Dear students, children, youngsters. You are going back. Back to school. The summer holidays are over and most of you are returning back to school this month. (some schools in US are already opened 2 weeks). You want to play chess, some just starting. We have prepared for you a great educational tool for you. It's called Opening Master.
Indian prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju became the second youngest grandmaster in chess history at the age of 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days. He did it in New Delhi, India, in the 17th Delhi International Chess Grandmaster Open, where he achieved his third grandmaster norm. Where is he now? Oh wait, the World Champion.
Back to chess school. Do we see a new trend?
The educational methodologies in India are different to what we see in Europe. The chess is taught is schools and are part of the syllabus. It is cheap (relatively) you don't need expensive gear and anybody can do it. All you need is a good coach. And there are plenty good coaches in India. The school of Chennai is particularly strong. Many prodigies come from this area including GM Praggu or big Anand.
Opening Master prepares the back to school package with September 2025 updates. More than 146 thousands games were added for the summer, that is how many official games were played and finished either under FIDE or ICCF.
OM OTB - September 2025 with 10,357,333 games
OM CORR - September 2025 with 2,280,768 games
OM GOLEM - September 2025 with 31,589,744 games
Can Europe and USA follow?
Chess is a game for geeks and nerds in the US and western Europe. Chess is popular with all ages in eastern Europe and India.
Chess players are seen as nerds in the vast majority of schools. Let's face it, you know a number of kids who used to enjoy playing chess but stopped since the other kids thought they were nerds. Because of politics in the early 20th century, it is more popular in Eastern Europe. Chess is as embedded in those nations as soccer, cricket, basketball, and other sports since so many Eastern European countries were influenced and/or ruled by Russia, which saw teaching the game from elementary school through adulthood as a vocation similar to any other. But there is a chance. You need to grow the base. Starting from the elementary schools and clubs. Starting from the parents.
How famous is chess based on the registration of chess players? Surprise goes with France and Spain.
| Rank | Country Code | Country Name | Registered Players |
| 1 | IND | India | 35396 |
| 2 | FRA | France | 35364 |
| 3 | ESP | Spain | 31947 |
| 4 | RUS | Russia | 28599 |
| 5 | GER | Germany | 27287 |
| 6 | TUR | Turkey | 13217 |
| 7 | POL | Poland | 12187 |
| 8 | GRE | Greece | 11958 |
| 9 | ITA | Italy | 11919 |
| 10 | IRI | Iran | 10459 |
| 11 | USA | United States | 10074 |
| 12 | CZE | Czech Republic | 8390 |
| 13 | HUN | Hungary | 8115 |
| 14 | BRA | Brazil | 7533 |
| 15 | SRB | Serbia | 6217 |
| 16 | UKR | Ukraine | 5725 |
| 17 | SVK | Slovakia | 5026 |
| 18 | SRI | Sri Lanka | 4940 |
| 19 | COL | Colombia | 4926 |
| 20 | NED | Kingdom of the Netherlands | 4886 |
Country rank by average rating of top 10 players
| Country rank by average rating of top 10 players | ||||||
| Average | GMs | IMs | Total Titled | |||
| 1 | Russia | 2739 | 256 | 549 | 2641 | |
| 2 | United States of America | 2715 | 101 | 166 | 828 | |
| 3 | China | 2705 | 48 | 39 | 181 | |
| 4 | India | 2668 | 64 | 114 | 408 | |
| 5 | Ukraine | 2663 | 93 | 209 | 589 | |
| 6 | Armenia | 2652 | 44 | 29 | 132 | |
| 7 | Azerbaijan | 2652 | 26 | 32 | 159 | |
| 8 | Hungary | 2644 | 58 | 120 | 497 | |
| 9 | France | 2638 | 50 | 118 | 465 | |
| 10 | Poland | 2637 | 45 | 109 | 447 | |
| 11 | Germany | 2630 | 96 | 273 | 1443 | |
| 12 | Netherlands | 2622 | 36 | 104 | 388 | |
| 13 | England | 2620 | 36 | 68 | 287 | |
| 14 | Spain | 2617 | 56 | 137 | 663 | |
| 15 | Israel | 2615 | 43 | 64 | 212 | |
| 16 | Czech Republic | 2605 | 36 | 83 | 343 | |
| 17 | Georgia | 2584 | 32 | 40 | 137 | |
| 18 | Norway | 2584 | 16 | 36 | 146 | |
| 19 | Croatia | 2577 | 32 | 65 | 272 | |
| 20 | Serbia | 2567 | 58 | 126 | 624 | |
How can Opening Master chess database help students grow?
It is obvious why you should use a top-notch chess database while preparing ready for that huge chess game tournament or even a modest event given that there are millions of searchable chess games on it.
Chess databases come in many varieties and are found everywhere. The majority of these databases are freely available online and may all be used to achieve the same result—be ineffective. Because of how cleverly these databases are created, players can use them to think through and make the best decisions that could make the difference between winning or losing. Of course players can copy the best chess engines but where is the fun to learn from other people.
You can browse through 10,2 millions human chess games in the OM OTB version. That is so far the best collection out there. The collection between 1800-1995 is the most accurate which you can find in the world. We are working and clean year by year since 2004.
September updates in OM OTB
We deleted more than 40 thousands games (duplicates, correspondence games, computer games), we matched tournaments, player names normalization etc. The result is 10,357,333 human chess games, the biggest collection ever in the OTB world (over-the-board). We have been collecting games since 1990s, officially registering the name Opening Master as of 2004 and we are happy to provide you monthly service ever since (ok sometimes bi-monthly during holidays).
The last but not least. If you made it until here, we have special bonus for you for Back to School discount. If you provide us evidence of attending the school (ISIC card, age, attendance list) we give you 50% discount. Chess clubs apply too. We want to spread the chess as much as possible and good way to start is to have the biggest collection of chess games ever built.
Cheers
Alexander Horvath and OM TEAM
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Opening Master chess database
Whether you’re a ICCF or FIDE trainer, a titled player, or a passionate student of the game, Opening Master gives you the tools to learn, grow, and prepare with confidence. After 25 years, we’re not slowing down. We’re evolving with the game, just like you.
If you’re serious about chess, trust the database that’s earned the respect of the global chess community. Opening Master - where every move matters.
Today, Opening Master is more than just a database; it’s a community that spans the globe, connects non-profits, funds projects or is official educational tool for Global FIDE. We provide monthly updates to players from Slovakia to the USA, Nigeria to Australia, Germany to the UK, and over 160+ countries. Our database is an invaluable resource for players, coaches, and enthusiasts at all levels.
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