Comparison

OpenMate vs Chess Variants Studio

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

Head to head
About

OpenMate

Master chess openings and play against a powerful engine with integrated coaching. This app offers a private, offline experience with visual guidance and strategy tips to improve your game. Enjoy uninterrupted play with no ads or distractions.

Highlights
  • Strong, fast chess engine
  • Fully offline functionality
  • Visual coaching with move suggestions
  • Built-in opening knowledge
  • Strategy tips and explanations
  • Play at your own pace, no clock
  • Undo moves freely
Features
Read full description

Learn chess openings, or play chess against a strong, fast engine with built-in coaching and analysis tools. OpenMate runs entirely on your device. No internet connection, no accounts, and no data collection. Everything is local, private, and instant. Designed for both play and improvement, OpenMate combines engine strength with visual guidance and practical coaching to help you understand the game as you play. Features: • Strong, fast engine with instant responses: ~4M nodes per second on an iPhone 16 (half on Low Power Mode), ~2800 ELO at 3s/move! • Fully offline: no network access required • Hint mode with visual coaching: - Opening guidance with move suggestions and lists (multicolor arrows) - Engine-recommended moves (green arrows) - Threat visualization (red arrows) • Built-in opening knowledge to guide early play • Strategy tips with both chess terminology and plain-English explanations • Play as White or Black • Flip the board anytime • Undo moves freely at any point • No clock: play at your own pace without time pressure OpenMate is designed to remove friction and distractions. There are no ads, no sign-ups, and no interruptions. Just chess. Whether you want to practice openings, analyze positions, or simply play strong games offline, OpenMate gives you a focused and responsive experience. Built for iPhone and iPad, tested across devices, and optimized for smooth performance.

About

Chess Variants Studio

Features
Read full description

Play any of nine variants of chess with 8 levels, 1200-2100, against the custom Pulsar engine. Review games with variant engine analysis. Styles supported are Chess960, Crazyhouse, Atomic, Losers, Giveaway, Three Checks, Advanced Pawns, Reversed Pawns and Random Pieces. The rules are included in-app. No signup. Ad Free. Works Offline. The playing program is one i've designed and tested at different levels on internet chess servers in order to come up with the ratings on the board. Ratings range from 1200 to 2100 or 2200 depending on variant. Try the app for free. There's 10 free plays of pure variants like atomic, crazyhouse and loser's and 10 free plays of chessic variants like chess960 and 30 free views of played games with analysis. A single one-time purchase unlocks unlimited play and variant engine analysis. Played games are logged and can also be viewed/analyzed. When reviewing the player's games, users can override the moves and start making their own moves. Back up to main line to undo. If the user goes looks at the Moves while reviewing, the game can be copied to the clipboard. The app comes with two skin themes, a reddish wood and a teal. Also here are multiple board and piece choices to choose from in settings.

Screenshots

OpenMate4 screens
Chess Variants Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OpenMate at none against Chess Variants Studio's 1. Chess Variants Studio's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). 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. Chess Variants Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. OpenMate asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OpenMate ships an update every 6 days, Chess Variants Studio every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
OpenMate versus Chess Variants Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpenMateChess Variants Studio
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRAMINE ROANEMichael Adams

In-app purchases

None

OpenMate

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Chess Variants Studio

One-time1
  • Unlimited Plays and Views$3.99

Questions

Is OpenMate free?
OpenMate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Variants Studio free?
Chess Variants Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do OpenMate or Chess Variants Studio have ads?
Neither OpenMate nor Chess Variants Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OpenMate or Chess Variants Studio?
OpenMate ships an update every 6 days, and Chess Variants Studio every 9 days. Most recently, OpenMate was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chess Variants Studio on October 31, 2026.

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