Chess Openings Wizard vs DigiChess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
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.
- Image to digital board conversion
- AI piece recognition
- FEN description generation
- Save and edit positions
- Export to Lichess/Chess.com
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
| Parameter | Chess Openings Wizard | DigiChess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 167 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bookup Corp. | Solnatrix Inc. |
Customer experience
Chess Openings Wizard
DigiChess
In-app purchases
Chess Openings Wizard
No in-app purchases
DigiChess
- DigiChess Premium No Advertisements$7.99
Questions
Is Chess Openings Wizard free?
Is DigiChess free?
Do Chess Openings Wizard or DigiChess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess Openings Wizard or DigiChess?
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