OpenChess vs MindChess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
MindChess
This app offers daily chess training designed to enhance mental visualization and blindfold play. It features mini-games that improve calculation, memory, and concentration, inspired by grandmaster training methods. Practice exercises focus on board elements without needing a physical board.
- Mental visualization training
- Blindfold chess practice
- Calculation and memory improvement
- Concentration exercises
- Mini-games inspired by grandmasters
- Progress tracking
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MindChess is a daily chess training app focused on mental visualization and blindfold play. Improve your calculation, memory, and concentration through short mini-games inspired by how grandmasters train their minds. Practice exercises such as recognizing square colors, knight jumps, coordinates, or diagonals. Beat your records, track your progress, and train your mind without a board. Perfect for amateur players who want to sharpen their visualization and calculation skills. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://nsstudent.dev/MindChessLanding/privacypolicy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: OpenChess at 12.0 against MindChess's 18.0. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. OpenChess sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and MindChess sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for OpenChess against 5.0 for MindChess. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
OpenChess ships an update fortnightly, MindChess every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OpenChess | MindChess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 57 MB | 87 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | David Bryant | omar megdadi |
Customer experience
OpenChess
MindChess
In-app purchases
OpenChess
- Tarrasch Defense Opening$0.99
- Trompowsky Attack Opening$0.99
- Scandinavian Defense Opening$0.99
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- 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
MindChess
- Monthly subscription$0.991 Month
- Yearly subscription$9.991 Year
Questions
Is OpenChess free?
Is MindChess free?
Which has better reviews, OpenChess or MindChess?
Do OpenChess or MindChess have ads?
Which is updated more often, OpenChess or MindChess?
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