Comparison

Think Like a Master vs Chess Openings Coach

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

Head to head
About

Think Like a Master

Features
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Can you think like a chess legend? Think Like a Master puts you in the shoes of José Raúl Capablanca — one of the greatest chess players who ever lived. Study his real games, guess his moves, and discover what separates world-class chess thinking from the rest. HOW IT WORKS Each session replays a real Capablanca game from his historical record. After a short opening, you take control. For every position where Capablanca had to make a decision, you make your move first — then see how the master responded. Did you find his move? Did you find something even better? Were you close, or did you miss something critical? WHAT YOU'LL LEARN • How a world champion evaluates positions and selects moves • Which moves Stockfish considers the top candidates in any position • Where your thinking diverges from elite-level play • How to spot the tactical and strategic patterns used by the greats THE CAPABLANCA AI CHALLENGE At the heart of the app is an AI model trained exclusively on Capablanca's games — not just to find good moves, but to find his moves. The model has studied his patterns, his style, his preferences. It knows he favored clean piece activity over speculative attacks. It knows he simplified when ahead. It knows how he thought. Every time you guess a move, the AI is guessing too. You're not just competing against Stockfish's cold engine evaluation — you're trying to outthink a model built in Capablanca's image. Did you find the move the engine rates highest? Or did you find the move that he would have played? Sometimes those are the same. Often they're not. That tension is where the real chess learning happens. FEATURES • 597 real games from Capablanca's complete career • Stockfish-powered analysis shows the top 5 candidate moves for every position • AI style model trained on Capablanca's games predicts his preferred move • See when you think like the engine, when you think like the master, and when you found something neither did • Post-game report card grades your performance with detailed statistics • Deep analysis mode reveals continuations after every key decision • Fully on-device — no internet required for analysis • Covers his full career from 1901 through 1939 YOUR REPORT CARD After each game you receive a full breakdown: • How often you matched Capablanca exactly • How often your move was in the top 5 candidates • How often you found something better than the master • Your blunder count and where you went wrong MORE MASTERS COMING Capablanca is just the beginning. Future updates will bring more legendary players from chess history — each with their own AI model trained on their unique style. Every great player thought differently. Every one is worth studying. FOR ALL CHESS PLAYERS Whether you're learning the game or pushing toward a higher rating, studying master games is one of the most effective ways to improve. Think Like a Master makes it interactive — not passive. Stop watching. Start thinking.

About

Chess Openings Coach

Features
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ChessOpenings is a quiet, well-written reference for the classical chess opening repertoire — Ruy Lopez, Sicilian, Queen's Gambit, King's Indian, and 21 more — with an AI coach for the specific positions you get stuck in. WHAT IT DOES • 25 classical openings grouped by structure (Open Games, Semi-Open, Closed, Indian Defences, Flank) • Each opening: ECO code, main line, key strategic ideas, main variations with explanations, common traps, suitability ("Players who like long strategic battles") • AI coach answers specific "what should I do if my opponent plays X?" questions in the Silman / Rowson / King tradition • Private practice log — every session logged with opening, question, AI feedback, your note • 3 free coach asks per day; Pro is unlimited DESIGN Warm walnut-and-cream aesthetic — board-brown and ink on cream, serif typography. Apple-native SwiftUI. No third-party UI frameworks. PRIVACY • Every study note stays on your iPhone with SwiftData • No login, no email, no analytics SDKs • "Data Not Collected" verified in App Privacy • AI coach calls send only the opening name and your question — no identifiers, no logs FREE Browse all 25 openings, every variation + 3 AI coach asks per day + unlimited practice log. PRO ($4.99/month or $19.99/year) • Unlimited AI coach asks WHY CHESSOPENINGS Most chess apps are puzzle-grinders or engine-evaluation tools. ChessOpenings gives you a structured reference for the classical openings — the actual ideas, the actual traps, who they suit — plus a coach who'll explain the move you didn't understand. Built for club players who want to understand why a position works, not just how the engine evaluates it. Built in Australia. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Think Like a Master3 screens
Chess Openings Coach4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess Openings Coach at none against Think Like a Master's shown. Think Like a Master's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and in-app purchases 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. Think Like a Master sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chess Openings Coach sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Think Like a Master ships an update every 2 weeks, Chess Openings Coach every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 2 level
Think Like a Master versus Chess Openings Coach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThink Like a MasterChess Openings Coach
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKenneth SparksMitaanshu Agarwal

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Think Like a Master

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99
2 purchases

Chess Openings Coach

Subscriptions2
  • Chess Openings Coach Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Chess Openings Coach Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.901 Year

Questions

Is Think Like a Master free?
Think Like a Master is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Openings Coach free?
Chess Openings Coach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Think Like a Master or Chess Openings Coach have ads?
Think Like a Master shows ads; Chess Openings Coach does not.
Which is updated more often, Think Like a Master or Chess Openings Coach?
Think Like a Master ships an update every 2 weeks, and Chess Openings Coach every 2 months. Most recently, Think Like a Master was updated on October 31, 2026 and Chess Openings Coach on October 31, 2026.

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