Chess Openings Wizard vs Chessdock
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
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Chessdock
This app generates personalized chess puzzles from your own game analysis. Connect your Chess.com or Lichess account to train on specific positions where you made mistakes, directly addressing your weaknesses. Improve your game by practicing relevant scenarios tailored to your play style.
- Personalized puzzles from own games
- Continuous puzzle generation
- Smart mistake detection
- Bookmark important positions
- Track improvement over time
- Connect Chess.com/Lichess
Read full descriptionHide full description
Learn from every game you play Connect Chess.com or Lichess, and Chessdock turns your own games into focused reviews and personalized puzzles. Most chess apps train you on random positions from master games. Chessdock is different. It analyzes the games you actually play, finds the mistakes that mattered, and hands them back to you two ways: as a game review you can work through move by move, and as puzzles built from your own slips. Instead of practicing positions that may never come up, you fix the exact moments where your thinking broke down. GAME REVIEWS — see your game through its mistakes • Only the moves that counted — your mistakes, and your opponent's, not the whole game • A winning-chances graph that shows exactly where the game slipped away, or came back • Work each mistake your way: solve it blind like a puzzle, take a hint, or just reveal the best move • Go deeper anytime — open the engine on any position, try your own ideas, and see how the game really played out PUZZLES — your mistakes, as personalized puzzles • Nothing random. Every puzzle comes straight from a game you played • A full library ready now that grows every time you play • Smart selection finds the mistakes actually worth solving • Jump from any puzzle into the full game in one click ALSO INCLUDES • Fresh-game alerts — get notified minutes after you finish a game online • Analysis board — open the engine on any position you like • Bookmarks — save the games and puzzles worth revisiting • iOS & Android apps — your games and puzzles, on the go HOW IT WORKS 1. Connect your Chess.com or Lichess account 2. Chessdock analyzes your games and finds the mistakes that mattered 3. Review each game, then train on puzzles made from your own play 4. Keep playing — new reviews and puzzles arrive automatically Play → Review → Practice → Improve. Chessdock turns your own games into your training plan. Terms of Service: https://chessdock.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://chessdock.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chessdock at Free against Chess Openings Wizard's $6.99. Chessdock also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Chess Openings Wizard's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). On rating, ads 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
Chessdock is free to download; Chess Openings Wizard costs $6.99 up front. Chessdock sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $39.00 per year. Chess Openings Wizard asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Chess Openings Wizard against 5.0 for Chessdock. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.
Chess Openings Wizard ships an update every 2 months, Chessdock every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Openings Wizard | Chessdock |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 167 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bookup Corp. | Dalibor Simacek |
Customer experience
Chess Openings Wizard
Chessdock
In-app purchases
Chess Openings Wizard
No in-app purchases
Chessdock
- Yearly subscription$39.001 Year
Questions
Is Chess Openings Wizard free?
Is Chessdock free?
Which has better reviews, Chess Openings Wizard or Chessdock?
Do Chess Openings Wizard or Chessdock have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess Openings Wizard or Chessdock?
Other comparisons















