https://chess-academy.net/bloglichess.org blog2024-01-13T00:00:00.000+02:00https://chess-academy.net/blog/ZZQVPhAAACEAw2ZR/-2024-01-13T00:00:00.000+02:002024-01-13T00:00:00.000+02:00Lichess: Year in Review 2023Announcements
Lichess highlights in 2023
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<p>As another year passes, we want to share some highlights of our work, achievements and projects over 2023.
2023 has been a year of massive community growth for us. Much of what we have achieved this year simply would not have been possible without so many people who have kindly donated their time to us, and so many people who have generously donated money to support our projects and goals. From January 2024, we will continue our work in an online chess landscape that is marching towards a monopoly. This trend is not unique to chess – consolidation is happening across the internet and wider world.
But Lichess remains strong in spite of these challenges. We’re a charity that’s run by the community, for the community. Every cent donated to us is reinvested directly back into chess more widely; none goes to investors, shareholders or private equity firms. It’s your support that has helped us outlast competitors with countless millions of dollars in investment and equity-backing, and your belief in our mission and purpose that helps to inspire us every day. Support us today to help ensure free chess, for everyone, forever. </p><p></p>
@lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZUviXRIAACYAVtMm/lichess-development-made-easy-with-gitpod2023-11-09T00:00:00.000+02:002023-11-09T00:00:00.000+02:00Lichess Development Made Easy With GitpodTechnical
Now you can write code for Lichess using a web browser
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<p>Lichess has always been open-source, and it's always been possible to download and run its code. However, that hasn't always been easy to do. Lichess has a lot of dependencies that need to be installed and quite a few background services that need to be running. Coordinating everything on your own machine in real-time can be difficult.</p><p>But now we've massively simplified the process of setting up a complete development environment and running lila, the primary Lichess codebase that's written in the Scala programming language (lila is short for "Lichess in Scala"). </p>
@ttrvhttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZSaS_BUAACkAUsGM/livaic-wins-the-pavlodar-qualifier2023-10-17T00:00:00.000+03:002023-10-17T00:00:00.000+03:00Livaic Wins the Pavlodar Qualifier!Chess
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<p>As mentioned in our announcement, the Pavlodar Open (third event of Kazakhstan Cup) granted three invitations with all expenses covered, to be awarded by a series of tournaments held on Lichess. Nine arenas in total were held within a week, at different times of the day, allowing players all around the world to compete, with the participation varying from 1600 to 4500 players each. With more than 100k games played, and only the top 20 from each arena qualifying, the competition was fierce, and many strong players had to play more than one qualifier to get a chance to go through.</p><p></p>
@Lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZRZ4lBUAACgAtCvi/2023-lichess-meetup-in-barcelona2023-10-09T00:00:00.000+03:002023-10-09T00:00:00.000+03:002023 Lichess Meetup in BarcelonaChess
A weekend in Catalonia's beautiful capital!
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<p>At the beginning of September, over 20 Lichess team members met up in Barcelona for what turned out to be the largest team meetup and community event held so far.</p><p>Meetups are a fantastic opportunity for contributors to meet each other and collaborate across all areas of Lichess. They’re like extended hackathons but with less sleep deprivation and better food – it helps that some team members like to cook… while others can only be trusted with the washing up! There’s usually time to fit in some sightseeing too, but the highlight for many is a community event in a public space where people can play casual OTB chess (or just hang out). </p>
@lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZQxcKREAACMAO3f8/your-chance-to-qualify-to-the-kazakhstan-cup-costs-covered--with-a-50000-prize-fund2023-09-21T00:00:00.000+03:002023-09-21T00:00:00.000+03:00Your chance to qualify to the Kazakhstan Cup, costs covered – with a $50,000 prize fund!Chess
A $2,000 prize fund event - with the winner qualifying to Pavlodar Open
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<p></p><p>Starting 22 October, Pavlodar in northeastern Kazakhstan will host a nine-round classical open tournament with a whopping $50,000 prize fund up for grabs.</p>
@lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZPRImBEAACgAihr_/titled-arena-announcements2023-09-03T00:00:00.000+03:002023-09-03T00:00:00.000+03:00Titled Arena Announcement(s)Announcements
Announcing our schedule for upcoming Titled Arenas!
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<p>We're pleased to announce the schedule for our upcoming Titled Arenas!</p><p>All events will be preceded by a warm-up arena open to all players with a minimum of 20 rated games in the relevant time control (excluding 960 warm-up, where the minimum rated games are 10).</p>
Lichess Teamhttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZNTniBEAACEAJZTn/breaking-the-silence2023-08-10T00:00:00.000+03:002023-08-10T00:00:00.000+03:00Breaking the SilenceAnnouncements
Lichess will no longer cooperate with the US Chess Federation and the Saint Louis Chess Club
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<p>This article contains potentially distressing content.</p>
@lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZLwZChEAACYAmx_6/ju-wenjun-is-womens-world-champion2023-07-22T00:00:00.000+03:002023-07-22T00:00:00.000+03:00Ju Wenjun is Womens World ChampionChess
GM Ju Wenjun is Women's World Champion for the fourth time.
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<p>In the end, the Women’s World Championship was a tale of two halves. In the first half of the match, held in Shanghai, the challenger Lei Tingjie looked untouchable, giving virtually no chances for the defending champion Ju Wenjun and taking a one-game lead.</p><p></p>
@CheckRaiseMatehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZK7htxEAACUAYgoX/womens-world-chess-championship-half-way-done2023-07-12T00:00:00.000+03:002023-07-12T00:00:00.000+03:00Women's World Chess Championship: Half way doneChess
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<p>(Photo: Stev Bonhage, FIDE)</p><p>Ju Wenjun stared at her position, a bishop-down endgame, for several seconds before extending her hand in resignation. Normally at this level of chess she would have resigned several moves earlier, but Ju seemed reluctant to concede the game in a match where wins have been exceedingly hard to come by.</p>
@CheckRaiseMatehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZKPQIxAAACIAnXuQ/andreikin-wins-the-uralsk-qualifier2023-07-04T00:00:00.000+03:002023-07-04T00:00:00.000+03:00Andreikin wins the Uralsk Qualifier!Chess
Andreikin, along with Galaktionov, Sviridov, Sevgi, will play in the second stage of the Kazakhstan Cup, expenses covered!
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<p>As mentioned in our introductory blog, the Uralsk Open (second event of the Kazakhstan Cup) decided to grant an invitation to four players, selected by a series of events held on Lichess. The first stage was divided into twelve blitz arenas which took place in a week, with starting times staggered over 24 hours, to allow for participation across the world. More than 175k games were played in this stage, many of which were already of a very high level: several strong titled players joined the event, along with over 35,000 total players! The fight for the top 20 was intense, and several strong titled players were forced to play more than one tournament to qualify for the second stage.</p><p></p>
@G-Lorenz, @Lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZIMXlRAAACEAHP9B/your-second-chance-to-qualify-to-the-kazakhstan-cup-costs-covered--with-a-50000-prize-fund2023-06-10T00:00:00.000+03:002023-06-10T00:00:00.000+03:00Your (second) chance to qualify to the Kazakhstan Cup, costs covered – with a $50,000 prize fund!Chess
A $2,000 prize fund event - with the winner qualifying to Uralsk Open
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<p></p><p>Cover photo: Ilyuza Mingazova</p>
@lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZHmunxAAACEA84Kp/thrilling-final-sends-savchenko-flying-to-aktobe-for-the-50000-kazakhstan-cup2023-06-06T00:00:00.000+03:002023-06-06T00:00:00.000+03:00Thrilling final sends Savchenko flying to Aktobe for the $50,000 Kazakhstan CupChess
Winning the Lichess qualifiers he will play with full expenses covered in the $50,000 Aktobe Open tournament in Kazakhstan
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<img src="https://images.prismic.io/lichess/1fdc61a8-c43f-4043-ad62-267cbf05f6a3_Aktobe+Open.png?auto=compress,format"/>
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<p>As mentioned in our previous blog, the Aktobe Open (part of the Kazakhstan Cup) decided to grant an invitation to the winner of a series of events held on Lichess. The first stage was staggered over 24 hours into three blitz arenas, to allow for participation across the world. Participation in each arena had excellent turnout, with over 15,000 total players entering. Among them, several strong titled players joined the event, which led to many high-level games already in the first stage of the qualifiers! </p><p>The Swiss portion of the event featured 41 players among qualified and wild cards, while putting up for grabs seven spots of the KO section. For the eighth spot, Lichess invited Pavel Eljanov as a wildcard, the current world #33 and consistently FIDE-rated 2700+ for several years. Savchenko concluded the Swiss in 10th place, but clinched a qualification spot to the final Knockout bracket after a last minute withdrawal.
To aid Lichess’s stringent Fair Play requirements, the knockout tournament – which was the 3rd and final stage of the qualifiers – required not just live monitoring of the games by moderators, but also connecting to a Zoom call with arbiters for all players. In the Swiss stage, this had been required from untitled or lesser known players.
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@G-Lorenz, @Lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZGz8AhAAACkAOKsd/your-chance-to-qualify-to-the-kazakhstan-cup-costs-covered--with-a-50000-prize-fund2023-05-23T00:00:00.000+03:002023-05-23T00:00:00.000+03:00Your chance to qualify to the Kazakhstan Cup, costs covered – with a $50,000 prize fund!Chess
A $2,000 prize fund event - with the winner qualifying to the Vladimir Dvorkovich Memorial, Aktobe Open
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<p>Starting 17 June, the riverside city of Aktobe in western Kazakhstan will host a nine-round classical open tournament with a whopping $50,000 prize fund up for grabs.</p><p>One lucky player can qualify through a series of tournaments held only on Lichess. They will have their flights, full board, and accommodation in Aktobe covered for them – as well as a share of a $2,000 prize fund for the online qualifier.</p>
@lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZFf7JRAAACUA86BW/world-chess-championship-2023-reactions-statistics-and-impressions2023-05-12T00:00:00.000+03:002023-05-12T00:00:00.000+03:00World Chess Championship 2023: Reactions, Statistics, and ImpressionsChess
A look back at the 2023 Chess World Championship
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<p>It’s been just under a week since Liren Ding became the (undisputed) 17th Chess World Champion, in a spectacular victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi. In the fourth and final rapid tiebreak, Ding, playing with the black pieces, declined a repetition and instead played the iconic 46… Rg6!?, dubbed by Magnus Carlsen as a “self-pin for immortality”. </p><p>The move took much of the chess community by surprise – seemingly including Nepomniachtchi – who widely assumed Ding would repeat the position. There was some speculation that Nepomniachtchi had not even considered Ding would play the move. </p>
@Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZFEZSxAAACUA1Zdk/titled-arena-announcements2023-05-02T00:00:00.000+03:002023-05-02T00:00:00.000+03:00Titled Arena Announcement(s)Announcements
Announcing our schedule for upcoming Titled Arenas!
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<img src="https://images.prismic.io/lichess/3f4f8f8e-5bfa-4707-bd37-8266ccd2bee2_8f037f87-a383-491b-8a7c-bce958bef736_TAstandard.webp?auto=compress,format"/>
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<p>We're pleased to announce the schedule for our upcoming Titled Arenas!</p><p>All events will be preceded by a warm-up arena open to all players with a minimum of 20 rated games in the relevant time control (excluding 960 warm-up, where the minimum rated games are 10).</p>
Lichess Teamhttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZE95nhAAACYAznpK/world-chess-championship-game-14-and-tiebreaks2023-05-01T00:00:00.000+03:002023-05-01T00:00:00.000+03:00World Chess Championship: Game 14 and TiebreaksChess
Ding Liren is the 17th Chess World Champion: “this match was the deepest reflection of my soul”
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<p>Ding Liren prevailed over Ian Nepomniachtchi after a slightly lucky escape in Game 14, and four thrilling tiebreaks.
GM Harikrishna Pentala – one of the strongest players in the world (FIDE rating 2704, world ranking 34th) and former top 10 player with a 2770 peak rating – provided Lichess with annotations of Game 14 and impressions of each tiebreak - all text in italics is from him. </p>
@Harikrishnapentala @Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZEu87RAAACYAvig9/world-chess-championship-games-12-and-13---dings-third-comeback-chaos-in-the-colle2023-04-28T00:00:00.000+03:002023-04-28T00:00:00.000+03:00World Chess Championship: Games 12 and 13 - Ding's Third Comeback: Chaos in the Colle!Chess
A recap of Games 12 and 13 of the World Championship between Nepomniachtchi and Ding, and with annotations by GM Harikrishna Pentala
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<p>Games 12 and 13 of the 14-game match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren have just been played in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The winner will be crowned as the new World Champion in classical chess, following Magnus Carlsen’s abdication of the title. </p><p>The schedule of games can be found here, with Lichess providing a live broadcast transmission of all games. Read below for detailed thoughts and annotations on the games from GM Harikrishna Pentala – one of the strongest players in the world (FIDE Rating: 2704, World Rank: 34) and a former world top 10 player with a peak rating of 2770, along with more general impressions on the tournament so far.</p>
Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZEej6xUAACkAUGiE/world-chess-championship-games-10-and-11---business-as-usual2023-04-25T00:00:00.000+03:002023-04-25T00:00:00.000+03:00World Chess Championship: Games 10 and 11 - Business as Usual?Chess
A recap of Games 10 and 11 of the World Championship between Nepomniachtchi and Ding, and with annotations by GM Harikrishna Pentala
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<p>Games 10 and 11 of the 14-game match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren have just been played in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The winner will be crowned as the new World Champion in classical chess, following Magnus Carlsen’s abdication of the title. </p><p>The schedule of games can be found here, with Lichess providing a live broadcast transmission of all games. Read below for detailed thoughts and annotations on the games from GM Harikrishna Pentala – one of the strongest players in the world (FIDE Rating: 2704, World Rank: 34) and a former world top 10 player with a peak rating of 2770, along with more general impressions on the tournament so far.</p>
Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZEPJeRUAACcAP7V7/world-chess-championship-games-7-8-and-9---dings-prep-discovered2023-04-22T00:00:00.000+03:002023-04-22T00:00:00.000+03:00World Chess Championship: Games 7, 8 and 9 - Ding’s Prep Discovered?Chess
A recap of Games 7, 8 and 9 of the World Championship between Nepomniachtchi and Ding, and with annotations by GM Harikrishna Pentala
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<p>Games 7, 8, and 9 of the 14-game match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren have just been played in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The winner will be crowned as the new World Champion in classical chess, following Magnus Carlsen’s abdication of the title. Given the change of tournament schedule at Game 7, this recap is slightly longer than the others.</p><p>The schedule of games can be found here, with Lichess providing a live broadcast transmission of all games. Read below for detailed thoughts and annotations on the games from GM Harikrishna Pentala – one of the strongest players in the world (FIDE Rating: 2704, World Rank: 34) and a former world top 10 player with a peak rating of 2770, along with more general impressions on the tournament so far.</p>
Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZD0S-RUAACcAIkCr/world-chess-championship-games-5-and-6---a-slugfest2023-04-17T00:00:00.000+03:002023-04-17T00:00:00.000+03:00World Chess Championship: Games 5 and 6 - A SlugfestChess
A recap of Games 5 and 6 of the World Championship between Nepomniachtchi and Ding by the Lichess team and with annotations by GM Harikrishna Pentala
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<img src="https://images.prismic.io/lichess/faaa0469-c30c-4f8e-8f00-a00829fa451f_Screenshot+2023-04-17+at+15.51.44.png?auto=compress,format"/>
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<p>Games 5 and 6 of the 14-game match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren have just been played in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The winner will be crowned as the new World Champion in classical chess, following Magnus Carlsen’s abdication of the title. </p><p>The schedule of games can be found here, with Lichess providing a live broadcast transmission of all games. Read below for detailed thoughts and annotations on the games from GM Harikrishna Pentala – one of the strongest players in the world (FIDE Rating: 2704, World Rank: 34) and a former world top 10 player with a peak rating of 2770, along with more general impressions on the tournament so far.</p>
Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZDkBbhUAACgAEXVQ/world-chess-championship-games-3-and-4---a-new-hope2023-04-14T00:00:00.000+03:002023-04-14T00:00:00.000+03:00World Chess Championship: Games 3 and 4 - A New Hope?Chess
A recap of Games 3 and 4 of the ongoing World Championship between Nepomniachtchi and Ding, with annotations by GM David Navara
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<img src="https://images.prismic.io/lichess/a1995790-0193-4b0d-8b96-9f35a90c4dfe_20230413_Astana_Anna_Shtourman_Game4_FIDE_World_Championship_Ding_Liren-25.jpg?auto=compress,format"/>
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<p>Games 3 and 4 of the 14-game match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren have just been played in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The winner will be crowned as the new World Champion in classical chess, following Magnus Carlsen’s abdication of the title. </p><p>The schedule of games can be found here, with Lichess providing a live broadcast transmission of all games. Read below for detailed thoughts and annotations on the games from GM David Navara – one of the strongest players in the world (FIDE Rating: 2676, World Rank: 59), along with more general impressions given on the tournament so far. </p>
Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZDURERYAACYAVqyE/chess-world-championship-nepomniachtchi-versus-ding--games-1-and-22023-04-11T00:00:00.000+03:002023-04-11T00:00:00.000+03:00Chess World Championship: Nepomniachtchi versus Ding – Games 1 and 2Chess
A recap of the first two games of the ongoing World Championship with annotations by GM David Navara
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<img src="https://images.prismic.io/lichess/a20cdca8-62a6-4aad-9ab0-fea944340412_tQ2fwX4Q.jpeg?auto=compress,format"/>
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<p>The first two games of the 14-game match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren have already been played in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The winner will be crowned as the new World Champion in classical chess, following Magnus Carlsen’s abdication of the title. </p><p>The schedule of games can be found here, with Lichess providing a broadcast transmission of all games. GM David Navara (2676, World #59) is providing annotations for games 1 - 4. </p>
Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZC5mnRYAAP86Ph3p/preview-fide-world-chess-championship-20232023-04-06T00:00:00.000+03:002023-04-06T00:00:00.000+03:00Preview: FIDE World Chess Championship 2023Chess
Ahead of the 14 game match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Lichess previews what may be in store
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<img src="https://images.prismic.io/lichess/26912662-eed9-470d-944f-aa4e79865c57_ding-nepo-1.jpeg?auto=compress,format"/>
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<p>Officially since 1886 and unofficially since at least the 1830s, World Chess Championships have been played to determine the World Champion in chess. The title-holder since 2013, Magnus Carlsen, has abdicated his throne without being defeated. This means that Ian Nepomniachtchi (ranked #2 in the world, with a current rating of 2795) will play Ding Liren (ranked #3, with a 2788 rating) for the title in a 14-game match in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the first game scheduled for Sunday 9 April.</p>
Lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZCcL1hYAACYAM1qD/life-moves-pretty-fast-not-really2023-04-01T00:00:00.000+03:002023-04-01T00:00:00.000+03:00Life moves pretty fast (not really)Announcements
...if you don't play quickly, you could miss it.
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<img src="https://images.prismic.io/lichess/94249cc3-3e14-4ca9-b2b7-d6fca79c2fb9_backward-time%281%29.png?auto=compress,format"/>
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<p>[EDIT] April fools! Unfortunately, life still moves pretty fast, but Lichess no longer has decrement time controls. Thanks to everybody participating in our 1-1 Arena, it was fun!</p><p></p>
@lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/ZCBr7hYAAP86If6m/fide-womens-grand-prix-collapses-into-chaos-as-players-withdraw2023-03-26T00:00:00.000+02:002023-03-26T00:00:00.000+02:00FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Collapses into "Chaos" as Players WithdrawChess
GM Abdumalik, GM Paehtz withdraw hours before and during the event following alleged bad conditions, unfair pairings
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<p>The third leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix was due to begin yesterday, but after a turbulent 24 hours it has only begun today amid chaotic scenes and the withdrawal of multiple players.</p><p>(Title image: the players confer - photo credit ChessBase India / Aditya Sur Roy)</p>
Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y_vUFREAAB8A0nCZ/aronian-takes-wr-masters2023-02-27T00:00:00.000+02:002023-02-27T00:00:00.000+02:00Aronian Takes WR MastersChess
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<p>PHOTO: Lennart Ootes / WR Chess Masters</p><p>When Levon Aronian made a quick draw against co-leader Dommaraju Gukesh in the final round of the WR Chess Masters, it seemed like an uncharacteristically timid move for the Armenian grandmaster, who’s long been known as one of the most creative and aggressive players on the tour. But it was all part of his strategy: after that quiet interlude, the lover of classical music brought it to a crescendo in the rapid tiebreaker, where he blasted Gukesh and Ian Nepomniachtchi, who also joined the tie for first, in three straight games to crown tournament victory.</p>
@CheckRaiseMatehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y73kBhAAAHxja3WN/5-centimeters-of-hair-iranian-chess-in-20232023-01-11T00:00:00.000+02:002023-01-11T00:00:00.000+02:005 Centimeters of Hair: Iranian Chess in 2023Chess
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<p>Shohreh Bayat had not been planning to take a stand, but sometimes it happens anyway. She was working as the Chief Arbiter for the 2020 Women’s World Championship held in China when the President of the Chess Federation from her native Iran sent a message that got under her skin. “The president of the chess federation sent me a message; he said my hijab is not proper. It really made me furious,” Bayat told Lichess in an interview. Head scarves partially covering the hair, also called “hijabs,” must be worn by women at all times in Iran by law. The President’s complaint to Bayat sprung from the head scarf’s exact position; it was too far back, revealing too much hair. “I was already doing my best to tolerate this with difficulty. It was fine by Iranian standards, but he was pushing me and pushing me. I was miles away from my country and they were still hassling me.” Bayat decided to make a little show of force, nothing serious, just a small reminder that she couldn’t be pushed around.</p>
@NoJokehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y7LSKRAAAHxjVWm-/titled-arena-announcements2023-01-02T00:00:00.000+02:002023-01-02T00:00:00.000+02:00Titled Arena Announcement(s)Announcements
Announcing our schedule for upcoming Titled Arenas!
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<p>We're pleased to announce the schedule for our upcoming Titled Arenas!</p><p>All events will be preceded by a warm-up arena open to all players with a minimum of 20 rated games in the relevant time control (excluding 960 warm-up, where the minimum rated games are 10).</p>
Lichess Teamhttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y7C2yxAAAFBcUm6w/lichess-end-of-year-update-20222023-01-01T00:00:00.000+02:002023-01-01T00:00:00.000+02:00Lichess End of Year Update 2022Announcements
Happy New Year!
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<p>Like that, 2022 is over! Is it just us, or does it feel like it has flown by? 2022 has been an unprecedentedly eventful year for chess, and it’s been no exception for us at Lichess. Thank you to everyone who makes it possible – to all those who volunteer, to all those who share their spare CPU power, to all those who spread the word about Lichess, and of course to all those who financially support us.</p><p>Here’s a recap of some of the work we’ve done over the course of the year.</p>
Lichess Teamhttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y4z9VRAAACEA8hQW/the-november-titled-arena-960-does-a-360-with-bortnyk-first-carlsen-seventh2022-12-04T00:00:00.000+02:002022-12-04T00:00:00.000+02:00The November Titled Arena 960 does a 360 with Bortnyk first, Carlsen seventhChess
Fischer Random lives up to its name. Well, at least the random part.
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<p>For the first few millennia, life on this planet made a certain degree of sense. Creatures would eat, reproduce and subsequently die followed by their offspring doing roughly the same. Then, not much more than a hundred years ago, we humans devised a way to harness electricity, that weird stuff originally figured to be used by the Gods to indicate displeasure with us, to emit light, power machines, play video games, and now to communicate with other humans anywhere on earth without anyone leaving their house. Admittedly, not leaving the house has complicated the original eating and mating aspects of multicellular life, but modern makeshift solutions have been devised.</p><p></p>
@ZugAddicthttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y4T-DxAAACMAzzaZ/women-candidates-pool-b-kicks-off-in-khiva-uzbekistan2022-11-29T00:00:00.000+02:002022-11-29T00:00:00.000+02:00Women Candidates Pool B Kicks Off in Khiva, UzbekistanChess
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<p>PHOTO: FIDE/Timur Sattarov</p><p>Four players, two games, two draws, the first day of Women’s Candidate’s Pool B was concluded. The event is taking place from 29 November to 11 December, and the winner qualifies to the Candidates finals, facing Pool A winner, Lei Tingjie, for the right to participate in the Women’s World Championship Match against Wenjun Ju.</p>
@Konstantinos07https://chess-academy.net/blog/Y3u1mRAAACIApBVn/settlement-reached-in-stockfish-v-chessbase2022-11-21T00:00:00.000+02:002022-11-21T00:00:00.000+02:00Settlement Reached in Stockfish v ChessBaseChess
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<p>In July of 2021 we reported that legal proceedings had begun between the developers of Stockfish, the world’s strongest chess engine, and Chessbase GmbH, developers of various popular chess software. After more than a year of wrangling, that lawsuit has now come to an end with the parties agreeing to a settlement. </p><p></p>
@NoJokehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y2ldlxEAAB4s-tN-/kontrajako-narrowly-wins-ta-arena-ahead-of-mutdpro-matthewg-p4p2022-11-08T00:00:00.000+02:002022-11-08T00:00:00.000+02:00KontraJako narrowly wins TA Arena ahead of mutdpro, MatthewG-p4pChess
And why Sergei Zhigalko's epic near-comeback might have been the story of the tournament
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<p>The anonymous Grandmaster "Kontrajako" edged out mutdpro (GM Minh Le Tuan) in last Saturday's Titled Arena with MatthewG-p4p (IM Matvey Galchenko) coming in third (an auspicious result for the young Russian International Master). The top two places were decided in the final minute when kontraJako prevailed against MahammadMuradli2003 whilst mutdpro lost to fourth-place finisher Zhigalko_Sergei.</p>
@zugaddicthttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y2Z47hEAAGUB7i7A/lichess-recruits-full-time-mobile-developer2022-11-05T00:00:00.000+02:002022-11-05T00:00:00.000+02:00Lichess Recruits Full-Time Mobile DeveloperAnnouncements
In some our recent updates, we shared Lichess' future plans. With an eye on our future, we have exciting news!
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<p>Because of our community's generosity, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve hired a full-time mobile developer to work on the Lichess mobile applications available on iOS and Android, starting from 1 November 2022.</p><p>The number of users who access Lichess via the mobile app has only increased year on year for several years, and we expect this number to continue growing. </p>
@lichess @cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y1wpBhEAAB8AwbeG/taking-lichess-to-the-next-level2022-10-28T00:00:00.000+03:002022-10-28T00:00:00.000+03:00Taking Lichess to the Next LevelAnnouncements
Our current setup and our future plans
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<p>Last month, we published a blog about Lichess’s charity nonprofit status. In this post, we want to dive deeper into Lichess’s history, how we’re currently set up, and our plans for the future.
Between 2010 and 2016, virtually all of Lichess’s costs were covered by Lichess’s founder and main developer Thibault Duplessis. Lichess at the time was an association de fait, a basic association type that doesn’t require a formal legal structure.
However, even as early as 2015 it was obvious that this wasn't sustainable, as by that point the site’s monthly operating costs had grown to thousands of dollars per month.</p>
@cynosure @izzie26https://chess-academy.net/blog/Y0xbhxEAAB0AfF4d/bortnyk-victorious-after-nm-zugaddict-somehow-fails-to-win-october-ta2022-10-16T00:00:00.000+03:002022-10-16T00:00:00.000+03:00Bortnyk victorious after NM ZugAddict somehow fails to win October TAChess
Dozens of followers distraught
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<p>In a month full of surprises and controversy in the world of chess, yet another bombshell failed to occur when National Master John Chernoff (ZugAddict on https://lichess.org) was at no point a significant factor in yesterday's Titled Arena, finishing 141st out of 366 participants. When asked by absolutely no one to explain his unremarkable performance, Mr. Chernoff mumbled something about his mouse and bullet chess being an undignified activity to base a serious chess tournament on and left to turn on the bathtub faucet for his cat, "Bear".</p><p></p>
@ZugAddicthttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Y0BiXBEAAB8AR9U-/lichess-qualifiers-send-nakamura-and-abdusattorov-to-world-fischer-random-championship2022-10-07T00:00:00.000+03:002022-10-07T00:00:00.000+03:00Lichess Qualifiers Send Nakamura and Abdusattorov to World Fischer Random ChampionshipChess
306,296 games. 20,171,017 moves. 73,000+ entries to the Lichess qualifiers. Two winners — GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
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<p>Both Hikaru Nakamura and Nodirbek Abdusattorov were players awarded wildcards from co-organisers; Nakamura’s from the Charlotte Chess Center and North American Corporate Chess League and Abdusattorov’s wildcard was from Offerspill Sjakklubb. </p><p>Try our custom puzzle set made from the later games of the tournament:
https://lichess.org/study/XGCz40gk</p>
@Cynosure, @Konstantinos07https://chess-academy.net/blog/YzRtfRAAADHUEvHl/charity-non-profit-no-profit2022-09-29T00:00:00.000+03:002022-09-29T00:00:00.000+03:00Charity? Non-profit? No profit?Announcements
A treatise on "business models"
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<p>We’ve spoken before about Lichess’s ethical stance and how we do “business”. Indeed, at the bottom of this and every other of our blog posts there is a short explanation:</p><p>Lichess is a charity and entirely free/libre open source software.
All operating costs, development, and content are funded solely by user donations.</p>
@lichesshttps://chess-academy.net/blog/YxuyrRAAACEApmdm/midway-through-the-world-fischer-random-championship-qualifiers-on-lichess2022-09-09T00:00:00.000+03:002022-09-09T00:00:00.000+03:00Midway Through The World Fischer Random Championship Qualifiers on LichessChess
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<p>With the open and invitational arena stage over, we now move to the first Swiss stages marking the midpoint of the qualifiers on Lichess.
At the Swiss stages, eligible players can only take part in the groups they’ve been sorted into. Eligible players and the groups they’ve been sorted into can be found here.
All the Swiss groups of the FIDE Offerspill World Fischer Random Championship Qualifiers begin at 1400 UTC on 10th September. All the Swiss groups of the FIDE CCC and NACCL World Fischer Random Championship Qualifiers begin at 1700 UTC on 10th September.
The top 18 players of each group go through, where they will meet on 11th September (with the same start times), and be met by 10 wildcards. In total, up to 100 players will compete in the second Swiss stage to determine the final 16 who go through to the KO stages.
Starting from the second Swiss stage, players who are asked will be required to join an online call 30 minutes before the round starts, with arbiters present to conduct relevant checks. Failure to join the call or comply with arbiters instructions may result in a player’s withdrawal from the tournament. More information will be sent directly to players; therefore players should carefully check their Lichess inboxes and notifications.
Wildcards of the second Swiss stage are as follows, to date:</p>
@Lichess, @Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/YwiX9xAAALynR5hW/titled-arena-announcements2022-08-29T00:00:00.000+03:002022-08-29T00:00:00.000+03:00Titled Arena Announcement(s)Announcements
Announcing our schedule for upcoming Titled Arenas!
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<p>We're pleased to announce a schedule for our upcoming Titled Arenas!</p><p>All events will be preceded by a warm-up arena open to all players with a minimum of 20 rated games in the relevant time control (excluding 960 warm-up, where the minimum rated games are 10).</p>
Lichess Teamhttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Ywu-WBAAALynVXZJ/daniel-naroditsky-with-a-back-to-back-titled-arena-win2022-08-28T00:00:00.000+03:002022-08-28T00:00:00.000+03:00Daniel Naroditsky With a Back-to-Back Titled Arena win!Chess
Naroditsky with pure domination comes in first, with Minh Le in second and kontraJako in third place behind him.
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<p>GM Daniel Naroditsky secured himself the first place in this Saturday's Titled Arena with an absolute dominating lead of 26 points to the second place, taken by IM Minh Le. The third place was taken by GM kontraJako.</p><p>Naroditsky, who already won the August Chess960 Titled Arena, had a perfect start with an 8-game win streak right at the beginning, but struggled a bit against other top Bullet-players like Andrew Tang or Minh Le which resulted in him losing his flame streak multiple times. Still, he managed to secure the first place with a really impressive performance rating of 3245.</p>
@loeparehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Ywk7TxAAAEIYSm4e/fide-world-fischer-random-championship--update2022-08-26T00:00:00.000+03:002022-08-26T00:00:00.000+03:00FIDE World Fischer Random Championship – UpdateChess
The halfway mark of the open qualification process for the FIDE World Fischer Random Championships - have you qualified yet?
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<p>The Lichess paths to qualify into the FIDE World Fischer Random Championship – to be held in Reykjavik from 25 - 30 October later this year – are well underway.
-> See if you qualified already.
-> Find an event in the calendar that you can take part in.
-> Enjoying Chess960? Join the official Lichess Chess960 team, and access all learning resources for free.
We’re now just over halfway through the open arena stages where anyone can take part. The top 50 eligible players from each open arena qualify through to two invitational arenas. The top 500 players from each invitational arena will progress to the Swiss stage.</p>
@cynosure @izzie26https://chess-academy.net/blog/Yv0HzRAAACAAFTlq/play-in-a-chess-world-championship2022-08-18T00:00:00.000+03:002022-08-18T00:00:00.000+03:00Play in a Chess World ChampionshipAnnouncements
Take part in a World Championship qualifier held on Lichess for free, and take your shot at eternal glory – and part of a $400,000 prize fund
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<p>Lichess announces global entry paths to the FIDE World Fischer Random Finals, with anyone eligible for entry, entirely for free</p><p>The 2022 edition of the FIDE World Fischer Random Championship will take place this October in Reykjavik, Iceland. Three years ago, Wesley So beat Magnus Carlsen to become the first ever official Fischer Random World Champion; both players will be competing again for the crown this autumn, alongside six other contenders…and one of them could be you! </p>
@cynosure @izzie26https://chess-academy.net/blog/YulPhhAAACAAvm1f/lichess-half-year-update--new-feature-sneak-preview2022-08-02T00:00:00.000+03:002022-08-02T00:00:00.000+03:00Lichess Half-Year Update & New Feature Sneak PreviewAnnouncements
August is the perfect time for a June update :)
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<p>As we move into August the Lichess team started to curate the improvements, new features, and work your donations and support has allowed us to do. In only the six months from January to June, we have already accomplished so much this year! Read on to see some of the work we’re most excited about, plus an early look into an exciting new feature.
If you want to find out more about what we’ve done in the last six months, you can find our (rather lengthy!) changelog, here.</p><p></p>
Lichess @Cynosurehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Yt7x2BAAACkABlKS/a-first-time-grandmaster-titled-arena-winner-and-nakamuras-forbidden-platform2022-07-25T00:00:00.000+03:002022-07-25T00:00:00.000+03:00A first time Grandmaster Titled Arena winner and Nakamura's forbidden platformChess
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<p>Sometimes arenas can be cruel. The second place score in Saturday’s Bullet Titled Arena would have been enough to win June’s bullet arena by 19 points. Instead, it was enough to lose to IM Minh Le by 24 points. Minh was absolutely dominant, starting out by winning an incredible 22 games in a row. From there, he cruised to an easy victory. Le has recently completed his third GM norm and should be officially named a GM at the next FIDE congress barring any norm shenanigans, which, unfortunately given the FIDE norm process, cannot be totally barred. Le has been over 2500 for a while now, and was probably an easy pick for the “strongest IM” title. The GM title would be a well deserved honor for a player who is clearly not in over his head against even the very best online blitz and bullet players in the world.</p><p></p>
@NoJokehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/YtcjWhAAACcA48fo/stockfish-vs-chessbase-round-12022-07-22T00:00:00.000+03:002022-07-22T00:00:00.000+03:00Stockfish vs ChessBase, Round 1Chess
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<p>On July 4th this year, after a lot of waiting, Stockfish and Chessbase finally got their first day in court. The battle between the two software makers began when ChessBase released a chess engine called “Fat Fritz 2” that was allegedly a repackaged version of Stockfish. This led to some significant recrimination, including on this very website. The case was of interest to free software advocates and chess players everywhere, so we sent a Lichess developer to the courtroom in Munich to witness events firsthand and report on them. We also spoke with ChessBase CEO Matthias Wüllenweber. (Full text of the interview)</p><p></p>
@NoJokehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/YsTt4hIAAB8Ay0Ir/candidates-day-14-nakamura-and-ding-battle-for...-possibly-nothing2022-07-05T00:00:00.000+03:002022-07-05T00:00:00.000+03:00Candidates Day 14: Nakamura and Ding battle for... possibly nothing?Chess
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<p>The Candidates Tournament 2022 concluded yesterday with the last round. It was a day full of action and three decisive results out of for. Ian Nepomniachtchi, having already won the tournament, secured a draw and an impressive 9.5/14 overall score. Ding Liren seized the coveted second place spot at the finish line.</p><p>Nepomniachtchi joins an elite club of players who have won the Candidates consecutive times, and will get a second shot at the World Championship. We will have to wait for Carlsen’s decision to see if Ding’s run for the 2nd place spot will yield him something more than an increased prize and glory.</p>
@NoJokehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/YsJXNhIAAB8AwA-Y/candidates-day-thirteen-nepomniachtchi-triumphant2022-07-03T00:00:00.000+03:002022-07-03T00:00:00.000+03:00Candidates Day Thirteen: Nepomniachtchi triumphantChess
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<p>Credits: Stev Bonhage / FIDE</p><p>The twelfth round of the Candidates Tournament in Madrid has concluded. Ian Nepomniachtchi clinched his tournament victory today, and will soon play a World Championship match, although his opponent remains to be decided. In clear second place after a victory today is Hikaru Nakamura. He sits a half point ahead of Ding Liren in third. Very conveniently, Nakamura and Liren will play each other in the final round, meaning tie-breaks will not play any role. If Liren wins he is cleanly past Nakamura, any other result means that Nakamura takes second.</p>
@NoJokehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/YsEKhxIAACEAulbm/candidates-day-twelve-nepomniachtchi-almost-home2022-07-02T00:00:00.000+03:002022-07-02T00:00:00.000+03:00Candidates Day Twelve: Nepomniachtchi almost homeChess
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<p>The twelfth round of the Candidates Tournament in Madrid has concluded. Ian Nepomniachtchi has all but mathematically sealed the win in this tournament with an easy draw today. He sits 2 points ahead of the field with 2 rounds remaining. The fight for second place, and the possibility of a hand-me-down World Championship spot from Magnus is nowhere near as resolved. Hikaru Nakamura and Ding Liren are currently tied for second place with Fabiano Caruana and Teimour Radjabov only a half-point behind.</p><p></p>
@NoJokehttps://chess-academy.net/blog/Yr55yRIAAB4Arziz/candidates-day-eleven-hyper-bullet-the-breakfast-of-champions2022-07-01T00:00:00.000+03:002022-07-01T00:00:00.000+03:00Candidates Day Eleven: Hyper-Bullet, the Breakfast of ChampionsChess
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<p>The eleventh round of the Candidates Tournament in Madrid has concluded. Ian Nepomniachtchi extended his lead to an almost insurmountable 1.5 points with 3 rounds remaining by beating Alireza Firouzja, who prepared for the game in an unusual way.</p><p></p>
@NoJoke