Comparison

Mastersoft Chess vs Chess Opener PRO

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

Head to head
About

Mastersoft Chess

Master the game of chess with this comprehensive app. Learn step-by-step, play against adaptive AI across 100 difficulty levels, and sharpen your skills with thousands of puzzles. Enjoy offline play and track your progress with an ELO rating.

Highlights
  • 100 difficulty levels
  • Interactive learning coach
  • Thousands of chess puzzles
  • Adaptive AI opponent
  • ELO rating tracker
  • Multiple game modes
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

Chess – Learn Chess, Play Chess & Train Like a Grandmaster Learn chess step by step, play chess at any level, and train with the ultimate chess app for iPhone and iPad. Whether you’re a complete beginner learning chess or a competitive player mastering advanced tactics, this chess trainer gives you everything you need. Powered by an award-winning chess engine, you can play chess at up to 150 difficulty levels – from beginner to grandmaster. With adaptive AI, automatic ELO ratings, multiplayer modes, and thousands of chess puzzles, every match is a new challenge. No account required. Just download and start playing chess instantly. Key Features • 150 Levels of Chess – from beginner to expert strength and way beyond. • Learn Chess Easily – built-in trainer and interactive coach. • Adaptive AI – feels like playing against a real opponent. • Chess Puzzles & Tactics – thousands of puzzles to sharpen skills. • ELO Rating Tracker – follow your progress and growth. • Openings & Famous Games – study proven strategies. • Multiple Modes – Classic, Blitz, Training, 2-Player, and Analysis. • Custom Boards & Sets – from traditional to modern themes. • Full Chess Rules – castling, pawn promotion, en passant, and more. • Offline Play – play chess anywhere, no login or internet needed. Why Choose This Chess App? • Beginners can learn chess step by step. • Casual players can play chess for fun or practice. • Puzzle lovers can solve thousands of chess tactics. • Competitors can train like grandmasters with real challenge. Whether you enjoy slow strategy, fast blitz chess, or deep puzzle-solving, this chess app adapts to your style. Always challenging, always fun. End User License Agreement ("Agreement") (EULA) https://www.mastersoft.biz/eula.htm Privacy policy https://www.mastersoft.biz/privacy.htm

About

Chess Opener PRO

Master chess openings with a comprehensive trainer and explorer. Analyze grandmaster repertoires, build your own opening lines, and memorize variations with interactive training. Works offline with no ads.

Highlights
  • Chess opening tree with statistics
  • Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO)
  • Grandmaster repertoire database
  • Stockfish engine analysis
  • Interactive opening trainer
  • Build and manage opening repertoire
  • PGN import/export
Features
Read full description

Features: - Chess opening tree with game statistics - The Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO) - Database of top 100+ grandmasters’ repertoires - Stockfish chess engine analysis - Compare ECO, opening tree and engine moves side by side in any position - Import and export chess openings in PGN format - Build your own opening repertoire - Add or edit comments on moves - Automatically classify any sequence of moves using the ECO system - Chess opening explorer highlights moves already in your repertoire - Chess database includes all transpositions - Interactive trainer to memorize your chess openings and variations - Train multiple variations at once against random opponent moves from your repertoire - Set up a starting position for training - Track your training progress - Customize chessboard colors and chess pieces - Supports dark mode - No ads - Works completely offline CHESS OPENING EXPLORER Search in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, browse the chess opening tree, explore the opening repertoires of famous chess grandmasters, or ask the chess engine to find the best moves. Swipe left or right to switch between the exploration features in any position. BUILD YOUR OPENING REPERTOIRE Add your favorite opening lines to your repertoire using the chess opening explorer or import your openings in PGN format from other chess programs. You can always edit the names of your openings and organize them in your repertoire. OPENING TRAINER A simple and efficient method to memorize variations of openings in your repertoire. You can train either white’s moves or black’s moves only or both. Optionally, you can train all variations at once. The trainer chooses the opponent’s moves randomly from your opening repertoire. Chess Opener tracks your progress and shows your stats.

Screenshots

Mastersoft Chess4 screens
Chess Opener PRO4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Mastersoft Chess at Free against Chess Opener PRO's $8.99. Mastersoft Chess also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Chess Opener PRO's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On device support and iOS requirement 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

Mastersoft Chess is free to download; Chess Opener PRO costs $8.99 up front. Mastersoft Chess sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Chess Opener PRO asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mastersoft Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastersoft Chess has 1.5K ratings behind it against 80, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Mastersoft Chess's written reviews are positive against 76% of Chess Opener PRO's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mastersoft Chess ships an update every 5 days, Chess Opener PRO every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Mastersoft Chess versus Chess Opener PRO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMastersoft ChessChess Opener PRO
PriceFree — better$8.99
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better4.4 (80 ratings)
Positive reviews90.5% of reviews — better75.9% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better80
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size277 MB146 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMastersoftStanislav Basovnik

Customer experience

Mastersoft Chess

All ratings1,549 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral3.9%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews2,033 reviews
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.5%

Chess Opener PRO

All ratings80 ratings
Positive83.8%
Neutral5.0%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive75.9%
Neutral7.4%
Negative16.7%

User reviews

Mastersoft Chess

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great learning tool
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 💡 Helpful training mode
  • 👍 Challenging at higher levels
  • 👍 Customizable board and pieces

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🔍 Unclear move suggestions
  • 🤖 Computer plays too strong at times

Chess Opener PRO

From 80 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent for learning openings
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 💡 Highly customizable repertoires
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 👍 Great for serious players

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes quite often
  • 🐛 Not intuitive to use
  • 🐛 Invalid PGN import
  • 🐛 Does not train beyond opening position
  • 🐛 Repeats same variation

Bugs and requests

Mastersoft Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Pawn disappearing issue when castling
  • Ratings not updating properly after games
  • Crashes on certain iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • More detailed explanations for suggested moves
  • Option to play against other users online
  • Ability to set up custom board positions
  • Slower computer move speeds for beginners

Chess Opener PRO

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Invalid PGN import
  • Crashes quite often
  • Repeats same variation
  • Cannot review lines while training
  • App not functioning with iOS 16.7.4
Show 1 more
  • PGN import is tedious and doesn't support variants

Requested features

12 requests
  • Include position setting
  • Start study from a later position
  • Multiple folders for simultaneous practice
  • Option to switch between figure visibility modes (normal, queen pieces, none)
  • Blindfold practice option
Show 7 more
  • Show +1 for capturing a pawn
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Organize repertoires (move, sort, add folders)
  • Predefine variants not to reappear during training
  • User guide or help information
  • Support for split screen
  • Fix compatibility with iOS 16.7.4

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Mastersoft Chess

Subscriptions1
  • Chess Pro for 1 month.$2.991 Month
One-time2
  • Buy Chess Pro.$2.99
  • Upgrade to Ginkgo. 10% Off.$9.95
None

Chess Opener PRO

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mastersoft Chess free?
Mastersoft Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Opener PRO free?
Chess Opener PRO costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mastersoft Chess or Chess Opener PRO?
Mastersoft Chess is rated higher. Mastersoft Chess averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Chess Opener PRO averages 4.4 from 80 ratings.
Do Mastersoft Chess or Chess Opener PRO have ads?
Mastersoft Chess shows ads; Chess Opener PRO does not.
Which is updated more often, Mastersoft Chess or Chess Opener PRO?
Mastersoft Chess ships an update every 5 days, and Chess Opener PRO every 5 weeks. Most recently, Mastersoft Chess was updated on September 24, 2026 and Chess Opener PRO on September 23, 2026.

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