Chess Openings Wizard

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.

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.

I have used it since it first came out decades ago. It was great then and it is even better today! Mike thanks for always working to make it better and better. It is the best way to put your opening repertoires online and play them over and over to get them locked in you memory. Add to that opening hooks you can buy like the London System and you have everything you need to be a better chess player. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I’ve been using Chess Openings Wizard (previously Bookup) since 1991. There really is no other solution for learning your openings. This is my 3rd platform with this app - Windows, Mac, and now iPad. I haven’t experienced any crashes. I was able to copy over my files using dropbox. I also set up remote engine server. No crashes and my repertoire files worked perfect. I did run into a problem where jump to a named position left me unable to get back to the starting position. I added a new named position in my white and black repertoire files called Starting Position to prevent that from happening again. I’d suggest making copies of your files and copying back very carefully. Not a lot of visual cues available that you might be overwriting the wrong direction. I really think I’ll train more with the convenience of the iPad.

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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.