Comparison

Chess Openings Wizard vs DigiChess

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Chess Openings Wizard

This app helps tournament chess players prepare their openings by designing and testing their knowledge of specific lines. It offers powerful editing and training tools, syncing with desktop versions and providing Stockfish analysis for move validation. Prepare openings quickly with tools refined over decades.

Highlights
  • Design and test chess openings
  • Full editing and training power
  • Syncs with Mac and Windows versions
  • Stockfish analysis via PocketGM server
  • Pedigree ribbon shows top player game results
  • Fast opening preparation tools
Features
Read full description

Chess Openings Wizard is where tournament players go to work on their openings. The app is based on the Bookup program that first came out in 1984. The app has full editing and training power like its brethren apps on Macintosh and Windows. Openings can be moved back and forth to the Macintosh, Windows, and Android versions. Chess Openings Wizard does not play chess, nor does it come with a game collection. It is meant for designing openings for White and defenses for Black, and then testing the player's knowledge of the lines by playing mock games. Sample ebooks include an opening guide (thousands of named and categorized opening positions accessible through any move order), an ECO master framework, and the White and Black repertoires of Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, and Robert Fischer. It also includes a demo ebook with excerpts from a highly annotated repertoire in the Open Game. Chess Openings Wizard has a dedicated PocketGM server giving you full speed Stockfish analysis. (Internet connection required.) The Pedigree ribbon shows the results of games in each opening position but uses only games between two super GMs. That way you know if the move is trusted by the best players. (And it's important to know if a move has never been played by a super GM when facing another super GM.) This is the same feature found in Chess Openings Wizard Professional for Macintosh and Windows. The short version is: if you are designing an opening with a game database app or with a playing program, you're working too hard. Chess Openings Wizard contains 42 years of refinements, with precisely the tools that a tournament player requires to prepare openings fast.

About

DigiChess

Instantly convert chess board images into interactive digital representations. An AI recognizes pieces, eliminating manual setup and saving preparation time. Export positions to analysis engines or popular chess platforms.

Highlights
  • Image to digital board conversion
  • AI piece recognition
  • FEN description generation
  • Save and edit positions
  • Export to Lichess/Chess.com
Features
Read full description

DigiChess will let you instantly transform a picture taken of a 2D position into a dynamic representation on the screen. The trained AI will recognize all the pieces for you and accurately place them on the board, eliminating the need for any manual setup. Cut out all the preparation time and get straight to the material that follows a diagram! - Take a picture of the board and the position comes to life instantly - Makes use of an AI to quickly and accurately recognize all the pieces - Easily export the positions into analysis engines and studies through the FEN description generated by the AI - Save the positions for future reference - Make changes and corrections to the positions - tweak the playing perspective and piece types - One button export to Lichess or Chess.com analysis.

Screenshots

Chess Openings Wizard4 screens
DigiChess3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: DigiChess at 100% against Chess Openings Wizard's 55%. DigiChess also leads on price (Free vs $6.99). Chess Openings Wizard's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months). On ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

DigiChess is free to download; Chess Openings Wizard costs $6.99 up front. DigiChess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess Openings Wizard asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Openings Wizard ships an update every 2 months, DigiChess every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Chess Openings Wizard versus DigiChess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Openings WizardDigiChess
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews54.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.2
Further details — not scored
Size167 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBookup Corp.Solnatrix Inc.

Customer experience

Chess Openings Wizard

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative45.5%

DigiChess

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Chess Openings Wizard

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

DigiChess

One-time1
  • DigiChess Premium No Advertisements$7.99

Questions

Is Chess Openings Wizard free?
Chess Openings Wizard costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DigiChess free?
DigiChess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chess Openings Wizard or DigiChess have ads?
Neither Chess Openings Wizard nor DigiChess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Openings Wizard or DigiChess?
Chess Openings Wizard ships an update every 2 months, and DigiChess every 8 months. Most recently, Chess Openings Wizard was updated on October 4, 2026 and DigiChess on October 6, 2026.

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