# Chess Openings Explorer Pro — user reviews

> 64 indexed App Store user reviews of Chess Openings Explorer Pro by Emmanuel Mathis, rated 4.60/5 from 349 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-openings-explorer-pro/id1083431778/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-openings-explorer-pro/id1083431778.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 272 · 4★ 40 · 3★ 12 · 2★ 7 · 1★ 18

## What do users think of Chess Openings Explorer Pro?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 📚 Extensive database of grandmaster games (2 million+)
- 🎯 Intuitive opening explorer interface
- 📊 Clear visualization of move statistics and win rates
- 🎮 Easy access to replay master games
- 💡 Practical and pedagogical approach to learning openings
- 📈 Helps understand openings better than traditional methods
- 🎨 Clean, classic chessboard display
- ⚡ Efficient and convenient study tool
- 🔄 PGN export functionality
- ✅ Good organization of openings and variations

**Cons**

- ⚠️ Limited depth - only covers ~5 moves in most lines
- ❌ Lacks built-in chess engine for analysis
- 😕 Confusing user interface for beginners
- 📖 Insufficient documentation and help instructions
- 🤷 Unclear what statistics and percentages mean
- 💸 Expensive for the features offered
- 🚫 Cannot play own moves in explore mode
- 📱 Text truncation on opening names (iPhone display issue)
- 🔍 Shallow variant coverage and exploration
- ⚙️ Limited features compared to price point
- 🐛 Games fail to load frequently
- 🎯 Not suitable for intermediate/advanced players
- 📵 No landscape mode support on iPad

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Games fail to load with 'failed to load games' error
- Wrong position displayed when accessing games from position
- Text truncation on opening names (iPhone)
- Incompatibility with older devices (iPad 4)
- App crashes or freezes
- Recent update caused game loading issues

**Most requested features**

- Built-in chess engine for position evaluation
- Ability to play own moves and get engine feedback
- Play openings against computer opponent
- PGN import functionality
- Quiz mode by opening
- Deeper variant coverage beyond move 5
- Suggest new openings feature
- Engine analysis when opening book ends
- Better explanation of move choices
- Expanded opening database
- Improved text display for full opening names
- More sophisticated sorting options

## Newest reviews (14 of 64)

### 4/5 — Ist okay

*2026-06-07*

Die App zeigt einfach und pragmatisch die Eröffnungen an. Das kompakte Design passt. Allerdings wäre eine Funktion bei den Lesezeichen sinnvoll, um Eröffnungen speichern zu können. Das suchen jedes Mal nervt. Man kann nur Spiele mit den Eröffnungen speichern. Macht tatsächlich kaum Sinn.

### 2/5 — Bien mais manque les quiz??

*2025-08-07*

Bien mais manque les quiz??

### 2/5 — Not friendly user

*2024-07-18*

It is not fun and it is not easy to understand how to use this app, your one other app named “problemas de ajedrez” is excellent and free, I expected more of this one which is paid.

### 4/5 — Avis Amélioration

*2024-07-17*

Bon travail. 

Amélioration ->  pouvoir jouer l’ouverture (blanc) et l’ordinateur (noir), controler l’ouverture et l’ordinateur les pièces noir.

Merci

### 3/5 — Basic opening explorer

*2024-06-30*

Covers the basics, but does not go into depth in many key opening positions, and does not include an engine to analyse the final positions.

### 3/5 — Ok

*2024-01-05*

Je n’ai pas vraiment l’impression à mon niveau que cette application me soit utile. 
Eut ette comme pount de recherche sur youtube ou bouquin afin n’approfondir les « leçons ? Interessante mais sans plus.

### 3/5 — Low number of movements in variants

*2023-11-17*

In the display of the main variants, the number of pre-recorded moves is very small, and in fact, only a few basic moves are specified, and the subsets of the variants are not clear, and you must refer to other people's games for further investigation.

### 3/5 — Gold beginning

*2023-09-14*

Missing possibility to play own moves ….

### 4/5 — It’s a simple and great app

*2023-08-04*

I like the chess apps made by the developer. I wish we could have the analyze option in the explore mode, when the opening book ends. Instead of going to the similar games tab

### 2/5 — Не библиотека дебютов, а Коллекция партий

*2023-04-11*

Очень бедненько представлены дебюты. До 4-5 хода.

### 4/5 — Nice App

*2022-09-06*

I thought it is going to explain more better way above openings

### 4/5 — Not sure

*2022-04-10*

I’m not 100% impressed with this app.
I probably expected something different and it’s most likely I’m not using it like it should be used.
Openings are not the be all and end all that some may think.

### 2/5 — very limited, very limeted if you are an intermediate player or higher.

*2021-11-17*

thats it really.

### 4/5 — Opening suggester

*2021-02-07*

Everything about the app is good, but there should be an option to suggest an opening to be put into the app. I don’t know if it’s missing any other opening, but it is missing the kloosterboer gambit.

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 1/5 — Pas top

*2026-02-02*

Ni simple ni conviviable

### 1/5 — A fuir

*2025-02-26*

Vraiment nul... regret

### 1/5 — ITS NOT FREE

*2023-10-22*

terrible app, total scam

### 1/5 — No built-in engine as advertised

*2022-09-14*

I paid money for this but there is no built-in engine. So I paid and got the free version.

### 1/5 — Not very deep

*2022-03-03*

Can explore openings only up to about move 5 which makes it next to useless for me.

### 1/5 — Trop incomplet

*2021-12-12*

Acheté il y a un an, l’arbre des c	riantes n’a pas évolué, toujours aussi pauvre… A quand un véritable outil exploitable ?

### 1/5 — Scam

*2021-09-24*

Scam wasted my money

### 1/5 — In Ordnung

*2021-06-13*

Von mir nur ein Stern. Mann kann hier zwar viele Eröffnungen sehen, aber danach das Spiel nicht beenden. So ist das nur nervig und entspricht nicht meinen Erwartungen. Sehr schlecht.

### 1/5 — Not worth the money

*2021-05-02*

When I buy a chess opening app I want to see the full name of the opening in the title. This is not the case on my iphone, because there is only one line for the name of the opening. And as many openings have a quite long name, the text is just cut off at the and of the line. There is no way to get the full text. Very bad!!!

### 1/5 — Scam

*2020-12-09*

Scam

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — Pedagógico

*2024-10-28*

Muy práctico y didáctico.  Está genial. Te enseña muchísimas partidas de GM

### 5/5 — Best app to practice openings

*2024-08-01*

Awesome interface! You can instantly see which opening moves result in game wins, and conveniently practice the numerous variations. One of my favorite features is that you can see and replay games by chess masters using each opening. I’ve been playing chess for decades, and this app helped me “get” the openings in a few weeks better than any other training or coaching over the years!

Well done to the developers! Hope they keep the app going.

### 5/5 — Praktischer Eröffnungs-Explorer

*2022-12-13*

Schön ist vor allem, dass man für jede Stellung Partien von Großmeistern findet, in denen genau diese Stellung vorkam. Außerdem kann man Stellungen als PGN exportieren und in anderen Apps anschauen. Ein schönes Feature das noch fehlt wäre eine Möglichkeit, eigene Züge zu machen und diese durch eine Engine bewerten zu lassen. außerdem wäre es schön, wenn man PGNs auch importieren könnte.

### 5/5 — Praktikable Eröffnungsschachschule

*2022-07-17*

Nach kurzer Zeit hat man das „handling“ des Schachprogramms erfasst. 

Durch die Vielfältigkeit des Schachprogramms bekommt man einen guten Kenntnisstand in die verschiedensten Schacheröffnungen. 

Sehr praktisch und hilfreich sind die beinahe unzähligen Schachpartien zu den jeweiligen Eröffnungen.

Das Schachbrett ist klassisch dargestellt und von der Größe im Verhältnis zur Bildschirmgröße optimal.

Kann ich nur empfehlen. 

Technische Probleme habe ich mit diesem Schachprogramm keine.
iPad Air 3. Generation IOS 15.5

### 5/5 — Fine app for exploring openings

*2021-03-22*

My favorite features of this app are being able to see the relative strength of moves will looking at an opening and being able to easily access and replay grandmaster games using openings and their variations.  The Arkon app is also quite good, but it is annoying that it doesn’t support landscape mode on an iPad.

### 5/5 — Excellent

*2021-03-14*

Meilleur programme d’ouvertures que je connaisse

### 5/5 — Simple and Sweet

*2021-03-11*

This inexpensive program is simple but effective!  Enter an opening line and get a list of strong GM games that followed the line.  See how strong GM’s won, lost and drew starting from that position.

### 5/5 — Enjoyable and instructive

*2021-01-15*

This app makes chess study convenient and efficient.  Playing out the master games engenders chess appreciation.

### 5/5 — loving this app

*2020-12-11*

this is a very good app to study openings and games. glad i made the decision to buy it. i love that there are games played by the highest level of players from yesterday to today. hopefully more games will be added in cause i defintely love having them all in one app. thank you

### 5/5 — Good

*2020-08-09*

Best

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-07.*