OpenChess vs Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx
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/
Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx
Master chess openings with interactive training. This app helps you learn and retain opening theory faster by actively playing the moves, leading to real game improvement.
- Interactive opening training
- Active learning for retention
- Faster improvement
- Real game results
- Opening theory mastery
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ChessMaxx - Master Chess Openings Through Interactive Training Transform your chess game by mastering openings the smart way. ChessMaxx uses interactive, hands-on training to help you learn and retain chess openings faster than ever before Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q-mALK_tyRK_kFq70HuLJd8Yk88tvsnTtQJw1wS0YQQ/edit?usp=sharing WHY CHESSMAXX? Most chess players struggle to remember opening theory. ChessMaxx solves this by making you play the moves, not just read them. Active learning means better retention, faster improvement, and real results in your games.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: OpenChess at 3 against Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx's 1. OpenChess also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). 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 Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. 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 Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively.
OpenChess ships an update fortnightly, Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OpenChess | Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 57 MB | 53 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | David Bryant | Irakli Grigolia |
Customer experience
OpenChess
Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx
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
Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx
- Weekly Premium$1.997 Days
- Yearly Premium$24.991 Year
Questions
Is OpenChess free?
Is Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx free?
Which has better reviews, OpenChess or Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx?
Do OpenChess or Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx have ads?
Which is updated more often, OpenChess or Learn Chess Openings ChessMaxx?
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