Chess vs Chess Prep Pro Openings
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess
Manage and study chess databases and games in PGN format with advanced analysis tools. Supports game creation, modification, and import from various sources. Includes engine analysis, opening book management, and puzzle training.
- PGN database and game management
- Create, modify, and import games
- Advanced engine analysis with Stockfish
- Opening book and ChessBase support
- Chess 960 (Fischer Random) support
- Diagram recognition for PGN conversion
- Puzzle training and online play
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Chess Studio is the first and only application for iPhone and iPad able to manage chess databases and games in PGN format in a complete and efficient way. Chess Studio is an application designed and built for those players who really want to deepen their knowledge in the field of chess, studying chess regularly and participate in tournaments. Chess Studio allows you to: • Read database and games in PGN format (also with extended notation of moves). • Create, delete and modify folders and databases. • View games with annotations and textual comments and keep track of the displayed games. • Use a double chessboard on the same screen for better game analysis. • Visualize moves and variants in compact mode or indented mode. • Modify existing games with move annotation and textual comments. • Insert new games and positions. • Insert, replay and analyze games in Chess 960 mode. • Insert moves with annotations and textual comments. • Insert variation, subvariations etc. • Insert and visualize graphical annotation (colored arrows and highlighted squares). • Share Databases and Games through Airdrop. • Download chess database from internet. • Download chess database directly from PGN Mentor site. • Import games, database and Opening Books from other applications. • Merge two or more databases. • Copy/Paste games and positions. • Analyze games with Stockfish 19 Engine with the support of the Neural Networks (up to 5 lines of analysis simultaneously) with the support of the Engine Evaluation Bar. • Replay games automatically. • Visualize Pawn structure. • Manage Variations and sub-variatons: delete and promote variations. • Read the weekly Magazine The New In Chess (TWIC) and download the games. • Uploading and Downloading PGN Database to/from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive. • Three different modes for moving pieces. • Analyze endgames with Endgame Tablebases. • Analyze and study Chess Openings in the Chess Openings Section. • Create and manage Opening Books in Polyglot format. • Import and manage ChessBase Opening Books (ctg format). • Automatically classify a database according to ECO code. • Replay, enter and analyze Chess 960 games (Fischer Random Chess). • Play against the engine both in standard mode and in Chess 960 mode. • Play online through the LiChess platform • Train by solving Puzzles • ChessBase Database support. • Diagram Recognition: this feature allows the user to take and/or upload photos of chess diagrams and convert them into PGN format positions. Other features and technical details: • Modify the board size. • Professional chess fonts and figurines for moves notation and annotation. • Preview of the game in the board tapping the Info button. • Quick search feature. • Advanced search feature. • Complete management of Null Moves with Tutorial. • Visualization of ECO code and Opening during game replay or game insertion. • Visualization of Book Openings during game replay or game insertion. • Portrait/Landscape mode for all devices. • Support of Slide Over and Split View mode. • Function to move up within variants and subvariants. • iOS 26 compatible and optimized for all the devices. • Sharing of databases across devices via iCloud Drive (also with Chess Studio for Mac OS). • Sound option. • Support for iPad Pro Keyboard or bluetooth keyboard. • VoiceOver/Accessibility support. • Direct contact via email with the developer to report problems, ask for explanation and suggestions (very quick answer!). • Languages: English, Italian, Spanish and German. Complete description at: https://chessstudio.wordpress.com/chess-studio/ To view the privacy policy and Terms of Use (EULA) visit https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ The application is continuously updated with new features and improvements. No registration! No advertising! No sharing of personal data!
Chess Prep Pro Openings
Master chess openings by building custom repertoires and training your memory. Analyze opponent moves, discover blind spots, and utilize an advanced engine for in-depth preparation. Expand your knowledge with downloadable repertoires and import/export PGNs.
- Custom chess opening repertoires
- Repertoire training and memory sharpening
- Blind spot finder against player games
- Chess openings player database
- Advanced StockFish engine analysis
- Downloadable and importable repertoires
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Master chess openings: Build chess opening repertoires & memorise your openings.Chess Prep Pro is the ultimate chess openings app, designed to perfect your openings and elevate your game through custom chess opening repertoire creation and training. How does it work? Chess Prep Pro allows you to create your own custom chess openings repertoires, and prepare for any opponent move. A chess opening repertoire is an opening plan that contains player responses for opponent moves in the opening phase of the game. With a chess opening repertoire, you will not be left scrambling to find the best move during a real game, as you will already remember the best move from studying and practicing your repertoire. Discover Chess Prep Pro's Features: - Custom Chess Opening Repertoires: Build unlimited custom repertoires for any chess opening. Add as many moves and variations as you need to be prepared for every game. - Repertoire Training: Sharpen your memory with chess opening repertoire training. The app challenges your memory with random positions from your opening repertoire, tracking your progress and helping you master every move. - Blind Spot Finder: Stay ahead of your opponents with our blind spot finder feature that analyses your chess openings repertoire against billions of player games, identifying the most likely opponent moves that you did not prepare for. - Chess openings player database: You can use a player openings database that contains billions of moves to find out the most likely opponent move to prepare for. - Advanced Engine: Utilize the latest StockFish engine for in-depth analysis and uncover the best responses to any situation on the board. - Downloadable opening repertoires: Expand your opening knowledge with an ever-growing library of specially created and sourced opening repertoires, curated for your success. - Import / Export: Easily import and export PGNs to and from the app. You can even import liches studies. Master your chess openings now !
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess Prep Pro Openings at Free against Chess's $3.99. Chess's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (92% vs 75%). On update cadence, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Chess Prep Pro Openings is free to download; Chess costs $3.99 up front. Chess sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Chess Prep Pro Openings sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess has 118 ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 75% of Chess Prep Pro Openings's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess | Chess Prep Pro Openings |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (118 ratings) — better | 4.5 (22 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.0% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 118 — better | 22 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #101 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 237 MB | 214 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Giordano Vicoli | Tomasz Bogun |
Customer experience
Chess
Chess Prep Pro Openings
Bugs and requests
Chess
Reported bugs
12 issues- Problem saving updated game data
- Engine stopped working after 30 seconds
- App crashes when adding annotations without hitting 'edit mode' first
- Crash opening .pgn in landscape mode
- Crashes when selecting a cell with 0 games associated
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- App freezes sometimes
- Download stuck on 'downloading'
- Dropbox issues on earlier iOS versions
- Program not bulletproof upon saving work
- Can't download cbv files
- Graphical annotations drawing unwanted arrows
- App doesn't work after iOS update
Requested features
20 requests- Add dark mode
- Add board flip button
- Improve interface for screen reader users
- Add private game feature with code
- Add computer whole game analysis with annotations
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- Add coloring moves based on annotation
- Add drawing arrows that are saved
- Add bookmark feature
- Add buttons/swipe to go forward/backwards to next/previous game
- Add select all function for copying games
- Add autoplay games
- Remember last position/game opened in a database
- Support Millennium boards
- Support UCI engine compatibility
- Optimize database game view
- Make edit mode arrows slimmer and add more colors
- Allow direct iCloud access to databases without export
- Make graphical annotations optional/disableable
- Improve font size adjustment for moves and annotations
- Add search with multiple criteria
Chess Prep Pro Openings
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess
- Monthly Premium Subscription3 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Yearly Premium Subscription3 Days trial$8.991 Year
Chess Prep Pro Openings
- Monthly premium subscription$3.991 Month
- Yearly premium$24.991 Year
- Lifetime Premium$59.99
Questions
Is Chess free?
Is Chess Prep Pro Openings free?
Which has better reviews, Chess or Chess Prep Pro Openings?
Do Chess or Chess Prep Pro Openings have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess or Chess Prep Pro Openings?
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