ChessMonitorAuthor: FM Vidar Grahn
ChessMonitor is one of the absolute best tools out there for OTB (over-the-board) tournament opening preparation. While it does a ton of other things, this is by far its most valuable feature in my opinion.
Database Explorer Feature
It packs a massive game database, similar to ChessBase, but for a fraction of the price. What really sets it apart is how easily you can view all of your opponent's games in an opening tree explorer. Lichess has a similar feature, but it's restricted to Lichess accounts. ChessMonitor, on the other hand, pulls games from OTB history, Chess.com, and Lichess.
Here is the database explorer of all my games, from my two chess.com accounts as well as OTB ones.
Other Features
It also comes with plenty of other fun features. You can connect your own accounts to track stats like your estimated FIDE Elo (super cool if you don't have an official one yet), see which openings you perform best in, and analyze your overall playing consistency, etc.
For example here is the estimated elo of one of my accounts. At the time of writing this I am 2219 elo, meaning it was only off by 1 point!
I’ve followed ChessMonitor for quite some time now, and it makes me happy to see it flourish now with Anish Giri as a co-owner. It used to be a very small underrated site but now a LOT of the OTB players I personally know use it!
Is Premium Worth It?
There are two paid tiers: Plus and Professional
There isn't a concrete yes or no whether these tiers are worth it or not, it really depends on what your goal is.
The "Plus" tier
The plus tier is $7.90 a month or $5.90 a month if you pay yearly
For most casual online players I would say no, it's probably not worth it. Maybe you can try the free version or a month of premium or so, just to see if you like it. But to be honest the features are fun but not that useful for beginners or intermedietes that only play online.
However, if you're a player who regulary plays OTB tournaments I would say yes, in my opinion this is one of the best purchases you can make. Especially if you're an ambitious player that wants to get an advantage in the opening every time. It's honestly probably better and way more convenient than chessbase which in contrasts costs around 350 euros for the mega database, which doesn't even include online games.
If you play less consistently, you can always just try it for a single month when you have an upcoming tournament to see how you like it!
The "Professional" tier
It’s worth noting that the Professional tier is a step up in price at $59.90 a month (or $44.90 if you choose the yearly billing), and it’s really meant for coaches, clubs, or highly serious players. Since I don't use this tier myself, I can't say for sure whether it's worth the jump.
It does include some interesting perks like "custom tournament preparation" and "video conference onboarding," though the descriptions are honestly a bit vague. It does say in an info box that "the details will be discussed on an individual basis". If this tier intrigues you maybe contact the founder on discord, email, reddit or whatever contact info is on the website.
My advice? Start out with the standard Plus version.
| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
| Free version | You can check your own stats from your lichess and chess.com account. | You cannot use the explorer and more importantly you can't download and check the stats/games of other playe |
| Plus ($8) | You have access to pretty much every feature on the website. | Is perhaps a bit expensive for a casual playe |
| Professional ($60) | You get an onboarding video conference, Custom Tournament Preparation and Monthly developer discussion. | Descriptions are a bit vague and the tier is pretty expensive even for a regular tournament competitor. Maybe for coaches, clubs and professionals it's more worth it. ubs |