Comparison

Openings Mastermind vs OpenChess

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

Head to head
About

Openings Mastermind

Master chess openings with this app. Import studies, explore with advanced engines, and practice specific lines through repetition. Track your progress and improve your game.

Highlights
  • Import Lichess Studies or PGNs
  • Explore openings with Stockfish 15
  • Practice openings by repetition
  • Smart practice queue
  • Track learning progress
Features
Read full description

Get ready to take your chess game to the next level with Openings Mastermind, the ultimate chess opening app! Some of the features include: - Import Lichess Studies or custom PGNs - Explore openings with Stockfish 17 and the Lichess position database - Practice openings by repetition against your own custom openings database - Take advantage of the smart practice queue and improve your learning - Observe your learning progress in different openings With our app, you can take your opening game to the next level by practicing against the specific lines you want to master. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced player, our app is the perfect tool to help you improve your opening moves and become a better chess player. Planned Features: - Continue against engine, after study line ends - Analysis of your games from Lichess and Chess.com compared to your openings database

About

OpenChess

Master chess openings by playing against a specialized AI. Explore specific defenses or move sequences, and gain insights into positional advantages and piece values. Improve your game from the very first moves.

Highlights
  • Learn specific chess openings
  • Play against AI focused on opening lines
  • Analyze positional advantages
  • Evaluate piece values and mobility
  • Understand pawn structure
  • Track defended and attacked pieces
Read full description

Learn chess openings with OpenChess: An Opening Explorer. Play against the computer, or play as both sides, and be shown the lines that are within any opening that you are interested in learning. Want to learn the Sicilian Defense or the Queen’s Gambit? Choose that category and play against that a computer that only follows lines within that opening category. Wany to focus on learning all of the openings that start with a specific move, such as pawn to “e4”? This category can also be selected, and you can play against a computer that only plays lines that start with “e4”. The chess engine in this app is not Stockfish, and it does not look very far ahead. It is meant to provide a decent base evaluation and allow the majority of the reason behind the evaluation of the current position to be shown to the user. The following information can be shown to the user: • Positional advantages for each piece type (pawn, knight, bishop, rook, queen and king) • Piece value advantages for each color • Mobility scores for each piece where mobility plays a big role (bishop, rook, queen, king) • Pawn advantages and disadvantages (passed pawns, isolated pawns, backwards pawns, doubled pawns) • Total value of pieces attacked by each color as well as total value of pieces defended by each color A lot of chess games are won and lost within the opening moves, this app was designed to help players learn solid openings that either help them gain a winning advantage out of the opening, or at the very least help them not lose due to the opening moves played. Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Openings Mastermind4 screens
OpenChess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: OpenChess at 5.0 against Openings Mastermind's 4.3. OpenChess also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.6). Openings Mastermind's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ratings volume (6 vs 2). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. OpenChess sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Openings Mastermind asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OpenChess holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Openings Mastermind versus OpenChess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpenings MastermindOpenChess
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (6 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better2
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristian HeiseDavid Bryant

Customer experience

Openings Mastermind

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

OpenChess

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Openings Mastermind

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

OpenChess

One-time10
  • Tarrasch Defense Opening$0.99
  • Trompowsky Attack Opening$0.99
  • Scandinavian Defense Opening$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Three Knights Opening$0.99
  • Zukertort Opening$0.99
  • Van't Kruijs Opening$0.99
  • Vienna Game Opening$0.99
  • Ware Opening$0.99
  • Opening Explorer$4.99
  • OpenChess Premium$19.99

Questions

Is Openings Mastermind free?
Openings Mastermind is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OpenChess free?
OpenChess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Openings Mastermind or OpenChess?
OpenChess is rated higher. Openings Mastermind averages 4.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while OpenChess averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Openings Mastermind or OpenChess have ads?
Neither Openings Mastermind nor OpenChess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Openings Mastermind or OpenChess?
Openings Mastermind ships an update fortnightly, and OpenChess fortnightly. Most recently, Openings Mastermind was updated on October 24, 2026 and OpenChess on October 15, 2026.

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