Chess Openings Wizard 4+
Tournament chess opening prep
Bookup Corp.
Designed for iPad
-
- $6.99
Screenshots
Description
Chess Openings Wizard is where tournament players go to work on their openings.
The app is based on the Bookup program that first came out in 1984. The app has full editing and training power like its brethren apps on Macintosh and Windows.
Openings can be moved back and forth to the Macintosh and Windows versions.
Chess Openings Wizard does not play chess, nor does it come with a game collection. It is meant for designing openings for White and defenses for Black, and then testing the player's knowledge of the lines by playing mock games.
Sample ebooks include an opening guide (thousands of named and categorized opening positions accessible through any move order), an ECO master framework, and the White and Black repertoires of Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, and Robert Fischer. It also includes a demo ebook with excerpts from a highly annotated repertoire in the Open Game.
A free chess engine server program can be run on Macintosh or Windows. That allows the iPad and iPhone to use the latest and strongest UCI engines for live analysis. (The server must share the same WiFi connection.)
The Pedigree ribbon shows the results of games in each opening position but uses only games between two super GMs. That way you know if the move is trusted by the best players. (And it's important to know if a move has never been played by a super GM when facing another super GM.) This is the same feature found in Chess Openings Wizard Professional for Macintosh and Windows.
The short version is: if you are designing an opening with a game database app or with a playing program, you're working too hard. Chess Openings Wizard contains 40 years of refinements, with precisely the tools that a serious tournament player requires to prepare openings fast.
What’s New
Version COW build 71
Build 71 adds access to the PocketGM server giving Stockfish 16.1 analysis without running an engine on the iPhone or iPad.
Build 71 has the updated Training Wizard with blindfold mode and the ability to reset training only for the current line. (Previous versions would reset all training.)
Ratings and Reviews
Bad use of my $34
I will revise this review if I find a way to make this app useful but I am very disappointed in having spent $34 on it.
First, this is a port of an existing PC application and looks like it. Scrolling text opens a dialog box that covers the board that the text talks about. Opening a new “eBook” and simply one touching it wont work you will then need to click ok just like a windows app. The app does not make good use of the viewable area of my iPad Pro.
Second, if you are expecting some prebuilt “eBooks” that will teach you an opening I don’t see that anywhere. The video introducing the app on the web site talks about modifying existing books but not sure how that helps me. It is clear that the developer was able to take a collection of games and create an eBook but I don’t see where to do that.
The 5 star reviews are all from long time existing users and they will already have been using the PC application. The PC application might fill all my needs and this is designed to work with that but as a stand alone app this is a lot of money for what you are getting.
Very happy with functionality; look & feel needs improvement
I’ve had trouble deciding whether this should be rated four or five stars. The case for five stars is that it does exactly what I need it to do and very well. It’s the ideal coach for someone trying to improve at chess. I’ve bought one of the ebooks and been adding variations to it. I like the training that it offers, and I think it’s helpful that it can access a chess engine running on a Mac or PC and show results.
The case against five stars is that I’m dissatisfied with the overall look and feel. I’ve written to the developer with feedback and suggestions, and I’m encouraged that he’s not trying to defend how it looks. He agrees with the feedback and asked me to watch for future versions that will become more iPad-like; he was concentrating on functionality for this first version.
Easy way to improve opening, middle game and endgames
Not only do I make my opening books, I also make data bases for combinations and endgames and transfer from Mac. I keep them small so they only take about ten minutes in training mode. That way I can do them on break. It is a good way to stay sharp when you can’t play games. It is also a good way to keep track of the off beat openings that seem to be played more often to stay out of book. It is also a great way to keep track of your correspondence games.
App Privacy
The developer, Bookup Corp., indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Bookup Corp.
- Size
- 163.4 MB
- Category
- Education
- Compatibility
-
- iPhone
- Requires iOS 11.0 or later.
- iPad
- Requires iPadOS 11.0 or later.
- iPod touch
- Requires iOS 11.0 or later.
- Mac
- Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- Apple Vision
- Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- Languages
-
English
- Age Rating
- 4+
- Copyright
- © Copyright 2024, Michael Leahy, Bookup
- Price
- $6.99
Supports
-
Family Sharing
Up to six family members can use this app with Family Sharing enabled.