One quibble with Chess With Friends: The app is not very good at alerting you to your next turn. In theory, the app's home screen icon should show you how many moves are awaiting your attention with a number encircled in red, similar to an e-mail or application update alert. In practice, however, you need to open the app for your games to update. A prompter alarm would make for speedier games.

It isn't difficult to imagine how Chess With Friends might evolve with future updates from developer . For the moment, it's impossible to know just how many players are online and looking for a game. You are left at the mercy of the app to find an opponent for you. Why not embrace the social networking concept completely and let players choose?

The app would also benefit greatly from a leader board, which would in turn fuel competitions. New players would undoubtedly wish to test their skills against the top dogs. And it would be nice to be able to seek out past opponents for grudge matches. There is a player named Ouyang who cleaned my clock the other day. I'd like another shot at him.

The application is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.1 software update.

[Ben Boychuk is a freelance writer and columnist in Rialto, Calif.]