Apple Updates Its Chess App for the First Time Since 2012

As Apple eulogized its commitment to purportedly non-invasive AI during its annual developer conference, the iPhone maker neglected to disclose a critical update that’s coming to the next evolution of its Mac operating system — macOS Sequoia.

Alongside an iPhone mirroring feature and Safari AI summaries, early users of macOS 15 beta say they’ve spotted the first upgrade to Apple’s Mac Chess game since 2012.

As 9to5Mac first reported, Apple last updated the Chess app a dozen years ago, back when it still named its Mac operating system releases after big cats. With OS X Mountain Lion, Apple added Game Center support to Chess, along with a glossy background and some other small additions laid out in an ancient AppleInsider post. The app’s 2012 upgrade looked like this, per AppleInsider.

The following year, Apple said it ran out of big cats and started naming Mac updates after “inspiring” places in California. In the years since, Apple kept its built-in Chess app around but neglected to update it until now.

The latest version of Chess for Mac features shinier and more realistic-looking pieces as well as a textured, gradient background. However, 9to5Mac reports that the revamped game includes fewer themes. The update specifically punts a rather gritty-looking grass theme option, though it’s technically possible that Apple has other changes coming to the app before macOS Sequoia exits beta and sees a wider release.