). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition or Chess Ultra first?
- If you want chronology, Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition (2016) came out before Chess Ultra (2017). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition and Chess Ultra similar?
- They overlap on Sports, Strategy, Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.