A free, local-first alternative to ChessBase and Chessable
Masterboard brings your game database, engine analysis, opening repertoire, and training into one desktop app — free, open source, and running entirely on your own machine. No subscription, no proprietary lock-in, no account required.
How they compare
| Masterboard | ChessBase | Chessable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free & open source | Paid program + paid database / cloud add-ons | Subscription + paid courses |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows (limited macOS) | Web + mobile (online) |
| Your data | Local-first, on your machine, standard PGN | Local, proprietary formats + PGN | Cloud / account-based |
| Game library & engine analysis | Full library + Stockfish / Leela / Maia, automatic move classification | Yes — the professional standard | Limited — learning-focused |
| Master games database | Built-in (Lumbra’s Gigabase, 10M+ games) | Yes (paid Mega Database) | No |
| Repertoire training (spaced repetition) | FSRS, on your own lines | Limited | Yes (MoveTrainer, on purchased courses) |
| Tactics from your own games | Yes — auto-extracted from your blunders | No | No |
| Opponent preparation | Yes — report exportable as PGN | Yes | No |
| Open source | Yes | No | No |
ChessBase and Chessable are excellent, mature products with strengths Masterboard does not try to replace — see the honest notes on each below.
Coming from ChessBase
ChessBase is the professional standard for game databases and opening preparation, and it earns that reputation. Masterboard covers the same core workflow — a searchable game library, deep engine analysis with Stockfish and Leela, a master games database, and opening repertoires — but it is free, cross-platform, and keeps everything in standard PGN so your work is never locked to one vendor. It adds pieces ChessBase leaves to other tools: spaced-repetition repertoire training, tactics pulled automatically from your own blunders, and a one-click opponent-preparation report.
What ChessBase still does better: its commercial Mega Database and curated annotated content, cloud engine analysis at scale, and decades of polish and ecosystem. Masterboard ships the free Lumbra’s Gigabase instead and is a younger, leaner application.
Coming from Chessable
Chessable popularised spaced repetition for chess, and its MoveTrainer is great for working through expert-authored courses. Masterboard uses the modern FSRS algorithm for the same idea — but trains you on your own repertoire and the games you actually play, offline and for free, with a coverage heatmap showing how well you know every move. The improvement loop ties it together: a surprise move from a real game goes straight into your repertoire and is due in your next drill.
What Chessable still does better: a large marketplace of polished courses authored by titled players, and a mobile-first experience. Masterboard is a desktop workstation focused on your own material, not a course catalogue.
Try it on your own games
Free forever, open source, and a single download for your platform.