Comparison
ChessDummy vs Chessbook: build a repertoire, or learn from your games?
The short answer. Chessbook is for players who want to build a personal repertoire and memorise it. ChessDummy is for players who want to know where they left the book in the game they just played, and to fix it there and then. Chessbook asks for set-up time and rewards it. ChessDummy asks for none.
What Chessbook does
Chessbook is a repertoire builder. You add the moves you want to play as White and as Black, and it helps you decide what to add next by showing which replies are most common at your rating, so that you cover the lines you are likely to meet before the rare ones. It then trains your repertoire with spaced repetition, and it can check your online games against your repertoire to show where you went off your own lines.
It has a free tier with a limit on the number of moves, and a paid plan that removes the limit. It runs on the web and as a mobile app.
What ChessDummy does
ChessDummy is a free Chrome extension for chess.com and lichess. It comes with an opening book already built for club players, so there is nothing to set up. During a game it names the opening and marks the move that left the book. After the game it offers to drill the book line on a practice page. It has no account.
Side by side
| ChessDummy | Chessbook | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A ready-made book of common lines | An empty repertoire that you fill |
| Time before the first benefit | One game | An evening of building, or an import |
| Where feedback appears | In the chess.com or lichess tab, during and after the game | On Chessbook, when you review |
| Whose lines | The book's main lines | The lines you chose yourself |
| Review | Practice list: waiting, in the book, known | Spaced repetition |
| Account | None | Required |
| Price | Free | Free tier with a move limit, paid plan |
| Phone | No | Yes |
Chessbook's limits and prices change. Check chessbook.com for the current details.
Choose Chessbook if
- You have decided what you want to play and want to own those lines properly.
- You play sidelines or a system that a general book would not follow, such as the London or the Jobava.
- You enjoy the building itself. Many players learn a great deal just by choosing their moves.
- You want to train on a phone.
Choose ChessDummy if
- You do not have a repertoire yet, and the idea of building one puts you off starting.
- You play mainstream openings: 1.e4 e5, the Sicilian, the French, the Caro-Kann, the Queen's Gambit.
- You want to see the answer in the same tab as your game, without opening another site.
- You want something free with no account.
A fair warning about each
A repertoire builder only works if you keep the repertoire up to date and keep reviewing. Many repertoires are built with enthusiasm in one weekend and then left alone.
ChessDummy checks your moves against its own book, not against a repertoire you chose. If you deliberately play an unusual line, it will tell you that you left the book, and for you that is not news. Its book also stops at move 10, which suits club players and does not suit strong ones.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import my Chessbook repertoire into ChessDummy?
Not today. ChessDummy uses its built-in book. Support for your own lines is something we would like to add.
Which is better for a beginner?
A beginner usually does not know yet which lines to put in a repertoire. Starting with ChessDummy shows you which openings your games actually reach. Once a few openings keep coming up, a repertoire builder becomes much more useful.